Wedding vibes. Hairdo hacks. Home improvement. Crafts and cottage core. Put all of these things together and you're either in a rom-com protagonist's fever dream, or you're on Pinterest.
If you were to say Pinterest exists for crafty DIY enthusiasts and e-commerce brands hawking home decor, you wouldn't be wrong. But you would be ignoring its massive business potential and influential audience at your own peril. Pinterest is criminally underappreciated and underutilized by B2B and non-ecommerce B2C marketers who dismiss it as merely a platform for recipes and mood boards. When marketers focus 100% of their attention on the channels that only cater to their business models, they do nothing but contribute to the sea of sameness, while missing the opportunity to capture attention where your competitors aren't even present.
If you save just 5% to show up somewhere unexpected, you might just stand out as the refreshing voice in a space not saturated by your industry. That's where Pinterest comes in for B2B and non-ecommerce B2C brands. The platform's visual nature and high-intent audience make it a powerful but overlooked channel for businesses that don't fit the typical Pinterest mold -- and that's exactly why you should be there.
Why Pinterest should matter to you
Before you write off Pinterest as just another social platform that doesn't deserve your marketing budget, let's look at some numbers that might change your mind.
Pinterest isn't some quaint little corner of the internet -- users save more than 1.5 billion Pins across 10 million Pinterest boards each week. That's real engagement, not just mindless scrolling.
While Pinterest's user base is predominantly female (76%), the platform offers substantial audience potential regardless of who you're targeting. Most importantly, if you're targeting decision-makers with disposable income, Pinterest is a goldmine. A full 45% of people in the US with a household income over $100,000 are on Pinterest. One in three Pinterest users have an average annual income of $100,000 or more.
Pinterest drives 10x higher off-platform branded searches compared to other social media sites. When people discover you on Pinterest, they actually go looking for you elsewhere. And when they find what they're looking for, they act -- 85% of weekly Pinterest users have made a purchase based on a pin they saw.
Perhaps the most compelling stat for skeptical marketers: Pinterest ads are 2.3x more cost-effective per conversion than other social media advertising. Lower costs, higher returns. And with 96% of top Pinterest searches being unbranded, users are openly searching for new solutions and ideas.
Beyond e-commerce
The "Pinterest is just for ecommerce" myth needs to die.
For B2B and non-ecommerce B2C brands, Pinterest is an untapped content marketing powerhouse. The platform's visual nature makes it perfect for simplifying complex concepts -- something every marketer struggles with.
Pinterest is a platform built on aspiration and planning -- the very foundation of considered purchase journeys for both B2B and B2C audiences. The platform creates a unique space where professional and personal interests converge, making it ideal for reaching decision-makers in discovery mode.
Users come to Pinterest specifically to find ideas and solutions, not just to scroll mindlessly. This planning-focused mindset makes them particularly receptive to valuable content that addresses their challenges or aspirations.
Advanced Pinterest tactics for non-ecommerce brands
Idea Pins
Idea Pins are Pinterest's multi-page video format, and they're vastly underutilized by brands -- especially in the B2B space. These dynamic content pieces allow you to showcase your expertise through engaging, visual storytelling.
For instance, "Benefits of Cycling" features a series of three videos to showcase the health benefits of cycling. In the wellness space, "6 Moves to Relieve Stress," a series of videos where The Pilates Class founder Jacqui Kingswell takes you through 6 easy moves to relieve stress.
Actalike audiences
Pinterest's "actalike" audiences are powerful targeting tools similar to the "lookalike" audiences you might be familiar with on other platforms. Here's how they work: Pinterest studies the characteristics and behaviors of your existing customers (your "seed audience"), then finds new potential customers who show similar patterns.
Think of it as Pinterest saying, "These new people behave very similarly to your current customers, so they might be interested in what you offer too."
Pinterest's actalike audiences work synergistically with visual search keywords. They are created with action-based triggers like Pin saves, board adds, and visual search clicks rather than engagement-based triggers like likes and shares used in other platforms' lookalike audiences.
For best results on Pinterest, start with a smaller group of your very best customers (at least 1,000) rather than a large generic group. Pinterest focuses on intent-rich actions like saving pins or adding content to boards rather than just demographic information, making these audiences particularly valuable for reaching people actively planning or researching topics related to your business.
Group boards
Group boards on Pinterest allow multiple collaborators to contribute pins to a shared board. This creates a collective resource around specific topics or interests, with each contributor adding their expertise while gaining exposure to the followers of all other contributors.
For example the "Creative Bloggers Group Board" and "Boss Babes Group Board" feature a plethora of user-generated content from professionals across industries. For B2B and non-ecommerce B2C brands, look for industry-specific boards or create your own, inviting thought leaders from complementary (not competitive) businesses to contribute. This exposes your content to wider audiences and builds relationships with potential partners.
Rich Pins
Pinterest functions as a sophisticated visual discovery engine where users actively search for inspiration and solutions. And unlike Google, the competition for keywords isn't nearly as fierce.
Rich Pins are enhanced pins that automatically sync information from your website to your pins. They exist for articles as well as products, allowing you to add headlines, descriptions, and author information directly from your site. This creates a direct pipeline from Pinterest to your blog or resource center.
Well-optimized Pinterest boards and pins can rank in Google search results as well, including Google Image Search, giving your brand additional visibility outside of Pinterest itself. Write concise, compelling titles and descriptions, placing key information in the first 50-60 characters.
Pinterest uses advanced image recognition and optical character recognition (OCR) to understand the content of your pins. Both the visuals and any text on your images contribute to how your pins are categorized and surfaced in search results.
The best part? Pins have a much longer lifespan than posts on other social platforms. A well-optimized pin can continue to drive traffic for months or even years after it's published.
Creative campaign inspiration
Visual storytelling
UNIQLO's 2012 "Dry Mesh Project" Pinterest campaign was a creative marketing masterpiece. Partnering with New York agency Firstborn, they created over 100 Pinterest accounts to simultaneously pin vertically elongated images (often 1,000+ pixels tall) across five categories: Men's/Women's Apparel, Geek, Fitness, and Sports.
When users scrolled through Pinterest, these images aligned to form animated mosaics resembling film strips, showcasing their moisture-wicking Dry Mesh T-shirts in action. This guerrilla marketing tactic introduced their brand to the American market without spending a dime on paid media.
Online-to-offline integration
Krylon's "Longest Yard Sale" Pinterest campaign was brilliantly creative. The spray paint brand's team traveled 690 miles across six states along the world's longest yard sale. They purchased 127 seemingly worthless items, transformed them using Krylon spray paint, and then sold the revitalized pieces on Pinterest using the platform's new buyable pin feature.
Each item was priced at least double what they paid, with all proceeds donated to charity. This campaign—the first-ever Pinterest yard sale—engaged their DIY-loving audience by demonstrating how spray paint could transform forgotten treasures while connecting online inspiration to real-world transformation.
Exclusive content
Luxury skincare brand La Mer masterfully uses Pinterest as part of a full-funnel strategy. They create Pinterest-exclusive product sets like the Touch of La Mer Gift Set and Holiday Minis that entice users to make purchases they can't find elsewhere.
Their approach starts with awareness-building video ads highlighting their five different moisturizer textures, targeted with strategic keywords. For consideration, they retarget engaged users with ads offering samples of preferred textures. The conversion phase leverages personalized, product-oriented static pins with strong calls to action for those who claimed samples.
Optimization best practices
Visual content guidelines
Stick to Pinterest’s recommended 2:3 aspect ratio (1,000 x 1,500 pixels) to prevent cropping and maintain quality. Add text overlays to images for clarity and engagement while maintaining consistent branding with logos and colors.
For B2B and non-ecommerce B2C content, this means transforming your text-heavy content into visually appealing graphics with key points highlighted. Use bright, high-resolution visuals with minimal clutter. And please, for the love of all things marketing, avoid generic stock photos of people in suits shaking hands.
Strategic timing
Pinterest rewards planners. Start creating and pinning seasonal content 30-45 days before the actual season or holiday. This gives your Pins time to gain traction in the algorithm.
Use the Pinterest Trends tool to identify emerging topics in your industry. Create content around these trends before they peak to capitalize on growing interest. Scotch did this by partnering with Pinterest creator Kailo Chic to produce DIY tutorials for back-to-school crafts after identifying "preschooler crafts" as a trending topic.
For B2B and non-ecommerce B2C brands, this approach allows you to align your Pinterest content calendar with business cycles and seasonal industry interests, getting ahead of trends before they peak.
Technical optimization tips
With Pinterest Lens gaining popularity, optimize your Pins for visual search by using clear, high-contrast images and including relevant text overlays. This makes your content discoverable through Pinterest's camera search function.
When creating a new board, add 5-10 high-performing, relevant Pins from other users to give the board context and help Pinterest understand its theme. Then regularly update boards with fresh content to maintain relevance and visibility.
Getting started: Your first 30 days on Pinterest
Set up and optimize your business profile
Create or convert to a Pinterest business account to unlock analytics, advertising, and management features essential for brands. Fill out your profile completely: use your logo as the profile image, write a clear, keyword-rich description of your business, and add your website link. Ensure your branding is consistent across your Pinterest presence to build recognition.
Research and plan your content strategy
Conduct keyword research to identify terms your audience is searching for. Use these keywords in your board names, pin titles, and descriptions to improve discoverability. Decide on content themes relevant to your brand—think educational infographics, industry tips, case studies, or inspiration boards that align with your expertise.
Create and organize boards
Set up several boards (5-10 to start) around your core topics or services. Each board should have a clear, descriptive name and keyword-rich description. For B2B and non-ecommerce B2C brands, create boards that showcase your expertise while addressing audience pain points or aspirations, ensuring each board has a clear strategic purpose aligned with your marketing goals.
Design and publish high-quality pins
Create visually engaging pins using your brand colors, clear text overlays, and vertical images (remember, 2:3 aspect ratio is best). Link every pin to a relevant landing page, blog post, or resource on your website. Experiment with different formats: static images, video pins (6-15 seconds), and Idea Pins for storytelling or step-by-step guides.
For your first month, commit to pinning just three pieces of content per week - a mix of your own content and high-quality, relevant content from others.
Focus on the right metrics
Don't obsess over follower counts initially. On Pinterest, the game is discovery through search and related content, not follower size. Instead, track click-throughs to your website, engagement rates on your pins, and the quality of leads coming from Pinterest.
Taking the Pinterest plunge
Pinterest offers the unique advantage of building a visual ecosystem of valuable content that continues to drive traffic months and years after publication, with more cost-effective conversions that complement your overall marketing strategy.
Sometimes the biggest competitive advantage comes from exploring territory others have overlooked.
So create that Pinterest account. Start that first board. Pin that first piece of content.
Watch what happens when you become visible where your audience least expects – but most appreciates – finding you.