Pinterest is an increasingly popular social-media marketing channel for ecommerce retailers. According to a study by Javelin Strategy & Research, the average order value of Pinterest users is $123.50, which is 126 percent more than the average $54.64 order value of Facebook users.
However, to grow its revenues, Pinterest needs to shake the perception that the network is for females only.
Earlier this year, Pinterest announced the release of guided search, which shows results based on the gender of the user. The platform said that the changes have led to an increase in engagement and that its male user base increased by 73 percent in 2014.
Related: How to Attract Customers Through Pinterest
With Pinterest shifting more attention towards men and the rapid growth of male users, now might be a good time for retailers targeting male customers to start marketing on the platform.
If you want to start marketing to men on Pinterest, here are a few tips:
1. Follow boards targeting male interests.
To better understand your audience, you should follow other boards targeting male interests, as it will allow you to see what type of content resonates with your target audience on Pinterest.
Follow boards directly related to your own products and content but also look for related content that your audience might be interested in. Men’s apparel, technology, travel and gardening are the top interests for men while geek, cars and motorcycles and men’s fashion were the fastest growing categories from 2012-2014. Pay attention to what items are getting pinned and liked.
2. Pin images that appeal to men.
Actively and consistently pin images that appeal to men on your own boards, as it will help you grow your following on Pinterest.
Your Pinterest feed and guided search will display pins based on the images that you are pinning, so it’s important to mostly pin images that appeal to men.
Related: Secrets of Succeeding at Visual Marketing on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube
3. Target men specifically using Pinterest promoted pins.
Pinterest now has Promoted Pins, or pins that businesses paid for to get noticed. One convenient feature of Promoted Pins is that you can target your pins to men, women or both. If your products are targeted towards men, then you can specifically choose to target only men with your Pinterest ads.
For instance, Ezra Firestone is an ecommerce storeowner and has used Promoted Pins to generate over $40,000 in sales with around $800 in ad spending. Using Promoted Pins can be a great way to quickly build a targeted following and even generate traffic and sales from Pinterest.
4. Grow a male audience outside of Pinterest.
Most brands that have a large social media following leverage other channels to grow their audience and you should, too. You can use content marketing to grow your website traffic and send some of those readers to follow you on Pinterest.
Target channels that your audience is already active on. Many media channels will disclose the demographics of their audience and pay-per-click advertising channels like Adwords allows you to target by gender as well as other demographics and interests.
You can also encourage your current customers or email subscribers to follow you on Pinterest, which can increase the social sharing of your Pinterest content.
5. Apply common Pinterest marketing tactics.
Finally, the well-known Pinterest marketing tactics still apply. Pinning consistently is important and including keywords on your pins and boards helps your content get found on Pinterest search.
Be sure to sign up for a business account as well to get access to other useful Pinterest tools, including analytics and promoted pins.
Unlike tweets and Facebook shares, Pinterest pins are 100 times more viral than tweets and can have a long shelf life. In fact, according to a study by Piquora, 50 percent of visits happen 3.5 months after pinning.
Follow Entrepreneur on Pinterest for inspiration, ideas, tips and more.
Related: We Tried All the Best Pinterest Marketing Tips. Here’s What Worked.
