The last quarter of the year always brings a rise for the ecommerce giants and smaller d2c brands alike – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Halloween, Christmas… we all have a lot of reasons for celebrating (and buying gifts! yes, for ourselves too).

Retail sales during the holiday season could rise 7-9%, according to Deloitte. This could mean a 1.3 trillion USD sales. Their experts project the e-commerce growth 11-15%, a massive increase in the purchase volumes.

Amazon has gone one step further, adding a beauty event into their October calendar to highlight selected beauty brands  and protect market share. This event could be key for brands like Sephora or L’Oréal.

And then comes Pinterest. People are ready for the holidays, they started their planning and inspirational research, and there brands can leverage the fact that Pinterest is their first stop while exploring:

#1 Start inspiring people (instead of interrupting them)

People doesn’t like when something interrupts them. Period. They are in the middle of something, and then an ad pops up… usually this just makes them annoyed. This is why they started to use ad-blockers more and more in the first place. 97%: this is the ratio within the most popular searches that are not actual brand names.

But when during their research (let’s say for the perfect gift for their loved ones) something really relevant appears on their feed – that’s a different story.

#2 Leverage higher return on ad spend by using visual-first formats

Image Pins

The best Pins are visually attractive; they tell a story and make people interested. 85% of Pinners search for and prefer visual content. Standard Pins work with vertical images (2:3 ratio), put your product into the spotlight and add the text overlay to make it stand out – just keep in mind that readability is important on mobile!

Video Pins

With video Pins you can start really strong with a hook, because you only have 3 seconds to catch your audience’s attention. Make sure they communicate your idea loud and clear, and don’t take longer than 1 minute. (For ads, 6-15 sec works best.) Since most people see your video without sound, don’t rely on the audio. Pick a cover image that captures the story of your video and interesting enough at first glance. Add clear titles and descriptions so you’ll get discovered in organic search. We have good news: 75% of Pinterest users say they’re likely to watch branded videos about topics that interest them.

Idea Pins

Idea Pins are like stories, but last forever, helping you connect with your audience. Starting with a video works best – and don’t forget to add the text overlay to explain your content! Idea Pins are for original content, so don’t use external links or content from other sites. Plan the structure with a clear start, middle and end, and make sure to include a call-to-action.

#3 Keep in mind your timing

 In September and October, people start collecting ideas, researching about decoration and gifts, it’s really the time when you could be a star by adding inspirative content that helps them out. However, i November, they are ready to spend the big bucks! You can also broadcast strong call-to-actions and actual links to products and solutions. In December, consumers are looking for last-minute solutions and convenient options, so that’s where you can meet with their needs. (Did you know that Pinterest offer a guide to holiday buyer personas?)

#4 Recruit influencers to highlight your brand in their own inspiring content

Engagement is key as usual, and you can always include influencers into your campaign. Asking them to post about their ideas and inspiration and include your brand as a secret ingredient for the success (ie. interior design, cooking or choosing gifts and Xmas decoration). You can understand your followers by looking at their boards, defining personas that help you decide what type of content would be helpful for them in the future.

You can even drive sales by linking your website to the visual content – so you can showcase your products in an inspiring way and at the same moment you can make an offer for prospective customers.

Contact us if you want to be your target group’s inspiration this fall-winter!

And if you’d appreciate a little inspiration on seasonal influencer marketing campaigns with case studies, click here: