When you are working on creating and filling your Etsy shop, it can be hard to think about adding social media sharing to your list of tasks. On the other hand, what’s the point of creating these listings and products if no one can find them.

While the idea of taking on a social media channel for marketing can be daunting for any business owner, the audience on Pinterest is hard to deny. They have over 320 million active monthly users and each user spends an average of 14.2 minutes spent per session in 2019. That makes it a powerful platform when it comes to decision making and planning for buyers.

But getting started on Pinterest doesn’t mean you have to become a fully-fledged influencer dedicating your days to the platform. Pinning can happen once a day or you can use a scheduler to dose out your pins. One of the great things about this particular platform is how it’s used for planning.

Potential buyers pin items while they’re browsing on sites across the web, including Etsy. They add items to their own boards for inspiration or to make plans to purchase at a later date. Those pins can be re-pinned by other Pinterest users, resulting in exponential exposure for your listings.

By taking into consideration Pinterest users when selecting your listing photos, you can ensure your listings are primed for pinning. Read on for tips on how to best include pictures in your Etsy listing for use on Pinterest.

1. Think Mobile First

About 80% of Pinterest users access the platform through their mobile devices. This means that it’s super important for your images to look clear and intelligible on smaller screens.

When you’re taking or uploading photos to your listings, review them on your phone to make sure that if someone comes upon your item listing on Pinterest, the image will be clear, crisp, and bright. Shooting in natural light is one great way to capture well-lit photos. You can also adjust the brightness on your phone, but you don’t want to do it so much that its distorts the image.

If it’s not possible to shoot in natural light, just be sure your photos are bright enough to see your item. This is especially important for mobile visitors who might have their screen's brightness turned down.

Based on my research, I've also found that for standalone item photos, light or white backgrounds perform well on our Pinterest channels. For more guidance, check out Etsy’s Tips for Taking Engaging Social Media Photos.

2. Include Some Vertical Photos

While some social networks like Instagram love the square crop, Pinterest loves a vertical photo. Aim to include at least one or two vertical photos in your listings. You can find a variety of vertical examples from other sellers on Etsy's Pinterest page.

The best image ratio according to Pinterest is 2:3. So, try to include one or two images in your listing with these dimensions. This makes it easier to pin your products to your own boards as well as potential customers to pin to their boards.

3. Include Variation Photos

When I’m looking for photos to share on my Pinterest page, I try to find a single image that includes multiple views of the item. These collage images make it easier to compare items I’m looking to purchase or to see different uses. This means a few different views or angles of the product in one image.

Do you make initial necklaces? Try to highlight a few different letters in your listing photo. Do you make invitations? Include an image of both the front and the back images. Do you make a fitness planner? Show some of the different pages you include.

In this pin for my Harry Potter Virtual Party Printables, variation photos help showcase the different party activities included in this listing.

On Pinterest, a vertical collage helps demonstrate the functionality of this travel jewelry organizer by Cut Design.

4. Incorporate lifestyle photos

Buyers like to see how items will potentially look in their spaces. This is a great reason to show off your styling skills and post some full room shots. Or you can even ask your buyers to send you some photos of what your items look like in their spaces, and include those in your listing photos! Maybe you can send free product to a photographer in exchange for a few great images of the item.

One customer shared with me this cute image of my Construction Party 1st Birthday Stats Poster which she framed for her little guy’s party.

For lifestyle photos, always keep the focus of the photo on the item you’re looking to highlight or showcase. It's important to find a balance between setting a scene and making it clear what you're actually selling.

5. Use Canva

Canva is a great and free design platform that you can use to create your pin images. It is easy to figure out and has tons of templates which you can use to create your pins. You can just add your images and change out the text to make an eye-catching pin for your products.

Pinterest is a great way to get eyes on your products, but you need to make sure that you display your product in the best way possible for that platform. Include some type of title and description so people know what they are looking at. Make sure your images are vertical, clear, and bright. Finally, utilize a collage to show the different sides or uses of the item.

If you want more specific guidance on creating pin images, let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

Emily