In 2019, Pinterest overtook Snapchat to become the third most popular social network behind Facebook and Instagram, with its user base skyrocketing to 82.4 million people. Part of the platform’s success is derived from rejecting the social networking label altogether, striving instead to capitalize on its aspirational features—serving as a resource for users who are planning projects, vacations, milestone events, and more. And with household decision-makers comprising the bulk of the platform’s users, Pinterest is a fantastic place for your DMO to reach potential visitors. The stats speak for themselves:

1. 93% of active Pinners use Pinterest to plan for purchases—trips included!
2. 3 in 4 travel Pinners say travel pins from brands are useful, and nearly all will act on what they see, often booking an unplanned trip.
3. Pinterest reaches 83% of women ages 25-54, and these users account for 80% of purchasing decisions made in US households.

Pinterest is the perfect platform for a destination to promote its offerings. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, brands can upload content to Pinterest that will continue to drive users to their website as it shows up in trending search queries and is saved and shared repeatedly over time by users. But arguably the greatest benefit Pinterest offers is the ability to drive traffic to your website without an emphasis on pay-to-play (for now, anyway). And while Instagram has been a hot spot for travel inspiration, it’s not a very effective platform to use for growing website traffic.

When it comes to building your brand presence on Pinterest, one of the most powerful tools available is Pinterest Trends. This feature releases regular trending searches within the platform to help brands push out content relevant to the interests of their target markets. And if you’re curious, Responsible Travel, Conscious Consumption, Finding Balance, and Pampered Pets are currently among Pinterest’s top 100 trending searches. Insights like these can help you plan for content that will solidify your DMO as the number one resource for travel in your city.

So, what are the basics for pinning to Pinterest?

1. Don’t put the cart before the horse. Before you’re even ready to pin, you need to ensure that the content on your website is relevant to the pin it will be linked to. No one likes to be misled, and that holds true for Pinners too.
2. Once you’ve mapped out what the user journey should be, you can begin crafting imagery and copy that are both compelling and searchable. Remember to think like a visitor as you are thinking through a pin’s content: you search for something you’re interested in, you scroll, and when something resonates with you enough, you click.
3. A/B test your pins to determine what combination of imagery and copy is most likely to drive users to your website. Once you have determined the right structure, it’s relatively simple to replicate successful pins with a new image and/or headline. This will allow you to really see what’s resonating with Pinners so that as you progress, the probability of creating worthwhile, relevant and resourceful content is high.

With Pinterest projected to expand to 90 million users by 2022, now is a great time to start planning to integrate this platform into your social media marketing strategy and start leveraging Pinterest to increase brand awareness, direct travelers to your website, and convert those users to guests in your destination.