How Activewear Leaders Drive Thousands of Site Visits With Pinterest

Key Takeaways

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Focus Allocation — Pinterest: While not one of the largest social platforms, Pinterest can drive significant traffic. Running apparel brands generate 1-12% of their desktop social traffic from Pinterest. Patagonia & Hoka One One are the strongest performers on this platform. In absolute terms, these brands are driving tens or hundreds of thousands of website visitors quarterly using this social channel.‍

Social Content — Instructionals perform well: In our analysis of running content on other social platforms we’ve seen that instructional/educational content performs very well and this is especially true on Pinterest. Simple and eye-catching infographics and workout, stretching, and recovery plans are consistent top performers.‍

Tactics  — Treat Pinterest as a search engine: Use generic keywords such as “running shoes” rather than product or brand specific keywords such as “Air Max 90”. Optimize your pinterest page with keyword-rich descriptions, board titles and pin titles.‍

Tactics — Link to both educational & product pages: High performing Instructional Pinterest content tends to link to deeper educational resources like blog posts or videos. While not directly driving conversions, these site visits can they be re-targeted with paid campaigns. Consider testing retargeting that specifically reaches visitors from Pinterest. Product oriented content from top running apparel brands tends to link directly to product description pages or collection pages.

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While not one of the largest social platforms, Pinterest can drive significant traffic. Major athletic brands generate 1-12% of their desktop social traffic* from Pinterest, while smaller running apparel brands tend to generate a somewhat smaller proportion at 1-8%*. 

Top athletic brands:

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At both ends of the brand size spectrum there are standouts that over-perform, specifically Patagonia (12% of social traffic) and Hoka One One (8% of social traffic). In absolute terms, these brands are driving tens or hundreds of thousands of website visitors quarterly using Pinterest.

Running apparel Brands:

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Pinterest traffic also tends to be increasing for major athletic apparel brands. For major brands, Nike saw desktop traffic from Pinterest increase by +422% in July, while Adidas saw a +109% increase. Niche running brands like Hoka One One and Patagonia saw a +246% and +14% increase respectively.

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Both Nike and Adidas feature running-related boards on their highlights, which acts as a homepage for their brand accounts.

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Meanwhile, Under Armour does not highlight running on their profile page, but a running board is one of four boards they created for their account. 

Nike

Nike has two boards dedicated to running, one geared towards their running-themed pages like their run club membership page while the other page is geared towards products.

• “We Run” board to drive traffic to Nike’s Run Club and Nike Membership page‍
• “Run Farther” board to drive traffic to Nike’s selection of running shoes and apparel

"We Run" Board

On Nike’s “We Run” board, their primary focus is to produce inspirational and informational content, two of the main reasons people use Pinterest.

• Quotes: Nike overlays action shots with inspiration sayings and quotes to inspire followers to get moving and go for a run‍
• Informational: Nike published a series of weekly “Training Plan” posts over a 9 week period to give followers a concrete plan to start their running journey
  

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Pins in this board lead users to the Nike Membership page or the Nike Running landing page.

Nike Membership Landing Page, page dedicated to get users to sign up for a Nike account, displaying all the perks of being a member, including birthday offers and training exclusives.

• You Can’t Stop The Run Challenge: Participants can qualify for this run through the NRC (Nike Run Club) app and get access to an exclusive 15% the latest Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT% running shoe.
• Nike Run Club/App: App that gives users access to run coaching, guided runs, ability to track their progress, and exclusive content from Nike athletes.

‍Nike Running Landing Page, page dedicated to all things running, from blogs posts to training guides to tips and tricks to get started on running.

• Training Guides: Quick navigation to different training guides depending on your goal, be it a 5K run to a full marathon. 
• Educational Blog Posts: FAQs are answered, including insights into runner’s lingo, how to find the running form that fits you, how to increase your speed, etc.

“Run Farther” board

On Nike’s “Run Farther” board, the main focus is to push their products and entice followers to convert by various action and closeup shots of their products.

• Product Shots: Aside from the standard product shot against a white background, Nike also creates eye-catching imagery and backgrounds to highlight their products‍
• Action Shots: Aside from the standard product shot against a white background, Nike also creates eye-catching imagery and backgrounds to highlight their products

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Pins in this board typically leads users to a related product listing page or a specific product collection page.

• Product Listing Page (PLP) / Product Page: Landing pages that show the full range of products showcased in the initial pin.
• Full Range: Rather than only showing the main hero running shoe, Nike lists out the full range of colourways for each product, making it an easier browsing experience for the customer
• Nike Running Landing Page: Page dedicated to all things running, from blogs posts to training guides to tips and tricks to get started on running.‍
• Navigation above fold: Easily let customers know the two main options to customize their shoe--for sports or for lifestyle‍
• Celebrity/Athlete Partnerships: Highlight collaborations with brand partners to further encourage customers to convert

Adidas

Meanwhile, Adidas only has one running-themed board on their account; however, their running board is further segmented once opened. Board opens up to mini-boards that are grouped together by product name/type or by product collection.

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These mini-board categories consists of content that ranges from lifestyle/action shots to product-only closeup shots. Lifestyle and action shots highlight Adidas’ products in action, usually featuring full or half body shots of models. These shots are rarely overtly branded, with the adidas logo only showing up on their products and not watermarked on the photos.

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Even when producing product-only shots, Adidas prefers to go for in-situ images rather than a studio white background. For the few studio shot product shots that Adidas does have, they typically are accompanied with extra messaging that further totes the benefits of their product. Typically, these shots come off as“advertisement” and are less likely to be re-pinned and shared by users.

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All posts from Adidas go to a product page or a product listing page (by collection).

Patagonia

Patagonia uses descriptive, product-related keywords while Nike simply repurposes their Instagram copy on Pinterest. 

Treat Pinterest like a search engine:

• Use generic keywords such as “Hiking Pants”, “Fleece Jacket” and  “Running Shoe” rather than specific product or brand names such as “Air Max 90” to increase visibility.
• Create keyword driven copy for Pinterest, rather than repurposing copy from other social media platforms. 

Hoka

Despite having only 2K followers, Hoka One One has 10 million monthly Pinterest viewers

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Hoka One One focuses on lifestyle and influencer pins while the majority of competitors focus on product-related pins.

Hoka One One’ primary focus is influencer content. They repost UGC hiking photos and has an influencer blog series called “Humans of Hoka”, which is featured on their Pinterest. 

• Hiking Views: Hoka One One posts colorful, eye-catching hiking photos, often from the top of the mountain or during a sunset. These photos have a travel theme, often reposting content from influencers all around the world from well known landmarks. 
• ‍Influencer Spotlight: Hoka One One publishes pins that direct users to a blog series called “Humans of Hoka” where they interview runners and help tell their story about how they got into the sport of running. 
  

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