Pinterest started way back in 2010 and since then became a source of inspiration and information for almost anything you wanted to look for just like when you are Googling.
The only thing that separates it from Google Search is that viewers engagement may initially rely on (1) the quality of the image and (2) the title that will serve as click bait.
Thinking about the best Pinterest Marketing Tips that you can implement this 2020?
You have probably read it over and over again, but when you are new to Pinterest Marketing, have this as a foundation: Pinterest is both a social media platform and a visual search engine.
Having that in mind, it is important that:
You should know what’s a good Pinterest image and what is not.
You would need to beat the Pinterest algorithm
Create engagement (follow relevant pages, repin, comment on pins)
Who can Leverage with Pinterest to Boost their Web Traffic?
There may not be a guide written on stone but I see that websites that will benefit from this platform are those that have audiences that rely on the visuals of the product or the service. These are:
Food, drinks, recipes
DIY and crafts
Home decor and gardening
Fashion
Fitness
Travel
Beauty
This does not mean that websites of other niches can not dominate in the Pinterest platform. They can! But I think they really need to put a ton of effort in making quality content that matters to Pinterest users. You may also want to consider creating infographics which work very well on Pinterest.
For instance, a Pinterest user who loves Fitness pins may also be interested in quality content on personal growth. Mommies who pin home decor stuff may also be interested in personal finance and at home businesses.
My Pinterest Strategy
Oh! And before we proceed, please know that my goal on this blog post is to give you a general idea on what I do. I intended it to be simple and easy to read. I only try to expound on other items that I think would matter to you.
With this, let me walk you through the different Pinterest strategies that I implement whenever I do Pinterest marketing for my clients.
1. Consistently pin fresh content (fresh means new content and old blog post with new graphics and new post description). I placed this in the number one spot because this is something you have to put in mind. Don’t expect that you will gain a lot of web traffic on Pinterest just by having a few pins. Don’t even expect a boost in traffic even if you pin a thousand pins today and drop it all of a sudden the next days.
2. Consider having a Pinterest image for each blog post. This will encourage readers to share your posts on Pinterest. Pinterest also favors contents that were pinned by others - gives a signal that the content is of high quality.
3. Optimize the pins, Make it SEO-ready (i.e. Pin size, Image file name, Text on pin, Title, Post description, Hashtags). Now, this is a huge thing and will most likely best to be discussed on a separate post. But to give you an overview, a good pin size follows the 2:3 ratio. And as to file name, text on a pin, post title, description and even on hashtags, use keywords that are “clickable” + “searchable”.
4. Create pinnable pins (i.e. good design with website info, readable texts on a pin, new images instead of free stock images). As mentioned earlier, Pinterest is a visual search engine. Don’t expect your typical blog post image or your Facebook post image to work well on Pinterest. You need to strategize how to make a visually appealing pin that is worth to be pinned by Pinterest viewers.
5. Create multiple pins to make it appealing to different types of pinners. To start with, at least you have 5 pin graphics for every blog post. But if you don’t produce a lot of content, you will probably consider creating more graphics in the future. Have in mind, you need to consistently pin fresh content - and that could be an old blog post but with a different pin graphics and post description.
6.Ideally, one pin can be saved to 5 related boards (could be your own board or group boards). Not intended to spam Pinterest feeds but think of it this way - Pinterest users use different keywords in looking for boards to follow. Of course, you wanted your boards and your pins to be available to a wider audience, right? This leads me to another SOP...
7. Board names and its descriptions should be optimized with keywords.
8. Avoid having pins with broken links. This may affect how Pinterest will favor the account thus may affect other pins. I am sure you have this big WHY on your mind. Pinterest wanted to delight their users and of course, the best way to make them happy is that you have “reliable” pins on your account.
So, if you have pins that direct to a broken URL, consider deleting the pin and update everything all together. Currently, Pinterest does not allow editing the pin with a new URL, so taking it off your boards is the best option.
9. Remove third-party pins that does not receive repins. I know this can be tedious and you probably wanted to focus on creating new content and pins. But if you have that extra time, consider removing these third-party pins that does not generate even a single engagement. Think of your Pinterest account as tons of pins that are interconnected with each other. Definitely, it’s not good to have that “weakest link” to your pool of great pins.
10. How to Pin: Manual Pinning on New Contents.
This is a big part of the whole Pinterest strategy. You probably see a lot of articles saying it saves you a lot of time if you automate pinning using Tailwind. Actually, no question to that! Tailwind almost perfected the process. But have in mind, “Do what is right, not what is easy”
So, why do I stay away from third party apps? Because all websites rely on web traffic. Duh? No website (including social media platforms) would like the idea that you visited their platform today and totally moved away from it for a month (they actually wanted you to visit and use their site every single day)
I know it looks like a no brainer but it is surprising that we tend to forget about this simple fact just because we wanted to make it easier.
I do, however, don’t want to stay away from using Tailwind. Tailwind has this so-called Tailwind Tribe, it’s something like your Pinterest Group Boards but only it is within Tailwind and the best part is that using Tailwind, Tribe owners could make sure that the Tribe is active and each member support that tribe by repinning other tribe member’s pins.
Joining Tailwind tribe is a good way to make you pin available to other pinners’ audiences.
So, how do I actually go about this?
For instance, if I will have 5 graphics created for a blog post. Four (4) of those pins will be manually posted and one (1) will be scheduled using Tailwind and will be shared with Tailwind Tribes.
11. How many Pins: 20 - 30 pins a day (ideally 80% own content).
12. When to Pin: Daily; Best time to post may depend on your target market
13. Where to Pin: Save pins to the most relevant and high performing boards. Your own Boards first before Group Boards.
14. What to Pin : (1) New contents (2) Old content with new graphics (3) “Best referring pins” (if applicable) (4) Repin from Group Boards and Tailwind Tribe (5) Pin viral third-party pins (6) Pin quality blog posts from other websites with high Domain Authority
15. How to Reach More Audience: Make use of Tailwind Tribe and/or and join quality Group Boards (most relevant, with 50 contributors or less, and with highly engaged followers).
As I see it, Pinterest’s algorithm seems to mirror strategies on Google (specifically on how to optimize your blog posts) and other social media platforms.
For instance, optimizing the image file name with keywords instead of using random characters are both true to Google and Pinterest.
In Pinterest, there’s a huge debate between manual posting vs use of third-party apps. Please know that it is also true on Instagram.
So, please be up to your toes and have an open mind that what works on other platforms may be also true in Pinterest.
What your best Pinteresting strategy that is not included in this post? Please leave a comment below. Would love to hear your thoughts.
