Millions of people love finding inspiration, information, and the latest trends via Pinterest. Did you know that the #1 misconception is that Pinterest is a social media site? At its core, Pinterest is a highly targeted search engine site that provides valuable links to your website. If you are able to brand yourself as an expert in your niche your pins will appear at the top of the page whenever someone searches for your keywords related to your brand.
Sounds a lot like your standard SEO, right? That’s because it is, Pinterest works similarly to a Google Search.
This week on the Unconventional Life show is Kristina Day, a Pinterest account manager.
Kristina is a pro when it comes to optimizing your account, creating a strategic approach to marketing content and getting fresh eyes to your website. In this episode, Kristina shares what to focus on and what to not waste your time on when it comes to the world of Pinterest. So let’s take advantage of this free opportunity to reach your target market!
Kristina explains it simply, “It’s like Google but with pictures!”
The biggest misconception
As previously mentioned, the biggest misconception is that Pinterest is a social media site, when really it is a search engine. If you want to find inspiration about a topic you would type that keyword in the search bar, you wouldn’t go through someone’s specific account.
When you type in a keyword such as “entrepreneur” you get a ton of secondary keywords, such as mindset, business, lifestyle, boss babe, etc. this allows you to learn what other keywords are related to your niche so you can start to include those additional keywords into your posts and on the titles of your boards to hyper-target your audience.
An extension of your website
Think about Pinterest as an extension of your website. On Instagram and Facebook, you have to create new content specifically for that site. With Pinterest, you can recycle all of your content and link podcasts, blogs, Etsy shop, youtube Instagram or your website.
To repost content click the red “Save” to Pinterest button in the left-hand corner and the graphic automatically loads to your Pinterest board with a backlink to the original source. The only social that Pinterest isnt compatible with is Facebook.
Have a clear call to action
The goal is to drive traffic to your website and get people to take action. This action could be a simple opt-in for a free gift in exchange for their email or purchasing your product or service. You must optimize your website to have a clear call to action to convert people, otherwise, it’s not worth your time to put all the effort into search engine optimization if you can’t convert any sales.
Collaborative boards
A collaborative or group board is owned by one person and other pinners can contribute to that board. Group boards aren’t a great idea for two reasons. One, they were introduced as a way to help friends or coworkers collaborate on an event, like planning a wedding or party and not for marketing. Two, many people post content that isn’t specific to that board which makes it disorganized and messy.
Set it and forget it
You can schedule all your posts in 2 hours for the entire month by using Tailwind. It equips you with analytics, a reporting system and advises you about the ideal times to schedule your pins. This takes out the guessing game of when your target audience will be on Pinterest, getting you the most exposure. If you are a beginner and are starting from scratch Kristina recommends posting 10-15 pins per day with an 80:20 ratio, 20% is your original pins and 80% pins from someone else in your same demographic.
Ps. Tailwind offers a free trial, which allows you to schedule your first 100 pins for free.
How to create a good pin.
Pins look best when photos are vertically oriented. Pins get cut off in feeds if the ratio is greater than 1:3.5 so make sure the image isn’t too tall. For example, an image that is 600px wide should be between 900px and 2100px tall.
Create an image with some text. This not only shows what your product is but what someone can do with your product. The text should be similar to an email subject line that catches attention and sparks a sense of curiosity.
Canva or Picmonkey is a great resource for creating the correct aspect ratio and adding text and personalization to your photo.
Now you are all set to start your Pinterest account! Get out there and start repurposing your awesome content and drive more traffic to your site!
Giveaway!
Kristina is giving away a free 30 min consultation with her to go over how to start an account or if you already have one she will audit your account and give you tips on how you can improve your SEO! Thanks, Kristina! To be entered to win the giveaway, click here. A winner will be selected next week.
You can find more about Kristina through her website or connect with her through Instagram.
