Check Out My Board
After careful consideration, you decided to be on Pinterest. Congrats!
You’ve spent time pinning fun images and quotes that match your brand and your mission, and you've been coming up with that perfect punny board name. But how do you pin so hard that Pinterest users can't help but follow?
Make sure your profile is optimized.
First, make sure your business name is in your URL and your account name, and fill out your profile using key words about your brand or business.
Next, ensure your most important content is in the top row of your boards.
Now make sure each board you've created is categorized; from your profile page, click "edit" on one of your boards and choose a category from the list.
And, finally, make sure each board has a short description that includes your keywords, too. This will help users find you!
Think of your audience’s lifestyle.
Last week, you learned about who we can find on Pinterest. Since Pinterest is all about ideas, brainstorm ways to connect with your audience’s interests, ambitions, and lifestyle so you can provide them content that will be of value. Consider segmenting your audience’s interests into niche boards. Want an example? Ipsy, an online beauty community, is a champ at this. While they have some basic boards such as "Lips" and "Beauty Look Ideas," they also have boards for specific colors, glitter, festival looks, and flowers to cover all the different interests of their users. That’s the beauty of having multiple Pinterest boards; you can appeal to a wide range of folks while still remaining in your niche. Get specific!
Make that picture perfect.
Pinterest is not the place for low-quality images. Consider each pin a chance to curate your brand’s aesthetic, conveying a consistent look, feel, and theme to all of your boards. Check out Whole Foods’ Dreamy Kitchens board for an example of beautiful images with a consistent theme that inspire you to re-do your own kitchen.
And, when it comes to the images themselves, capitalize on height. While Instagram may prefer square images, Pinterest likes 'em tall. This chart (#7) shows you the sweet spot of dimensions to get your pins the most visibility.
Finally, consider a text overlay directly onto some of your images to make them stand out as your audience quickly scrolls through their feeds. Just keep the message simple, since images reign supreme.
Tell us about it.
Strategize about your image descriptions to keep them short and sweet (between 150-300 words) while providing commentary, adding a call to action, and again including those essential keywords. The right keywords allow your pins and boards to show up in Pinterest search results and attract the right kind of audience. If you’re not sure what keywords to use, explore what’s trending on Pinterest and doing well in your targeted categories for inspiration.
If nothing else, remember this:
Consistent pinners are the best pinners. In fact, if you pin more 5 or more times per day it’s been shown to result in higher engagement.
Add movement. You want your pins to be as cool as those as the moving images in Harry Potter. Consider adding step-by-step photos, videos of DIY demos, and gifs to keep your audience interested and engaged. Home Depot’s boards include everything from summer activities to their cleaning tips and tricks to spark the next big idea.
Measure it! Use the built-in Analytics (click on the “...” on your profile and select “Analytics”) to get a sense of what pins and boards your audience is loving. In a future Weekly Slice, we’ll break the nitty gritty of Pinterest Analytics in detail.
Just keep pinning, just keep pinning... Remember, you’re not restricted to just uploading your own photos or repinning others. Consider adding a button to your browser to pin interesting articles, blog posts, or photos that you stumble across in your day-to-day online adventures.