Pinterest, a very prominent social media site, is now behind Twitter in popularity and growing rapidly. Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Twitter and LinkedIn combined. Obviously, this popular social site could do a lot for your business and your online presence, but as with all tools, it must be used correctly.
The basic idea of ​​Pinterest is to start boards where you pin images along with a text description of what you are pinning. Some of the most popular types of pins are home, crafts, style, fashion, and food. Food is one of the fastest growing popular categories.
Learning how to pin more efficiently will help increase your visibility, traffic, and sales.
1. Fix regularly – Make a fixation schedule and stick to it. Be sure to set at different times for optimal results. Try to pin 20 or more times during the day, if possible. It is better to pin consistently throughout the week rather than squirt pins.
2. Colors work: reds and oranges have been shown to perform better than blues. You also want to use multiple colors in your images instead of pins with one main color.
3. Tools Available – There are many tools to help you anchor more effectively. Pinreach will help you determine how well you are doing and can give you your Pinterest “score”. Piqora is a great tool for marketers. You can use it to promote and track the results of your marketing efforts. There are many more available to help you perfect your pinning campaign.
4. Description Keywords – Make sure to use the correct keywords in your pin description. This will help people find your pins more easily, thus attracting more followers and traffic.
5. Background: Pins with less “empty” background will receive more likes and repins than pins that have a small main image with a lot of background. Make sure your pins are full and less than 10% of the pin is empty. You could receive 2-4 times more repin.
6. Connect with Facebook and Twitter – Always connect with your other social media accounts. This will increase your chances of getting followers, likes, repins, etc.
7. Forum Names – Make sure to create engaging board names and also use relevant keywords. Board names are similar to headlines and need to grab people’s attention to produce results. Take note of the forum titles that capture your attention and why.
8. Don’t just “repin” – be sure to mix original pins with repin. Repinning is fine, but add some unique pins.
9. Write a smart description: When writing your description, be sure to add your relevant keywords along with concise wording and proper grammar. Remember the short and simple rule. This will increase the chances that your PIN will show up in searches.
10. Pin videos: Take advantage of the video section that Pinterest provides. There are many more images than pinned videos so you can capture your niche in the video pin community.
11. Blog Posts: When you post to your blog, make sure to use images so that you can pin the post and image to your boards. Don’t pin a full post, but a short teaser with a link will do just fine. Only post to appropriate forums and don’t overdo self-promotion.
12. Study Your Pin Statistics: Pinterest offers statistics about your pins, so be sure to use them to your advantage. Find out which ones work and which ones don’t and learn from them. Also note the commitment initiated by your pins.
13. Cover Images – Choose the cover images for your boards wisely. When looking for boards, the cover image is what draws me to the board. You can go through all of your pins to see which one fits the allotted space the best and which ones have the most impact. As always, look at other boards to see which cover images get the most response from you.
14. Research Popular Pins – Take some time to look at the most popular pins. Study them to see what sets them apart from other pins. Use this information for your own pins for increased productivity.
15. Group Boards: One of the great features of Pinterest is group boards. You can ask the owners of these boards to add you and then you can pin them to those boards. Be sure to follow the license plate owner’s rules and guidelines. Effectively pinning to group boards can substantially increase your followers.
Pinterest is a fun social site that can bring you more visitors and grow your business. But, as with all marketing media, you must take the time to use it properly in order to enjoy the full benefits of its potential power.