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Do you use Pinterest for your business?
Are you ready to take your Pinterest marketing to the next level?
Most companies open a Pinterest account, pin their content and repin other people's material.
While that's a great place to start, it's the bare minimum.
In this article I'll share five techniques to improve your Pinterest marketing.
#1: Approach Pinterest Like a Search Engine
When creating any content, if you approach it with an SEO mindset, you're already a step ahead of the rest. Even though Pinterest is a visual platform, text plays a very important role.
Pinterest is replacing Google as a search engine for a lot of people. Therefore, for the best results, treat Pinterest as the visual search engine it is. Pinterest is now suggesting things readers might be interested in, and they get these suggestions from words used in pin descriptions.
When using Pinterest as a marketing tool for a business, keep your ideal customer in mind. Strategically name your image files and choose text for your board and pin descriptions that would attract those ideal customers.
When Pinterest first started, they gave you suggested board topics. They still do, to a lesser degree. Instead of going with bland, suggested board titles, take yours up a notch.
For example, when I first launched my Pinterest account, one of the boards assigned to me was titled “Food.” I wanted to add some personality to it so I switched my food board's title to “Makes Me Say Yum.” In hindsight, that wasn't a very good SEO approach. I gave it some thought and changed it to “Recipes that Make Me Say Yum.” Just adding the word “recipe” to my board title increased my visibility in Pinterest search results.
Do your regular keyword research, and use the words that work for your brand in your Pinterest boards and pins. The real trick is to use SEO and show personality at the same time. That will get your boards, pins and content noticed.
#2: Watch Audience Engagement
One difference between successful and unsuccessful Pinterest strategies is your level of engagement. It's one thing to pin your content and occasionally repin the content of others. It's another to strategically interact with those who are repinning, favoriting and commenting on your content.
Keep an eye on your notifications and reach out to those who are already engaging with you. Like and repin their content. If appropriate, invite them to pin to one of your group boards. You can even message other pinners (if you follow each other) and see if there's something you can do to help them out.
Reviewing your notifications on a regular basis is also an excellent way to monitor which of your pins are popular with your audience. This also reveals which topics people are finding you for and which topics are trending.
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#3: See What's Working
Businesses can now access Pinterest Analytics, so take advantage of that tool. Regularly review activity on your Pinterest account, such as top pin impressions, repins and clicks.
This also helps you track what types of content people are interested in, and can help you make informed choices with the content you share and create in the future.
One thing to note: It's best to check your Pinterest metrics monthly to get a more accurate picture of how pins from your site are performing.
The life span of content on Pinterest is a lot longer than material on other social platforms. You can get a resurgence from certain pins a month later, a year later or even longer. If you check too often, it won't give you an accurate reflection of your Pinterest engagement.
Use whatever valuable information you gather from checking your metrics to update your Pinterest strategy on a regular basis.
#4: Test Content Everywhere
Is your site mobile-responsive or just mobile-friendly? It should be both.
Since increasing numbers of people use Pinterest on their mobile devices, it's worth your time to test images not just on your desktop, but also on a variety of mobile platforms such as tablets and smartphones.
Here are a few things to consider when assessing your site on different devices:
- Do the images you created for your content appear on the mobile version of your website?
- Are the images cropped off, or if text is used, is it readable on a small screen?
- Are your images pinnable?
- Do your social sharing buttons appear and do they work properly?
With all of the hard work you put into making your site look top-notch, don't let mobile fall through the cracks. You could lose pins, traffic and sales if it's not optimized for mobile visitors.
#5: Curate Content on Secret Boards
Pinterest, like all forms of social media, can take a lot of time. You not only want to pin your own content, but also search for appropriate pins to share with your audience. That's why I like to use secret boards.
Log into Pinterest, create a board and save it as a secret board. When you have downtime, do some exploring. Find pins you like and would like to share later, and pin them to your secret board. It's an excellent way to build up a stockpile, whether you have 15 minutes or an hour to devote to it.
When you have downtime, explore content to post in the future and pin your finds to a secret board.
Then, during your busy Pinterest traffic times, go to your secret board. You'll have content for future posts at your fingertips.
Note: Don't repin from your secret board. Go back to the original and pin it to the appropriate public Pinterest board.
Conclusion
These advanced tips may seem simple, but they'll make a world of difference. By incorporating them into your Pinterest approach, you can increase your following and traffic to your website, which could ultimately result in more sales.
Success on Pinterest, like any social media platform, requires that you start with a goal and a strategy. Consistently incorporating the tips featured in this article can help you find your path to Pinterest success.
What do you think? Is Pinterest part of your social media strategy? Are you ready to go beyond the basics? What special Pinterest techniques do you use? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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