7 top tips for Pinterest marketing

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on marketing through various social media platforms. The past few days have been based on Pinterest. Here are the top tips I’ve found for designing and promoting pins on Pinterest:

1. Only use up to 5 hashtags in the description of a pin (Hashtags are relatively new on Pinterest and so not many people use them. You don’t want to crowd the description too much when people aren’t used to it on this platform.)
2. Use keyword-rich descriptions instead. Pinterest’s algorithm works by showing people pins that are related to their interests and things they have previously pinned or liked. Therefore, you want your pins to be as well-described as possible so people can find them easily, and they are promoted for you by Pinterest.
3. Upgrade to a free business account – the main difference to a normal account is that you are treated to some pretty amazing in-depth analytics to help you identify your audience and therefore promote your pins more effectively. You can also verify your website and produce ‘rich-pins’ which link back to your website and drive traffic there.
4. Make sure each pin you upload links to a relevant website so when people see it, they are directed to a site of your choice. A pretty picture with no relevant URL attached is just pretty pointless.
5. Use long, thin graphics that look really good when viewed on a mobile device – They should be high resolution, ideally 735 x 1102px, with a clear headline, and your logo or website visible on the pin itself as well as in the description. For some reason, apparently red is the best colour for promoting on Pinterest too! (Here are some Pinterest graphics I’ve made)
   

   

   

   
6. Join group boards and follow the rules. Then you will be able to pin to a board with lots of contributors who will not only see your pin, but will hopefully re-pin it and re-share too. Use www.pingroupie.com to search for group boards by category or description.
7. Use the search function at the top of the dashboard to research the areas your boards are focused upon. See how other people have organised their pins and boards – pinch their ideas! (But not their pins, without asking or re-pinning directly from their boards).

So, these are the best tips I’ve found for using Pinterest. And I have to say – I struggle to get a hundred views on a Facebook, Twitter or blog post. But on Pinterest…

This means that, used correctly, Pinterest is a HUGE source of website traffic, and potential customers.

What did you think of these tips? Any other ideas you think I should add?

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