“I don’t GET Pinterest!”
“How do I get more repins?”
“Pinterest just doesn’t work for me!”
As a social media strategist, these are things I hear on a daily basis. Pinterest seems to simultaneously be major source of confusion AND the best place to grow your blog online. Pinterest is a goldmine of new audiences to reach and has, hands down, been the reason for my recent blog growth. If used correctly, Pinterest can be your new BFF too!
I’ve got 3 quick Pinterest hacks for you try right away but they all revolve around one fact: Pinterest is NOT a social media platform, it is a search engine.
“Pinterest is NOT a social media platform, it is a search engine.”
Pinterest, and it’s algorithms, work the same way as Google does. If you search for a topic on Google, you are going to see the best results for that topic. It’s the same on Pinterest. If you’re searching for ‘wedding reception ideas’, you’re going to see the best pins first. You need to treat your Pinterest account like you do with your blog posts and SEO the heck out of it! Keep reading to see my top tips on how to do this and grab your free e-book on how to find the best keywords for your Pinterest account!
1. ADD KEYWORDS INTO YOUR PINTEREST NAME
If you have a specific service or product, it’s great to showcase this in your Pinterest profile name. Choose one or two keywords that your audience might be searching for on Pinterest to add into your name and you’ll find yourself popping up more in search results!
Here’s a screengrab of my profile on Pinterest.
If someone searches for ‘social media marketing’ or ‘business marketing’, there’s a chance my account will pop up!
Top tip: Your profile name is what shows up in someone’s notifications when you interact with their account. This is a chance for you to quickly tell them who you are! For example, my Pinterest name says exactly what I do. If I follow someone that needs social media help, they might see my profile name and think “Hey! That’s exactly what I need right now!” Make sure you get your name right!
Take Action: Check out your Pinterest profile name. Does it tell new followers who you are and what you do in an instant? Does it include at least one keyword for your industry/niche?
2. WRITE ENTICING + KEYWORD-FRIENDLY PIN DESCRIPTIONS
Add relevant keywords into your pin descriptions to increase the chance of your pins showing up in search results. Don’t go overboard on keywords though - you want to keep your pin descriptions engaging and personable.
For each of my pin descriptions, I add the name of my blog post (for extra keyword goodness) and trickle key phrases into my copy. Here’s an example of a pin description for my blog post all about naming your biz.
Notice how I’ve included my ideal audience? By adding the phrases ‘creative entrepreneurs’, ‘bloggers’ and ‘small business owners’, my pin is much more likely to be seen by exactly these peeps!
I’ve also added a CTA to my pin to encourage pinners to click through to my blog post.
Take Action: Take a look at the pins saved from your blog. Have you included a description? If you have, does it include the following things?
- A call to action - ‘click through to…’, ‘don’t forget to save this pin’, ‘share this pin’, etc.
- Keywords focused on the topic of the blog post.
- Keywords or phrases your target audience might be searching for.
Don’t forget to grab your free Pinterest keywords e-book at the end of this blog post!
3. GO KEYWORD CRAZY IN YOUR BOARD DESCRIPTIONS
Now forget everything I just told you about being engaging and personable. When it comes to board descriptions, you can go all out! No one really reads board descriptions, do they? ;)
Make the most of your chance to add as many keywords and phrases as possible that relate to your board. This will have a huge effect on the reach of your boards.
Use my free e-book below to find the best keywords for your Pinterest profile then literally dump them all into your board descriptions. I mean, look how overboard I went with mine…
Crazy, right?
Maybe not. This is my most popular board on my Pinterest account and reaches over 210,000 people a month.
Take Action: Download my free Pinterest keywords guide and spend some time finding the best keywords for your boards. Once you’ve got a good 10 to 20 keywords and phrases, add them to your board descriptions and watch your reach increase over the next 30 days!
I really hope these 3 Pinterest hacks will help you to grow your account and get your blog + biz seen by new Pinners! Do you have any questions about Pinterest? Pop them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to help you out!
Download your FREE Pinterest Keywords Guide
Sign up here to grab your free e-book!
Zoe Linda is a social media strategist and influencer marketing expert. Zoe helps passionate small business owners stand out online and help them along their exciting biz journey! She also blogs about blogging, social media, and business over at zoelinda.co.uk.
If you need help with your Pinterest strategy, take a look at Zoe’s Pinterest Makeover package on her site!
