The famous Virtual Pinboard, also known as Pinterest, has been proven to be the most powerful global platform in the world of internet marketing. Surprisingly, research has found that users spend more time on Pinterest than they spend on some of the most popular social mediums, like Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest is what we like to call a “social discovery” platform. Users engage on Pinterest for one reason and one reason only– inspiration.

This is where Pinterest marketing comes to play. Keep reading for the 5 Pinterest strategy tips you need to know.

Pinterest is Not a Social Media Platform

The most common misconception about Pinterest is that the platform is a social network. Social media and Pinterest are on different ends of the social spectrum.

Why? Let me break it down for you:

Social media is about engagement.

Pinterest is about discovery and inspiration.

Social media is about connecting with others.

Pinterest is about connecting within yourself.

The thing is, Pinterest has an incredible ROI compared to their competitors, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A link on Twitter will last around 2.8 hours, and on Facebook about 3.2 hours. Pinterest links, on the other hand, receive 40% of clicks within the first day, 70% of clicks within the first 2 days, and 30% of clicks from 30 days and on.

Bottom line: Pinterest strategy is unique from social networking strategy.

Pinterest Marketing Strategy

There are two main factors to implement when creating your business’ Pinterest strategy. One, always use high resolution and mostly vertical images, and two, optimize the image descriptions.

Some of the most surprising brands have dedicated quality time into pinning original content on Pinterest. For instance, Benjamin Moore, has taken advantage of the discovery network by sharing project ideas, decor inspiration, and beautiful color schemes. By incorporating high-resolution images and developing (most of) the description space, they have gained a monthly following of 4.5 million viewers.

What did we mean by “most of” the description space? Hashtags, my friend! While Benjamin Moore has a large following, they, and every other business would benefit from using hashtags on Pinterest. Here’s why:

Now that users can search Pinterest by hashtags, the site recommends adding tags to all new pins. As long as the hashtag describes the image, is relevant, and objective, your pins will benefit from the Pinterest hashtag filter. The site allows up to 20 hashtags, but that’s not necessary, as it may come off as spammy to the user. We recommend around 3 to 5 hashtags per pin.

When a user searches a hashtag, the newest pins with that tag will show on their feed. But when a user searches without the tag, the site will display the original search results page. Therefore, if you want your fresh content to be seen, optimize your pin descriptions by adding suitable hashtags.

Pinterest Content Strategy

One of the many benefits of Pinterest is the ability to distribute blog posts to users who are performing searches related to your content. It’s important that your pins are receiving engagement from your followers. Pinterest distributes content to your followers, analyzes what content is resonating, and then distributes your best-performing pins to other searchers.

In order to receive engagement from your followers, you need a Pinterest content strategy.

Write enticing blog post tiles.
Create eye-catching graphics that are pin-worthy. Visuals on Pinterest do best in a vertical format. Tip* Canva has a ready size Pinterest Template that you can customize and use.
Add rich data. (keywords, metadata, contextual information, etc.)
Add a link.

Using keywords is not just important in your pins. It’s crucial that you optimize your Board titles and descriptions with relevant keywords and LSIs.

Pro tip: Keep an eye on your Pinterest analytics to determine which pins & Boards are receiving the most engagement and reach. This way, you can give the people what they want.

How To Add Original Content To Pinterest

The most time-consuming aspect of Pinterest is adding original content. Pinterest prefers owners pin 10 times a day, rather than pin 100 pins in one day and then not pin for a whole week. We know, pinning 10 times a day sounds time-consuming, especially for a small business, but it is doable. Fortunately, there are Pinterest scheduling tools, like Tailwind, that you can use for uploading months worth of content at a time. You can easily bulk upload your own content, repin from others, and check your profile’s insights. Always have a “branded Board” that all of your blog posts are pinned too. Then, repin your blogs to other related Boards to create more content. You can accomplish this in Tailwind by creating Board Lists, which simultaneously post to your desired Boards.

Optimize Your Website for Pinterest

Pinterest is the number one shopping platform among millennials and 73 percent of active pinners have bought something because they saw it on Pinterest. If you don’t optimize your website for Pinterest, you will miss out on money and website traffic. To optimize your site you should:

Add the Pinterest button to your site.
Install the “Pin it” button to your site.
Use Rich Pins.
Always include an optimized and pin-worthy image in your blog posts.
Install Pinterest Widgets on your website or app.

That wraps up our 5 Pinterest strategy tips! With this insider strategy, you’re sure to see an increase in engagement and reach in no time. At Next Level Marketing we have the expertise to skyrocket your business in all areas of Search Engine Marketing. Contact us today for a free analysis.

This article was written by our SEO Content Writer, Taylor Baselice.