I have recently fallen in love with Pinterest. And it’s not because I’m infatuated with it as a social platform, even though it really is quite fun and helpful. It’s because I’ve discovered that it’s surprisingly effective for getting free traffic to my website. Even though I haven’t yet dived terribly deep into it, I have already made some sales from the very small amount of work I’ve put into it. So I want to share this gem with my readers!
Pinterest boasts of over 200 million monthly users, and while that’s a small fraction compared to giants such as Facebook, it is very different from run-of-the-mill social media platforms. After all, when is the last time you saw a comment on a Pinterest post? Interestingly 50% percent of millennials in America use Pinterest. Also, 68% percent of women in the US between ages 25 and 54 use the platform. Not to mention that many newcomers to the platform are men. All of these are good reasons to have and run a Pinterest business account.
However, having a Pinterest business account is only the first step. You need to have a plan and strategy in place which helps rake in traffic. And this is not just traffic, but potential customers.
Now if you want to market your business on Pinterest and get some free traffic, it is imperative to create a business account. We know that may sound intimidating to some, but it is a lot like creating a personal account. The only difference you’ll encounter is that you need to accept a totally separate set of terms. And relax–you are not expected to pay anything!
The major benefit of having a business account is that you have access to a set of analytic tools. You can also advertise on Pinterest with a business account.
Once your business account is up and running, it is time to start leveraging it for free web traffic.
Take Time to Craft Your Description
Ask any SEO service and they will tell you that regardless of whether it’s your web page or a Pinterest ‘pin’ description, it has to be crafted with readers and search engines in mind. Generally, a title and a short description should be enough for a website, but that’s not the case with Pinterest.
Analysis of over 10,000 pins found the following factors associated with higher engagement:
It needs to be helpful.
It needs to be very easy to for pinners to find your pin and that’s only possible with a tight, SEO optimized description. Not to mention that helpful pins enjoy 30% more engagement.
It needs to be descriptive.
You need to describe and explain what your pin is all about. It should have enough information to entice a person to click through and reach your blog.
It needs to garner interest.
The description should draw on the emotions of the potential pinner. Use sensory-related keywords in positive statements.
It needs a CTA.
Make sure that there is a good call to action in the description. Phrases like “check out” or “click here to find out more” have been shown to generate up to 80% higher engagement.
It needs strong SEO Keywords.
It is essential that your description includes SEO-friendly keywords. Don’t stuff it with keywords but instead, they should appear naturally. Limit your descriptions to 200 characters as they have shown to be more “re-pinable”. Also, relevant hashtags should help draw in the type of people these pins are intended for in the first place.
To get free website traffic from Pinterest, your pins have to be seen. However, it is a numbers game as the platform shows literally hundreds of pins every hour, each day. So, your pins need to stand out from the crowd. Your goal, like any other business, is to get the most repins; the more people repin your material, the more frequently it will be shown to others.
Your strategy should be to pin at the right time of the day when most people are using the platform. Analyzing the data we can see that the best time is Saturday morning. The fashion and retail industry business will find that Friday sometime after 3 pm works best.
The worst time is during a weekday and regular working hours. That said you need to find where most of your audience is coming from, and for that, Pinterest analytics can be helpful.
The best advice we can give you is to create an original pin once a week, and use material that you know the audience will like. Over-pinning content is a bad idea. Ideally, the 80/20 rule should be applied which means share 80% of other’s pins and just 20% should be your material.
Join a Group Board
Pinterest’s group boards are a great way of generating some traction when you start. A group board is a community where all pinners can pin and thus give people more exposure.
The biggest advantage of joining a group is that it allows you to grow the follower base quickly. If you pin regularly to the group, other people will see your pins and your Pinterest board might interest them. Then if they like what you are doing, they will follow you.
There are many ways to join a group board:
Know the creator of the board.
One way to do that is to pin their content, and then open a dialogue with them. Pinterest is a lot more than just pinning because the platform allows you to develop a relationship by commenting on pins. So, maybe comment on a few in the hopes of getting invited.
Check the Invite Instructions.
Now there are some boards that have clear instructions you’ll want to follow to get invited in their description. You might just have to email the creator of the group, or you can leave a response on their pins. The key is to be courteous and explain exactly your reason to join. Spamming a pin is never a good idea.
Get an invitation from a member.
A group member can generally invite others if the group allows it. So, get friendly with people who are members of the group you want to join.
Need help? Hire an SEO Company.
Pinterest was among the fastest growing social networks in 2014 with explosive, “big bang” type of growth, and its audience is still growing. Bloggers and businesses alike will find that it is a great place to test your skills as an image designer or developer. The more sensational your pin images are, the more traffic your website will receive as a result.
If you need help leveraging the traffic potential from Pinterest, hire an SEO company. That company should be able to implement all the strategies above and more to help pull in lots of free website traffic.
“Professional SEO, Social Media Management, and Web Design from the Lake of the Ozarks. We offer special local rates to Lake Ozark, Osage Beach, Camdenton, Laurie, Versailles and Eldon.”
Do you need help keeping up with the demands of social media? Get professional social media management for your small business today.
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