Did you know that Pinterest is the THIRD largest social media site these days? Many of us have followers on Twitter & Facebook, but what about Pinterest? It would only make sense that we need to start paying attention to it and use it to help us grow our blogs!
Here are a few things I have learned about Pinterest.
- Over 80% of Pinterest users are women. As female bloggers, this is our target audience.
- Your Pin lasts longer than your tweet on Twitter or your post on Facebook. Tweets and posts can be gone from a feed in less than a day, compared to Pinterest where your pin is likely to appear to others for over a week. Therefore, your pin is seen by more people over a longer period of time.
- Pinterest does not choose which Pins to show to others, whereas Facebook posts are only seen by a small percentage of your followers.
- More users Pin over the weekend, usually Saturday & Sunday afternoons.
So how can you use Pinterest to grow your blog? Here are a few things that are necessary to getting your content Pinned.
1. Have ‘pin-worthy’ photos.
Make sure your pictures are bright, colorful and straightforward. Straightforward? Make sure to label your pictures so others know what it is. Example, if your picture is of something you made from a recipe you tried, make sure you put noticeable text on your picture to state that 1 – it’s a recipe and 2 – what the recipe is of.
You can make your pictures stand out by using any picture editing software such as PicMonkey that gives you options to add different styles of texts and overlays to your pictures.
2. Add a Pin It button to all of your pictures on your blog.
Make it easy for others to pin your pictures.
Pinterest Pin It Button For Images is a WordPress plugin I use that creates a hover over Pin It button to all my pictures on my site.
You can add in your own description too. Make it easy for your readers to Pin It and they will.
3. Add a Pinterest follow button or widget to your blog page.
Use Widget Builder to make your own follow button or widget to let your visitors know that you’re on Pinterest.
4. Pin your own post pictures!
Yes, that’s right. The best way to start getting your posts out there is to pin your own pictures. There’s no rule against that!
5. Support other Pinners.
Pinterest is a HUGE community of people that want to share their content and/or products with others. Follow and re-pin some pins, and you will get support right back.
6. Watermark or brand all your images.
This means to put your website URL on everything that can be pinned. You can do this with the same picture editing software you used to edit your pictures like PicMonkey or other free programs like Picasa or even good old Paint.
7. Make sure the link to your Pins are to your blog post and NOT your homepage.
You want others to go directly to the post they pinned and not have to fish around for the post from your homepage.
8. Monitor which of your Pins are being re-pinned.
This will help you see what people are interested in pinning, what stands out to others and this can help you improve your strategy. Enter this URL http://pinterest.com/source/yoursite.com/ and replace it with your WEBSITE URL and it will bring up your Pins and show you what has been re-pinned.
9. Link your Facebook page to your Pinterest.
This will show your followers what you are pinning and potentially get your pins noticed by others who may not be following you on Pinterest.
Now, let’s get to Pinning!
25 Comments
Terry (My Journey With Candida)
July 1, 2013 at 3:46 pmI have a Pinterest account, but I hardly ever use it. Not sure why, probably because I am just so busy with other things.
Jutta@HungryLittleGirl
July 1, 2013 at 4:17 pmIt took me a while to figure Pinterest out. But since I am doing exactly what you say in this post, my traffic is sky high!
Pam
July 1, 2013 at 4:47 pmI used to use pinterest all the time but have slacked off because of time constraints. I need to start again though!
Corinne
July 1, 2013 at 4:49 pmI thought I was Pinterest savvy, but still found some tips in your list that I wasn’t using yet. I haven’t been watermarking my pics (I have seen that others do it, but haven’t figured out how to easily watermark my own) and I’m looking forward to linking up to your pinning party!
Jeannine
July 1, 2013 at 5:25 pmHow does a pinning party work?
April @Pixie Dust Savings
July 1, 2013 at 5:40 pmI LOVE pinterest!!! A lot of my traffic comes from Pinterest. I would love to participate in the Pinterest Party., not as a co-host this time though.
Pam
July 1, 2013 at 5:42 pmThanks for the great tips. Some I knew but am just not doing. Hopefully this will motivate me to do so.
Giveaways 4 Mom
July 1, 2013 at 6:01 pmThese are some great tips. I am a Pinterest addict so these will definitely come in handy.
finajenny
July 1, 2013 at 7:04 pmi just started my pinterest account two days ago :)… so this will really come in handy cause I dont know yet what it is all about. (just started it just to see what is it).. thanks for sharing I guess I need to explore a bit more.
Melinda Dunne
July 1, 2013 at 9:31 pmI am still learning all the ropes with all the social media stuff. I do really like Pinterest I am going to have pay more attention to what gets repinned. Thanks for all the great information, I really appreciate all the information.
Dawn ~ Spatulas On Parade
July 1, 2013 at 10:34 pmI loved Pinterest before I started blogging.
Kim @ 2justByou
July 2, 2013 at 12:11 amI’ll be here on Sunday!!! =0)
~Kim
http://www.2justByou.com
Tess
July 2, 2013 at 10:15 amI love Pinterest! I do use it for traffic and it does help!
Pauline
July 2, 2013 at 9:35 pmPinterest is great for website traffic! Found you via Meet & Greet Blog Hop! 🙂
<3 Pauline
Melanie
July 5, 2013 at 7:41 amThanks for stopping by Pauline! looking forward to your posts…
Melani
July 4, 2013 at 8:08 amI love Pinterest!! Thanks for the great tips! Stopping by from the Bloglovin’ Blog Hop. Now following your blog via Bloglovin 🙂
Melani
Melanie
July 5, 2013 at 7:37 amHi Melanie, thanks for stopping by! Look forward to your blog posts 🙂
Markell @ A Mouse In My Kitchen
July 11, 2013 at 4:22 pmThanks for linking up at the pin it proudly link party last week! I love this post, it’s so informative. I cant’ wait to see what you this week.
Monica
August 2, 2013 at 6:58 amI’ve been avoiding Pinterest like the plague! I guess it’s time to break down and get an account. Thanks for the tips!
Melanie
August 6, 2013 at 12:22 amMonica I didn’t get into Pinterest until recently either so don’t feel bad 🙂 now I find myself turning to it to get tips, recipes, ideas…there’s just so many things to pin! Haha
Lauren
August 26, 2013 at 2:38 pmAwesome tips! Just found your site from a blog hop!
Jeanette
September 6, 2013 at 4:57 pmGreat ideas:) I have an account on Pinterest but I’m really bad to use it, but now I really gonna try cause I want more readers and followers to my blog. Do u know how it works with Pinterest and blogger?
Melanie
September 6, 2013 at 8:45 pmHi Jeanette! I can try to help. What are you trying to do with blogger? Just add your link? Feel free to email me too and we can chat more 🙂
Brandy
November 1, 2013 at 9:07 pmI adore Pinterest, however have never used it with my blog. My blog is not about home improvement, craft projects, recipes, or how to potty train…it’s about battling worry as a Christian. In your opinion, do people use Pinterest to find posts on this kind of topic?
Melanie
November 6, 2013 at 5:06 pmHi Brandi! From what I’ve seen Pinterest us growing to include a lot more things and reaching many others with different interests, so I would say its worth checking it out and see if you find a niche audience for your topics.