So, you’re on Pinterest (or you’ve heard too many times that you should be). That’s fabulous. You’re officially part of the fast-growing website (per Comscore) that refers more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined (per Mashable), and keeps visitors passionately engaged for countless hours. That’s the good part.
The great part is that people love to re-share great images and information on Pinterest through repins. In fact, 80% of the pins on Pinterest are repins. Why are these so valuable? Repins recirculate through the Pinterest stream to generate additional repins and traffic. And, repinned images/links are posted permanently on pinboards which, unlike the four-minute half-life of a Tweet or 30-minute life of a Facebook update (per Socialbakers), will stay on a themed Pinterest board indefinitely. Weeks, months or years later, people interested in that topic may re-discover your pins/links/website.
Awesome! Right? But, how can you ‘pin well’ and capture the coveted Repin? Here are seven ways to be more engaging on Pinterest:
Know your brand – and stick with it.
For example: If you’re a Realtor, pin positive things about your city/community or DIY and home repair projects and ideas. Small businesses should feature business tips, local events and business organizations. Veterinarians or pet stores can pin cute animal photos, local dog parks and helpful information for pet owners. Unless your brand is political or religious, avoid controversial pins/topics.
Create pinboards that reflect your brand and appeal and interest your target audience. Knowing your brand means sharing what appeals to and benefits your audience/community, and avoiding what may turn them off.
Be Interesting & Engaging
Stand out with interesting, engaging images. Explain what the picture is by including a graphic on the image so it makes it easy to identify. For example, an easily-readable, colorful font that says “Gluten-Free Brownies” over a gorgeous shot of brownies helps people to know what it is INSTANTLY, and makes it very easy and quick to repin.
Show off your brand’s personality by creating pins and pinboards that take a different spin on the topic. For example, create interesting pinboards of animals who look like their owners, three-ingredient recipes or DIY/craft projects from Pinterest you’ve attempted. Share pins and pinboards that fit your brand and are of interest to your customers/clients.
Share Amazing Photos/images
On Pinterest, you’re competing with countless other beautiful pins and pictures. You’re up against professional photography, celebrity images, clever quotes and hilarious memes. Your images are displayed alongside exotic travel destinations, beautiful wedding shots and amazing food photography. You’ve got to put your best photo forward with a focused, well-lit, well-cropped image. Find a unique angle, plan for the right time of day for good light, maybe even get a ‘real’ camera and take a photography class to get repin-worthy photos.
Do your research
What images are other users pinning that get repins? Look at which of your pins are being repinned and by whom. How? Check the following url:
- pinterest.com/source/YOUR URL — e.g.: pinterest.com/source/girlfriendology.com — my URL
What are people pinning from your site? What are they pinning from your competitor’s sites? If you’re a coffee shop and your potential customers are repinning beauty shots of coffee drinks from your competitors sites, you *MIGHT* want to add some amazing photos.
Learn from others – no one will know and you might be surprised at what gets repinned.
Size matters
Vertical images get more repins than square or horizontal photos (generally recommended up to 5000 pixels long, but may exceed that). So go long with your photos (or photo compilations), rather than square or wide. Keep it brief! Pinterest allows descriptions up to 500 characters, but those around 200 get the most repins (about 1-1/2 the length of a tweet).
Key words, key words, key words
What words will people search to find you or your pin? What short phrase(s) show up frequently when you do you research on other similar pins/sites? Use these keywords in your description, in your image name, and in your pinboard names.
Make it easy for people to find you by including popular and descriptive words/terms. Add a #hashtag to popular words/phrases that people may search for. (Hashtags can be clicked to search for similar pins.)
Engage in the conversation
Put the ‘social’ in Social Media! Follow your followers and those who repin you. Repin some of their pins. Say ‘thanks’ to those who comment on your pins or who repin you. Make comments. Engage in conversations.