As social media has proved to be a tremendous network for digital marketing, the popular platforms are now continuously flooded with companies trying to create more visibility and traffic. Sidestepping these bigger interfaces (think Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), some companies are utilizing less widely used platforms for their marketing.
Enter Pinterest, a social network that focuses on the visual medium (primarily pictures) to promote users interests and lifestyles. Today, some studies point towards Pinterest being the fastest growing social media platform on the market.
Related: Fundamental Social Media Goals You Should Set
Small business and big businesses alike have utilized Pinterest and have started to create the same sort of competition we’ve seen in the bigger networks. Yet the gold has not been mined dry and there is still plenty of opportunity in the market. Since Pinterest requires that brands repin non-branded content, everyone has a fair share here.
Remember to look at Pinterest like a search engine and keep in mind it is a long term strategy. Your content will get more widely spread with time…but a large following can help increase this reach from the get go. We’re here to show you a few ways you can step ahead of your competition and gain more Pinterest followers.
Tailwind
It’s fascinating how many companies and individuals do not utilize Tailwind. Tailwind is Pinterest’s very own automation schedule, provided by the company to optimize posting. By setting preset times and posts you won’t have to worry about missing that golden hour of viewership because you’re away from your computer.
Beyond that, Tailwind allows you to assess when your posts were most viewed, shared, and trafficked. This allows you to differentiate between your posts that land places and the ones that don’t. If you’re hesitant, they offer a free trial without the requirement of a credit card. You have nothing to lose. Utilize Tailwind and schedule hundreds of postings at a single click.
Be Authentic
There is nothing worse than watching companies clone other material they’ve witnessed to be successful. What’s unique about Pinterest is it’s almost completely visual, which gives you flexibility to develop the face of your brand in a creative way. What is your company? What is your message? Use original content developed by your team to promote those answers.
Post infographics or current content you discover on the interwebs that is relevant to now. If it fits your company, be comedic and stylistic. Don’t try and stand out by posting or reposting the most content that has already landed somewhere. Create your own in the visual medium and standout by use of your specific brand.
Integrate The ‘Pinterest Follow Button’ And Uphold A Consistent Stream Of Content
If you’re looking for advice on how to gain more Pinterest followers, chances are you already have a social media campaign running or plan to use the other platforms too. If that’s the case, link everything to your Pinterest.
This is particularly successful if your website already has decent traffic. Integrate it into all your posts. Anywhere you know traffic streams to should have this button. If you are unfamiliar with how this is done, there’s a ‘widget builder’ page on Pinterest that allows you to develop a button specific to your brand. The button isn’t ubiquitous in terms of aesthetic, so make your own.
Then, now that all your other posts create a portal to your Pinterest, become post-heavy. This is where posting becomes difficult as you don’t want to be one of those spam accounts. But if you can refer back to our ‘be authentic’ blurb and produce a steady stream of content that promotes your brand, your following will grow and you’ll stick those that visit your page for the first time.
Spruce Up Those Headlines And Use Keywords When Describing Your Post
A huge problem companies face when first launching a marketing campaign on Pinterest is raising their conversion rate. They’ve built out a compelling blog, used Tailwind to set a posting schedule, but the stuff they’re putting out there isn’t drawing enough interest for users to click through. That’s why it’s incredibly important that your headlines are extremely compelling.
Easier said than done, right? Truthfully you have not but a second or two to turn an eye. Be witty, concise, and creative. If you can’t, find someone that can. A powerful headline is the elevator pitch of digital marketing. It needs to be perfect. Beyond a headline, keywords–similar to SEO–need to be optimized on Pinterest.
If your keywords are unique and specialized and not ubiquitous throughout the network then they aren’t going to link to others with higher search volumes. This will help connect your posts with others synonymous to it (in terms of category) which will then allot more exposure.
This Is A Network Composed Solely Of Photos, So Don’t Have Lousy Images
Who doesn’t adore scrolling through captivating images? That interest is exactly what spurred the creation of some of these social networks. What amazes us is that on Pinterest–a goldmine for some of the best images the internet has to offer—there are floods of images that aren’t even formatted correctly.
Related: How To Craft Creative Social Media Campaigns
Make sure the images you’re using are not only compelling, but sized correctly (the general rule of thumb is that images on Pinterest need to have a higher length than width, but the ratio differs). If you’re going to incorporate text in your post, don’t make it that squeezed-together font that looks like a 3rd grader’s first attempt at cursive. Make sure your font is clear, can be read at first sight, and is fluid with the image it’s married to.
Delve Into Pre-Existing Pinterest Groups
What does digital marketing do so well? It places content in hotspots for traffic and then links out to the website they’re trying to promote. The same marketing principle works with Pinterest. Join groups relevant to your brand that already have plenty of traffic, integrate with the users, share their posts, and post your own within them.
Some of these groups are enormous and your singular post–if the timing and content-quality is prime–could land in front of thousands of followers. To create a network in this world is to also utilize existing ones. If the posts are authentic and viewed as honest contributions, no one will assume your company is attempting to hijack boards.
Follow Others And Share Their Content
The age-old social media discipline: just go out there and follow a million people and a small percentage will follow back! Believe it or not, this still works. What seems to work less and less these days is incorporating spambots that mass-follow users throughout the day. We don’t recommend this approach.
Nothing screams less genuine than watching a bot autonomously follow accounts for a certain profile. Instead, take the genuine approach. Use keywords related to your brand to find pins, pinners, and boards all relevant to you. Choose what to follow by identifying those closest to your brand. Do this every single day for the most optimal results. While monotonous, sometimes it is the simpler approaches that produce the best results.
The same goes for repinning content that is not branded for your brand. Pinterest actual requires that brands repin more content than they upload organically to reach a widespread audience. For optimal success with repining, make sure you repin 5+ pins a day in categories relevant to your customers.
Cater To The Individual Behind The Screen
What is often forgotten about social network followings is that once the initial phase of the process is completed (gaining the follower) the second phase then begins. This is where you keep that follower. Regardless of how you gained a follower, you have to convince them to stay. Remember that their interest, while present, is something that needs to be gardened. Don’t overload them with shares right off the bat and instead create a consistent rhythm of content.
Related: Power Digital Pointers: Social Media Tips and Tricks
You don’t want to slap them in the face with your material nor become a nuisance on their feed, rather you want to gradually build a tempo, one that keeps them happy but also gives them something to look forward to. This is best done by specifying and keeping on track with a singular topic on each board, as it’s easier to hold their interest by delivering on the same promise that brought them to you in the first place. By integrating multiple different topics you may lose your initial follower to conflicting interests.
Wrapping Up
There is still plenty of opportunity on Pinterest. It remains to be one of the most expansive and advantageous social media networks on the web. Truthfully, as corny as this may come across, despite the technicality of the craft the best way to gain a larger following is to be honest with your brand. If you can find a way to generate content that speaks from your company’s heart—content that is both engaging and memorable—then what you’re producing will market itself.
Be diligent, authentic, and extroverted. The above suggestions should not be considered independent action points that work best in isolation. Rather, you should utilize them all to help you gain more Pinterest followers and create a marketing engine from your account. Implement each one and—unless the content you’re producing is crap or spam-like—then you should have no problem gaining more traffic.