We know that Pinterest is a huge social network that has tremendous potential for growth in 2014.
We also know that visual assets are the wave of the future and a critical component to any successful online content marketing portfolio.
We can even see the growth of Pinterest traffic in our very own traffic reports on Google Analytics.
You know all this and more about Pinterest, so now I must ask you this:
Are you ready to start taking Pinterest promotions seriously? Let's dive in!
Getting Started with Pinterest
The first place to build a strong foundation on any social media network is by optimizing your profile. Once you've created your account, or even if you have an account already, fill in your bio and tell fellow Pinners who you are and be sure to include your keywords.
Start setting up your boards, look for related group boards to join, and be sure to feature your most popular boards on the top row of your profile.
That's right – you can drag and drop your Pinterest boards around so that your top boards appear above the fold!
Verify your blog on Pinterest by adding a snippet of code to take advantage of the free analytics and you'll also see the check mark appear on your profile next to your blog's url like in the example below from my daughter's profile.
Time For Some Bench-marking
I always say that you can't improve what you don't measure. Well, maybe that's not 100% true but my point is that you can't see how much progress you're making unless you track it. And with the current state of Pinterest Analytics you can only see so much. You need a more robust tool and one that I recommend is Tailwindapp. Let me show you how it works in this video:
Get More Pinterest Traffic With TailWindApp
Here's a list of tools and resources that will help you grow your following and help you get some real results from your Pinterest promotions. You can read the full transcript for this video here.
Customize Your Images
Take advantage of online graphics tools like PicMonkey, Canva, or Gimp to create custom images for your blog posts. Add text overlays, backgrounds, borders, water-marks – anything that will make your images pop so they're more attractive and eye-catching.
[shadowbox]Click here to watch the PicMonkey Video Tutorial I recorded.[/shadowbox]
I love the way Rebekah Radice and Ashley Faulkes use custom images to help boost their brands and draw attention to their blogs. My friend Lisa Irby created a cute Infographic for her Natural Hair blog that has over 18,000 repins.
You can hear more about Lisa's Infographic by listening to an interview she did with Cynthia Sanchez on the Oh So Pinteresting podcast. Cynthia's podcast is one you should definitely subscribe to for all the best tips and tactics to grow your business with Pinterest.
Check out this study from Curalate and what their software found about the best colors, textures and backgrounds to use in order to increase engagement with your pins.
Get More Pins and Repins Now!
Sign up for PinWoot [which is now called ViralWoot] to jump start your Pinterest promotions quickly. The free account option will help you get familiar with the dashboard but in about 15 – 20 minutes, you should be ready to upgrade to a paid package. You can start off with a small investment of under $20 just to explore the platform and find out which pins are getting the most traction.
Join Viral Content Bee! This one is a no-brainer and you should be using it already no matter what your favorite social media platform is. When Ann Smarty and Gerald Weber put together a social sharing network you can't really go wrong. In fact, it wasn't until after they added the Pinterest sharing option to the site early last year that I actually started paying attention to my Pinterest traffic.
Install the Triberr plugin! Yup, that the secret strategy for ensuring that your blog post images show up in the tribal stream. Without the plugin, there's a good chance that the images won't appear, but when they do, you can bet that Serious Pinners like myself are going to find a home for your image on one of our more active boards. (Need help with using Triberr? Go here and here.)
Get active on the network! Comment on pins, join group boards, follow like-minded pinners and keep in mind, getting repins are just as important as getting pins. Actually it's more important.
Manly Pinterest Tips
OK fellows, Pinterest is NOT just for the ladies. And if you don't believe me, just check out the episode of the Manly Pinterest Show hosted by Jeff Sieh. In this episode, special guest Luke Dean-Weymark shares his insights about growing a following of nearly 1 million pinners!
Re-purpose your pinned images
It's not always easy to use one image on different social platforms and they say that the optimal size for pins is 600 x 900 but don't get stuck on that recommendation. Your YouTube videos, your Instagram posts and even your Google + image posts can be pinned. My friend Wade Harman recommends adding a Call to Action on Google + that reminds people to Pin It For Later.
Add Your Pinterest Tips
There's lots more tips and tactics we can use to start taking Pinterest more seriously. I'm sure I missed a few. Please do me a favor and ask a question or share your favorite Pinterest tip in the comments below.
NEW: Sign Up To Get Your Brand New Pinterest Training Video…it's 100% Free!
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