PINTEREST FRIDAY - PIN DESCRIPTIONS

In recent years, I have spent more of my time updating Instagram instead of this blog, but I’d like to change that. This is the one place where all of my content is truly mine, easily accessible, and searchable. My goal is to be a resource for you and always has been, so it’s time to get back to it! So, I’m starting with a popular topic of conversation on this blog - Pinterest.

Every Friday I have been sharing Pinterest tips for FREE on Instagram to help small business owners, and I’d like to share these tips here with you as well. You can access all of the past tips in my IG stories highlights, but I’ll spend time building them out for you on the blog.

Today, we’re talking Pinterest descriptions. Here are some key things to keep in mind when writing for Pinterest:

1. Write how someone searches Pinterest. When people search on Pinterest, they start their search at a very high level. Users are looking for inspiration, and they are usually beginning their customer journey on Pinterest. Many Pinterest searches consist of 1-3 words. Though you might assume much of your Google SEO knowledge applies to Pinterest, it’s kind of a different animal. When people search for a product on Google they are often more ready to purchase and further down the funnel. They tend use more terms in their search and be more specific. So, identify the high-level, key search terms that are relevant for your product (ex: short hair tutorial, short hair ideas, short hairstyles, short curly hair ideas, short hair trends, 2021 short hair), and include them in your description and pin title.

2. Cut the fluff, get straight to it. Your TOV and your language should try to solve the consumer’s problem immediately and get straight to the point. This isn’t Instagram…They are on a hunt for inspiration and information. Don’t talk like a brand, talk like their BFF. Spill the tea and don’t sugar coat it.

3. 500 Characters. You have 500 characters to tell someone all about your pin. You can include a mix of hashtags to help you do this as well and save characters. You can use up to 20 hashtags. Try to use all of the characters to give you the best advantage, but don’t force it.

4. Describe what’s in the pin. If you’re stuck on what to say, talk about what is in the photograph and the destination you are leading people to with your pin (story pins may not have a destination). Talk about the colors, the textures, the materials, the cost, the company, the quality, the ease, the destination, etc.

5. Don’t use the same description for all of the pins. Don’t use the same pin description for all of the pins you are sharing to promote a single post. Change it up so that you increase your likelihood of reaching people.

That’s it for this week! Make sure to check back next Friday for more tips!

2017 PINTEREST TIPS

As I'm gearing up to teach a Pinterest class at Haven Conference this week, I thought I would share some relevant Pinterest info that you may not have heard people talk about before. 

1. Have you "Tried It" - Within the past year Pinterest has replaced the "like button" with the "tried it" button. I love this new feature because it further cements that Pinterest wants users to take action with the content they find on Pinterest and lessen the amount of Pinterest fails. I try recipes all of the time from Pinterest, and I often go back and rate the recipe and share my experience with the "tried it" feature.

So, what does that mean for you as the content creator? Well, because it's a new feature you can definitely count that the algorithm cares about whether or not a lot of people have tried the pin and found success. When I search for recipes I often see that the top surfacing pins not only have a high repin count, but they also have reviews using the "tried it" feature. So, encourage your followers to try and review when you can. It will give your content a better chance of being recommended by Pinterest. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the algorithm keeps track of how much you try pins on Pinterest. I would assume the more active you are at trying things on Pinterest the more likely your profile is to be recommended, but that's completely my own inference without any proven data. 

2. Consistent activity on Pinterest is important to growth - As I have been managing other Pinterest accounts over the past year, I have noticed that no matter what size their following is regularly logging in and pinning is key to growth. Scheduling with a third party app and never logging in did show smaller growth rates, which leads me to believe Pinterest cares about their time on site and how much you contribute to the community.

Also, the amount of sharing (repinning) from the community is important. I used to repin 10 pins a day to maintain activity on multiple accounts, but I noticed when I bumped the activity up to about 20 repins a day I saw more growth.

3. Tailwind Tribes are very helpful - Tailwind is a third party approved Pinterest application that gives deeper insight into your Pinterest analytics, and offers some helpful tools such as scheduling. Tribes are a great way to get your content shared by other pinners. Simply add pins from your website to your Tailwind Tribe, and the other members of the tribe will most likely repin them. Of course, they are not obligated to share because that would be spammy behavior, but this is a great way to avoid missing out on your friends' pins due to the engagement based algorithm. I have found my content has gotten so much more traction using their tribes feature.

4. Group boards are a bit scary - Any group boards that don't show a vast variety of domains on them, and instead shows the same websites over and over again is easily flagged by the algorithm as spammy activity, especially when the board strangely has a high and consistent repin rate. Be cautious of this behavior and rethink being a member of these boards. The board could be taken down by Pinterest and your likelihood of being a suggested account to follow will possibly decrease. I know this through the experiences of other group board members and clients. I should say I have not personally experienced this, but I also have never participated in group boards. 

Be sure to check out my online Pinterest classes for more insight into the platform. If you're attending Haven Conference, please come and say hi. 

Photos by Lauren J. Photography