You might already have a good grasp of how to best grow your audience on Facebook and Twitter. After all, these dominant social media channels have existed for around a decade. But what about newer social media websites like Pinterest? What are some strategies to attract the right people to your Pinterest page?
Pinterest is only four years young which means users, current and new are still learning the most effective Pinterest marketing strategies for their business. We’ve created a list of 6 tips to follow to grow your Pinterest following.
1. Promote, promote, promote!
Every time you pin content you should be sharing it on Twitter as well. In order to do so, you must first connect your Twitter page to your Pinterest account by going into your Settings and Social Networks section. You use hashtags on Pinterest the same way you do on Twitter so make sure to include at least 3 hashtags (but no more than 5 – it can look spammy).
You know the saying “nothing good in life is free?” Well it’s true! Pinterest has recently announced a self-serve dashboard for promoted pins. The promoted pins will show up in people’s search and category feeds. Tap Pinterest’s 70 million + users by testing this self-serve promotional tool ads.pinterest.com.
2. Add “Pin It” and “Follow” button to your website
Encourage people to pin things from your website by adding the “Pin It” button to your company webpage. You can build your own here (http://business.pinterest.com/en/widget-builder#do_pin_it_button).
To get the word out about your Pinterest business page, add the “Follow” button to your webpage. Keep in mind that you should have social plugins for each of your social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. (Ask us for help on how to build your own social plugins for your website!)
3. Verify your website
Verifying your website on Pinterest tells users that you own it. Once verified, a checkmark will appear beside your brand’s URL on your profile and in search results. You can now display your full website URL on your Pinterest profile. You’ll also be granted access to Pinterest Analytics, where you can find out important information about your follower such as when they’re online.
4. Original content > repins
Did you know 80% of content on Pinterest are repins which translates into only 20% of original content? Yes, it will take more time to create your own compelling content but it will also get the word out about your board. I suggest checking out Canva.com, a free, easy-to-use graphic design tool that pretty much does the work for you. This design tool already has plenty of designer layouts to choose from. Browse and choose your layout then edit the text/images accordingly.
When you’re designing your graphics keep in mind that red, orange, and brown images have 2x more repins than blue images.
5. Engage, Follow, Engage
Let’s face it, if you create a complete Pinterest page and add compelling content on a daily basis, sure your page probably looks good but is your following growing at the rate you want it to? Probably not. And that’s because engagement is key to expanding your Pinterest fan base.
Go to the “Popular” section of your Pinterest feed and start liking, commenting, and repinning interesting content. Never leave a comment on another user’s pin trying to sell your products/services. This is a big no-no! You first need to establish trust with the user by showing them you know and care about their pin.
Try searching for influential followers in the “Find Friends” tab and add 5-10 new followers on a weekly basis. If you’re following people who share the same interests as you, they’ll likely follow you back.
What other tips can you share to attract more followers to your Pinterest page?
