If you’re a beginner looking for an introduction to Pinterest. You’re in the right place.
Pinterest is a powerful platform that should be included in the strategy of every content creator, business-owner, and marketer.
It has the power to drive traffic to the platform of your choice (it’s one of my blog’s top traffic-drivers).
And through the use of Idea Pins, you can garner massive on-platform reach (perfect for leveraging brand deals).
But I know that it can seem intimidating and overwhelming to beginners.
That’s where this post comes in.
*Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.*
An Introduction to Pinterest (for absolute beginners)
When most people of think of Pinterest, they think of recipes, DIYs, and vision boards.
They don’t think strategy, monetization, and the potential to get thousands.. if not millions of eyeballs on their brand.
So I wanted to explain what Pinterest is (it’s more than one big mood board), and to give you some tangible tips that you can implement today, setting your future content up for success.
I broke everything down in a YouTube video (make sure to subscribe if you like content creation tips), which I’ve shared below. But I cover it in a bit more detail in this blog post beneath it.
A Mindset Shift: Pinterest as a Search Engine
The first thing people often need before finding success on Pinterest is a mindset shift.
Most creators approach Pinterest as though it is a social media app, when it is in fact a search engine.
I describe it as a visual Google.
While this might be news to those who are brand new to the platform, the moment you dip your toe into Pinterest Marketing, you’ll hear it repeated over and over again.
Users usually open up Pinterest with a search intent. They are looking for something, whether that is loose inspiration or a more tangible how-to.
This differs from social media, which we tend to open without a particular purpose outside of seeing what people are up to. I might even say we open them to be distracted as we scroll aimlessly.
As content creators and entrepreneurs, this is great news.
If Pinterest is a search engine, our content has a near-infinite lifespan. It can be found over and over again.
Weeks, months, years after we originally posted it.
How does knowing this change our approach to the platform?
If Pinterest is a search engine, then we can’t rely on pretty pictures and hashtags alone to succeed.
We need to leverage search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure our content gets shown to our target audience.
This can sound intimidating, but SEO is really just the term we use for when we are doing the work to ensure our content ranks (i.e. shows up near the top) in search.
And we primarily do this through…
Keyword Usage
When it comes to keywords, you want to think about what words or phrases people might type into the search bar when looking for your content.
Then, you want to use these keywords everywhere you possible can.
This includes:
- Pin titles + descriptions
- Board titles + descriptions
- Profile name + bio
Including keywords in these places helps tell Pinterest what you’re pinning, and also builds out context for what type of content your page is putting out.
This is why boards named “yumm” or “cute looks” don’t help increase your reach. This isn’t telling Pinterest what your content is really about. There’s no detail or substance.
Example of a one of my board descriptions, complete with relevant with keywords:
Keyword Research
If you’re struggling to figure out which keywords to include, I’ve got you covered.
Well actually, Pinterest has you covered.
If you head over to the search bar and begin typing a word that describes your pin, you’ll be prompted with a list of phrases to autocomplete with.
And these terms aren’t there by accident.
They are terms that people are actually searching for on the platform. Arguably they are some of the most popular queries. So if they are relevant to your content, use them.
Final thoughts on Pinterest… and some homework to get you started.
Changing my mindset and approach is what truly allowed me to step up my game on Pinterest.
And if you’re ready to level up, and get more eyes on your content, I’ll leave you with a little bit of homework.
- Go through your Pinterest boards and update the titles and descriptions with detailed and accurate keywords.
- Update your profile name and bio with keywords that describe you and the typical content you pin.
In doing those, you are giving your existing content a higher chance at showing up in search. And it will set all your future pins up for success!
Need a bit of extra help?
Check out my Pinterest Starter Guide, which includes a self-audit template, or sign up for a personalized audit from me!
I hope this introduction to Pinterest helped! If you give it a go, let me know in the comments below!
(Drop your handle too, I’ll go hype you up!)
Looking for some tools to help you up your Pinterest game?
Check out…
- Tailwind (which let’s you schedule and auto-post your content).
- Canva (make eye-catching Pins with ease!).
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3 comments
Great Read! I just became serious with my Pinerest account. It’s definitely a kinder beast than the other social media platforms.
I so agree! From every angle, it’s so much kinder. Let me know if you have questions on it, or if there’s anything specific you’d like me to cover about the platform!
You hit it right on the nose, Pinterest is my thing and what drives so much of my traffic.