Some things never change in Pinterest marketing. Success and traffic still happen when you inspire people with your Pins and help them see how your product or service can change their lives for the better. Great visuals, compelling copy, and consistency still matter.
In 2020, it’s the way you get more distribution on Pinterest that is changing.
What works in Pinterest marketing in 2020 is “fresh” content. But, what does that mean and what do we DO with that fresh content? What else is really involved in a successful Pinterest strategy today?
What tasks do we keep and which can we leave off? And how can Tailwind help? Lastly, what should I make sure to do weekly, monthly, and quarterly for the best results?
If you’ve been wondering, you’re not alone. AND, you’re in the right place!
What’s New In Pinterest Marketing In 2020?
Recently, we had the opportunity to speak publicly with Lucy Matthews of Pinterest about a shift in the Pinterest algorithm which is already impacting Creators and marketers today and will continue to grow in influence over the next year. The shift means that Pin recency, or “freshness” is becoming a more important factor in Pin distribution than ever before, and that resharing content frequently is becoming less and less effective.
A “fresh” Pin is a new URL that has not been on Pinterest before. Pinterest noticed users responding favorably to fresh content, so it is adjusting the mix of content in the feed and search results to show more fresh Pins.
While quality relevant content will still appear, you should be seeing more fresh content appearing, meaning your new content can take off faster than ever before, while your best older content can still send you meaningful traffic.
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Pinterest Marketing in 2020 – Shifting Focus to More Content Creation
Knowing that creating new images for content and targeting them to different audiences can vastly improve your reach (and traffic!), many are shifting their focus from mostly curation (sharing mostly other people’s Pins and resharing their own Pins frequently) to much more creation- of content on their sites and images that can appear in a new search.
This is great news for Pinterest traffic potential and for the platform at large, where fresh content keeps people coming back to the platform day after day .
While the increasing value of fresh does present challenges to Pinterest marketers, the opportunities are exciting.
It’s been clear for a while that creating new content is crucial to Pinterest marketing success.
I’ve adjusted my workflow to make to make quality image creation faster by creating images in batches and by letting go of perfectionism while making sure each image passes three tests:
Is it easy to read when tiny? (or is it clear and concise at a glance?) Does it stop the scroll? Does it get the click-through?
Jennifer Lorah, Pinterest Conversion Strategist
Although Pinterest discourages Pinning many images for the same piece of content, you can experiment with a few creative treatments for each audience or context you’re showcasing. This allows you to watch which resonate best with your audience, allowing you to adapt and optimize your images over time. Build success upon success!
How to Schedule Multiple Pin Images with Tailwind
There are some marketers (I am not one of them), who love a good spreadsheet for keeping track of their Pinterest marketing. When did I save that Pin? When do I need to share it again? How did it perform? Is it sending any website traffic?
Trouble is, aside from being incredibly time consuming, it’s difficult to ensure you’re saving all your wonderful Pins to your relevant Boards. It’s tricky to know when the best times are. And to remember to Pin images seasonally without accidentally sharing too often? Next to impossible.
If you’d rather batch your marketing the way you batch your content creation, there is a better way.
Here’s a simple way to get multiple images out to Pinterest using Tailwind:
- Share image #1 to the most relevant Board.
- Schedule image #1 to a few relevant Boards using Interval Pinning in Tailwind. This gets your images out at predetermined intervals (avoiding any appearance of spam).
Avoid sharing to more than 10 Boards. - Schedule out the remaining images in a similar manner, being sure to send the image to the most relevant Board the first time.
There is no “magic” formula for how long to wait between steps one and three, but be conscious of oversharing and give the image variations a chance to catch on before sharing another.
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Pinterest Strategy and SEO
While you might think of SEO as belonging squarely in the realm of Google, Pinterest is a search and discovery platform, so, it’s absolutely crucial to success here as well. Just a little bit of know how in this area can make a BIG difference, so don’t skip this part.
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How to Do Keyword Research on Pinterest
The keywords you use on Pinterest will likely be slightly different than those you use on Google, since Pinterest search is 97% unbranded and people are looking for inspiration and information.
To do some quick keyword research on Pinterest, enter a possible search term on Pinterest and see what comes up with auto complete:
All of those terms are potential keywords to use.
Now hit “enter” and look for the tiles below the search bar:
Pinterest is telling us that these are terms people actually use when searching Pinterest. Any which are relevant to your business should go on your new Pinterest keyword list!
Wondering if one is better than another? If you’re in the US, you can use Pinterest Trends to see if one term is more popular than another over all and even just right now. Available terms are somewhat limited (so the exact terms you want to compare might not appear), but you might find even more suggestions popping up as related terms to compare:
This tells me I had better have my spring fashion content ready by late March at the latest! “Women’s fashion casual spring” might be worth going after as well, though it appears the search volume is much lower, you can probably hit both terms with the same Pin – score!!
Where to Use Keywords on Pinterest
Use the same keywords in your:
- Pin Title
- Pin Description
- Text on Image
- Board Name
- Board Description
Keyword stuffing is never a good idea. Write your Pin descriptions (and everything else!) naturally. Give people a reason to engage.
Keep it Consistent
Pinterest wants to return the most relevant results possible for search and feed, so let Pinterest know that what you promise in the Pin actually exists on your site! With that in mind, for the very best SEO, keep consistency between keywords on Pinterest and on your website:
- Keep consistency between the image on your Pin and the images on your page (when not using an identical image, there should be some similarity of theme – although this doesn’t mean you can never experiment with something different).
- Use the same words you used on Pinterest in your page title, description, and in the body of your text.
That’s it! Give Pinterest consistent signals for better distribution.
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2020 Pinterest Image Best Practices
When it comes to Pinterest, not just any old image will do! Some suggestions to increase engagement and traffic include:
- Use a 2:3 image ratio (1000x1500px or equivalent). You can go up to about 1:2.1 before your image gets cut off in the feed. Taller images take up more room in the feed and the text on those images will be easier to read.
- Use crystal-clear, well-lit, professional photos. Inspire confidence in your product or service with top-quality images. You can take amazing photos with your smartphone. Learn how in just one hour – for free![sc name=”ivory-mix-smartphone-photography-webinar-inline-text”]
- Put your product or service front and center in the image.
- Include a call to action on the Pin (“shop now,” “discover your look,” etc.)
- Lean in to seasonal and everyday moments, helping people see how your offering fits into their lives.
- Try including a person or pet for a personal touch. It helps to see your product in use.
- Include your logo or other subtle branding to build awareness and trust.
- Inspire with something new, but make sure it feels attainable.
- Provide extra context with text on image.
- Design for mobile (can the 80% of users seeing your Pin on mobile read the text?).
- Highlight the benefits of your brand or product. (“homemade,” “easy,” “sustainable”)
Want to see some examples? Check out our Pinterest Pin Templates!
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Tailwind Communities as Part of a 2020 Pinterest Marketing Strategy
Tailwind Communities are groups of like-minded content creators in similar industries, who come together to collaborate and share. Many Creators enjoy supporting their friends by sharing their content to Pinterest, and Communities are a great place to find people to include in your next blog post roundup or other content collaboration.
While your focus should be on sharing your own content, it’s still fine to share other people’s content (Pinterest is the place to discover and share, after all). Just make sure you’re sharing content your audience will engage with.
Tailwind SmartLoop and Pinterest Best Practices for Strategy
As was reinforced in our recent discussion with Pinterest held on Facebook, there are good reasons to reshare your content to the same Boards at appropriate intervals.
For example, your seasonal Pins which see good engagement at the same time every year should be scheduled to go out again next year. You can also resurface still-relevant Pins to new followers by saving 1-2 times per year.
SmartLoop allows you to reshare this content at the best times of year for engagement. No more spreadsheets, no worry about sharing too often. SmartGuide is incorporated to ensure safe scheduling recommendations.
And the analytics in SmartLoop . You can see so easily when a Pin is falling below your average. If that happens, it’s time to swap out the image for a new one. Easy!
Promote with Pinterest Ads
Pinterest ads allow us to pay to have our Pins shown to a larger audience. Targeting options include narrowing audiences by demographic information, device, interests, keywords, and much more. Custom audiences allow you to build on your existing email lists and site visitors.
Automatic options such as expanded targeting and Conversion ads allow Pinterest to use machine learning to get your content in front of the right people.
Many advertisers on Pinterest report a lower cost per conversion on Pinterest than on other platforms – and the ads work! Half of all Pinterest users report purchasing something because of a Pinterest ad.
A Complete Pinterest Marketing Strategy for 2020
Want to make sure you’re getting the most out of your content on Pinterest? Here’s a sample of what you can do weekly, monthly, and quarterly to cover your bases. This is just one possible way to use Pinterest in your marketing. Everyone’s content production and needs will be different, so adjust as needed. And make sure to test!
For this possible strategy, let’s assume you have some existing blog posts and now you’re creating one blog post with 3 fresh Pins for 3 different target audiences every week.
Weekly Pinterest Marketing Tasks:
- Share your new blog post image #1 to the most relevant Board.
- Schedule your new blog post image #1 to a few additional relevant Boards using interval Pinning.
- Schedule images #2 and #3 to the most relevant and a few other relevant Boards using interval Pinning. You can choose to schedule the first share of each on the same day as the first image, or spread them out over more time. It’s up to you!
Note: Sharing more than one image to the same URL (as long as each image is targeted toward a different audience) is not going to hurt your distribution. You can also A/B test images for the same audience to test for design effectiveness. - Check out your Tailwind Communities for quality content to engage your followers. Share out Pins you know they’ll like or that you want to save for yourself!
- If you’re scheduling with the browser extension, look for the SmartGuide “All Clear” button – or for suggestions on improving your distribution with some simple tweaks to your schedule.
Monthly Pinterest Marketing Tasks:
- Check out Your Pinterest planner. What should you be resharing now and next year at the same time (add to SmartLoop)?
- Speaking of SmartLoop, check out your SmartLoop analytics. Are any of your Pins slipping in engagement? Breathe new life into them by adding a new image.
- If you’re in the US, take a peek at Pinterest Trends. Which keywords and phrases related to your content are trending now? Which can you prepare for next month? Can you create a new image for existing content and bring in the trending keywords?
- What content is bringing in the traffic? Check out your Top Pins Report in Tailwind to see which Pins are driving the most traffic this month. Is the one that was working well last month slipping this month (make a Google Drive folder and save monthly screenshots)? If it’s still relevant, give it a new image and keep the traffic coming. Think about updating it for seasonally-appropriate images and colors.
- While you’re in the Top Pins Report, check out “Pinned by me.” What content that YOU’RE saving is generating traffic for those creators? Could you create something similar in style, color, or even subject matter? Get inspired!
- Consider adding this month’s top Pins to SmartLoop or make new Pins for that post to add to SmartLoop.
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Quarterly Pinterest Marketing Tasks:
- Take stock of your Pinterest account. Do your Board names and descriptions accurately describe the content you’re saving today? Do you need a new Board or two to incorporate keywords you’ve started to write about in your blog or or on your product pages? Pinterest SEO matters!
- Check out the Pinterest business blog to get inspired. The Creative Spotlight Series can spark ideas to reinvigorate your own marketing.
- Check out the Pinterest Newsroom for any new features or insights you should be using.
- Remember why you’re using Pinterest to market your business. Is it strictly for traffic? Likely you have another objective – such as leads and sales. What’s ONE thing you can do towards that goal? For example:
- If you want email signups, review the blog posts that get Pinterest traffic. Consider adding a more obvious call-to-action to sign up (usually you’ll want to build your list by getting people to opt in to an ebook or other resource of value). Or, add a popup. Refresh the images that lead to those posts and try some that lead directly to your landing page.
- If you want more sales, consider the branding on your Pins and the content on your landing pages. Also consider:
- Are there plenty of trust-building elements (shipping policies, privacy policy, about us info.) to encourage people to buy?
- Is there consistency from Pin to page so people know they’re in the right place?
- Does the product description build on the inspirational feeling of Pinterest to help people imagine the product in use in their own lives?
How To Use Tailwind for Pinterest Marketing in 2020
Sure, much has changed, but the core of Pinterest marketing hasn’t – inspire people with your products and services, help them see why they need it, and entice them to visit, sign up, and purchase! What has changed is how you get the best distribution for your content; and that’s with fresh images!
What works in Pinterest marketing today is:
- Targeting your content at several different audiences.
- Effective use of SEO.
- Employing best practices in image creation.
Tailwind can help save you time and get better results by:
- Making scheduling of multiple images fast and easy.
- Sharing your Pins at the best times for engagement.
- Creating connections within Tailwind Communities.
- Supplying simple suggestions to help you avoid unnecessary risk to your account with SmartGuide.
- Enabling healthy resharing of relevant content for best distribution.
Will 2020 be your best year ever on Pinterest? It can be! Give some of these ideas a try and let us know how it goes. We’re rooting for you!
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