In today’s episode, the 2019 Pinterest recap, we are going to wrap everything up in a bow and talk about what we’ve seen on Pinterest over the past year.
We’ll share some of what’s happened behind-the-scenes at Simple Pin Media, and make some predictions about what we think we will see in 2020.
In case you missed it, we just released our new 2020 Ultimate Pinterest Planner. Get it today and share a pic of you using it on Instagram (use the hashtag #simplepinplanner).
Happy Birthday Pinterest!
Pinterest is coming up on its 10-year anniversary.
The idea for Pinterest was hatched in December of 2009, and the first prototype was launched in March 2010.
I was first invited to Pinterest in August of 2010. My world has changed so much since Pinterest was born. At that time, I had 3 much younger kids, and my husband had just lost his job (read more in the Simple Pin Story post). We used food stamps to buy our Christmas gifts that year. It was humiliating and humbling, and it prepared me to speak into the lives of other people.
Our lives are so different in 2019 vs. 2009. We have learned to be thankful in plenty and thankful in want.
Pinterest 2019 Recap
Social Media Predictions for 2019
Let’s look at the social media predictions that Social Media Today predicted for 2019:
• A growing importance of personal branding to business branding – Pinterest users are looking for things that are personal to them, so putting a face to a name can be a powerful tool.
• Long-form content for making an SEO impact – Yet another reason to be sure your descriptions and board names are filled out and are keyword-optimized!
• Acceleration of personalized marketing – It’s no secret that lifestyle images do better across the board. So it isn’t a shock to hear that people are searching for relevant content that is tailored to them.
• Video’s prominence as the preferred form of content – we saw Pinterest video explode across the board this year, as it became more and more accepted and attractive to pinners.
• “Pay to play”: The path to more exposure – Pinterest went public this year! Promoted Pins are going to become more important as Pinterest continues to grow.
Bottom line: The predictions were spot on!
Pinterest Changes Summarized By Pinners
Next, we asked those in our community to share the changes they saw over this last year.
Related: Pinterest Changes Fast: How to Keep Up
One of the things that was pointed out right away was the sheer number of glitches we experienced.
There was a profile design change with video and tab options. In our opinion, all of these changes are are a win. Keep in mind though, that not a lot of people will visit your profile unless you give them a direct call to action there.
We saw the disappearance of communities. No one really used these “Facebook group” type of places on Pinterest, because it’s not a place where people are usually going to seek out conversation.
We were introduced to story pins this year. We devoted a podcast episode to story pins, but because they are still very much in beta, we were asked to table the episode for a while.
Carousel pins started surfacing in 2018 and were used more in 2019. This feature isn’t one that is widely used as of right now.
During 2019, Pinterest overhauled their analytics reporting. It was probably the best decision Pinterest made all year! I love the changes they made. It allows us to go deeper into understanding engagement and to distinguish between paid versus organic traffic.
We also witnessed the demise of the viral pin. We should now be focusing more on legacy pins (a phrase coined by my friend Monica Froese). These pins will bring you traffic over and over again instead of just a temporary spike in traffic.
How Simple Pin Media Has Grown in 2019
Simple Pin Media is now almost six years old. This year, we have taken a lot of leaps in the business. We have learned which clients are the best fit for our services, which helps us to serve clients in an optimal way.
We created a lot more content for our eCommerce business owners. You asked, we answered.
I also started doing meetups with our SPM community members when I travel to speak at conferences. I have loved it! It’s a joy to talk to you one-on-one.
The podcast has also grown by leaps and bounds. Thank you for downloading, subscribing, and sharing the podcast. We experienced more downloads this year than ever before.
We created our first Vivid Vision (which I talked about in my episode on the best business books I’ve read). We will be releasing that soon. It was so clarifying for me as to who we are and where we are going as a company.
We also reached a BIG milestone — we had our first 7-figure year here at SPM. It blows my mind.
You all get to hear me on the podcast each week, but standing behind me is a group of 35 women. They do everything from promoted pins management to image creation, analytics, organic management, you name it.
I have the best job. The fact that I’ve grown from living on food stamps to a business that supports the families of 35 people is truly amazing.
Going into 2020, you will be hearing from more of my team members. They are all incredibly smart and capable women.
What I Learned in 2019
This year, I learned that I don’t have to get it right all the time. I had a tough experience with a talk I gave this year and it really got to me. In that moment of struggling, I realized that it’s not about me. It’s about the people I serve.
I learned that I don’t have to fear failure because mistakes are some of the best learning tools we are given.
Related: Overcoming Fear in Your Business
I read some amazing business books that have really helped me as our business has grown this year.
I have learned a lot about growing a team and running an agency. If you ever have a question, please let me know.
Pinterest Marketing: What’s Coming In 2020?
Moving on from our 2019 Pinterest recap, to what’s coming in 2020.
Forbes released the top marketing trends for 2020. Some of these won’t take off on Pinterest (virtual and augmented reality), but others will be be totally applicable to Pinterest marketing.
The first trend is more shoppable posts.
Shoppable posts represent a huge opportunity for businesses, since 72% of Instagram users have purchased a product on the app. A survey of 4,000 Pinterest users found that 70% of them use Pinterest as a way to find new and interesting products.
Users are wanting more visual and interactive content. They want new experiences.
Personalization is my favorite predicted trend. 2020 is going to be the year of personalized marketing. Consumers are great at tuning out ads that are generic. Be personal when it comes to your marketing and give some of yourself.
Content marketing is still king. We’ve been saying this for years. Your content shows your expertise and is a way for you to communicate with your customers from a place of authority.
Related: Do Product Sellers Need a Blog?
We will continue to talk more next year about video content. Some of you have been invited to the video beta program. If you get invited to a beta program with Pinterest, please accept the invite! This allows you to really see the behind-the-scenes and give feedback to Pinterest.
Promoted pins will continue to be important and will get smarter in how they target people. We will also see a lot of new people using Pinterest. There is always room for growth.
That’s it for our 2019 Pinterest recap!
What are your goals for 2020? What are you looking forward to when it comes to your Pinterest marketing? How can you serve your ideal customer even better this coming year?
Download our Pinterest planner and start making your plans now. I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
For Further Listening/Reading:
- The 2020 Ultimate Pinterest Planner
- The Promoted Pins 101 Guide
- How Promoted Pins Can Boost Your Organic Strategy
Time Stamp:
Intro
2:08 – Happy Birthday, Pinterest!
5:17 – Social Media Predictions for 2019
10:00 – Pinterest Changes Noticed By Pinners
21:05 – How SPM Has Grown In 2019
25:59 – What I Learned in 2019
27:33 – What’s Coming In 2020?
I haven’t even made it though the first 10 minutes of this podcast, and I rarely leave comments, but I already just have to say I am SO GLAD that Kate, you shared about being on food stamps and buying all your presents with them. Not that I am happy a person has been there, but I’ve never heard someone publicly announce being at a place like that, and MOST IMPORTANTLY being grateful in those moments. There is always something to be grateful for, thank you for this!! Love love love. LOVE.
I think it’s an important piece of my story, and the story of how Simple Pin Media evolved. Thanks for your comment Erin!