It’s hard to believe but it’s already time to start preparing for how you’re going to handle your Pinterest marketing in 2021. Your Pinterest marketing is an investment in your business, and the truth is, Pinterest has changed.
Anybody with an online business who uses Pinterest as part of their marketing plan can tell you that the way we used to do things on the platform just isn’t working as well anymore. Some things, however, have not changed.
Pinterest users are still looking for evergreen solutions to their problems and you have the opportunity to provide that solution.
Let’s face it — people are bored. Because of the pandemic, folks are at home more than ever and looking for something to do. They want to be inspired and encouraged. They are also looking for community, as evidenced by the gaining popularity of story pins, video pins, and the ability to comment on those pins.
If you want to see success in your Pinterest marketing in 2021, you’re going to want to invest in these five tactics now in order to set yourself up for success in the new year.
5 Smart Ways to Invest in Your Pinterest Marketing in 2021
#1. Create the Right Boards (Or Update the Ones You Have)
I know that the importance of Pinterest boards has ebbed and flowed, but they are going to be more important than ever in 2021.
If you engage with story pins and create them regularly, people are going to be visiting your profile more often. At the end of story pins, the user is encouraged to check out your Pinterest profile and see what else you have to offer.
You need to decide what you want to be known for. And your boards should all be relevant to the audience you are targeting.
There was a time when best practice dictated that we create lots of boards covering a wide variety of topics. That is no longer the case. Now, it’s best to have fewer boards that highlight YOUR brand and YOUR content exclusively.
Related: How to Use Pinterest Group Boards Strategically
And an important note — if you are closely connected with your brand, or you are your brand, avoid creating boards for things you love, do, or dream about. The caveat to that would be if you write about those topics.
Your goal with Pinterest marketing is to get people to your website to consume your content and purchase your products, not to get lost in your wanderlust or cute quotes board.
#2. Choose the Right Keywords
You can’t just put whatever you like out there on Pinterest and expect to see results. You have to choose the right Pinterest keywords to target your ideal person and audience.
Keywording on Pinterest is simply adding specific keywords from your niche that allow Pinterest’s algorithm to communicate to your users what your content is about. For example, if I search “modern farmhouse bathroom lights,” I want Pinterest to show me modern farmhouse bathroom lights, not tacos.
If you are in a tight niche, you need to keyword very carefully so that your ideal customer can find your content and products. When they type into the search bar what they’re looking for, you want your content to show up and be the answer to what they need.
Related: Small Niche Marketing on Pinterest
Pinterest has recently communicated that they are striving to be a platform of positivity. So be sure to use the most positive form of whatever keywords you want to be known for.
#3. Pin Description Copy Matters
Both the text on your pins and the images themselves are THE most important part of your Pinterest marketing. Why? Because those are the elements of a pin that make your ideal person stop scrolling, click on your pin, and then save it.
When you choose an image for your pin, make that image the first part of the story that you are telling and will continue once they click through to your website. You aren’t merely trying to grab their attention; you want there to be cohesiveness between the pin and what the pinner will find on your site.
Your pin title should instantly tell the pinner what your content is going to be about. Use those keywords in your titles if at all possible (and remember to keep it positive).
Be sure to include your branding on your pins. Branding encompasses your brand colors, your logo, etc. If you’re consistent with your pin branding, users will start to recognize your pins.
Lastly, include a call to action on your pins. You can use boxes, arrows, and commands to tell your user exactly what you want them to do.
#4. Learn Which Numbers You Need to Track
When you are tracking your metrics, you definitely need to keep in mind which numbers are important to track and which ones aren’t a good use of your time.
When tracking data, ask yourself two main questions:
• What are the questions that I have?
• Where can I find the answers?
These questions are at the core of analytics and the answers to them help you decide what changes you need to make in your Pinterest marketing. Analytics provides the story of what happens once you put your pin on Pinterest.
Let’s look at a few different components of Pinterest analytics you need to understand:
• Clicks– tells you how many people took action on your pin.
• Saves– tells you how many people plan to take action later.
• Close-ups– shows intent but not necessarily action.
• Impressions– someone was shown your pin but didn’t take action
If your story pins have a high number of impressions, that’s great because it shows you they are getting into the feed. In contrast, finding a high number of impressions on a static pin with a low number of saves is not good because it indicates that users didn’t take action on that pin for some reason.
If you need to only focus on the action-driven data, that’s totally fine! Look at your clicks and saves and figure out what that data tells you.
#5. Clicks, Clicks, and More Clicks
Pinterest marketing is all about clicks. So, how do you get more of them?
If we look at everything we’ve covered in this episode so far, it all tells a story. You can see how the marriage between keywords, boards, and images tells a story about what’s working for your users and what’s not working.
One of the most harmful things I see in Facebook groups and in conversations between Pinterest marketers is comparing our business to other businesses. We hear about other Pinterest marketers’ results. If we aren’t seeing those same results, we panic.
What if, instead of panicking, we went into our data and we took a hard look at what the analytics tell us? You might find that you are getting your users to take action on a certain type of content.
Related: How to Increase Your Pinterest Conversion Rate
This helps you to understand how the user is engaging with what you are sharing and tells you what you need to create more of. Once you have this information, try creating a story pin or a video pin to see if that increases your engagement.
More pins do not necessarily equal more clicks. Clicks come from you reaching that ideal person with your content.
5 Steps to Crushing Pinterest Marketing in 2021: A Recap
Let’s recap the five smart ways to invest in your Pinterest marketing for 2021.
- Create new boards or update the ones you have to better reflect your brand.
- Choose the right keywords to target your audience on Pinterest.
- Slow the scroll by choosing the right pin copy and design for your images.
- Learn which KPIs you need to track and which you can ignore for now.
- Figure out how to get more clicks by learning what your audience engages with.
For Further Listening/Reading:
