Seasonality on Pinterest

Have you ever thought about how seasonal Pinterest is? Today we are going to do a deep dive into the seasonality on Pinterest with Jillian Tohber Leslie. Jillian is the founder of the Milo Tree app, and a former 2-time guest on the show. Jillian and her husband also own and operate Catch My Party–the largest party planning site on the web. 

According to Jillian,

Seasonality can be your Secret Sauce on Pinterest.

What is Seasonality on Pinterest?

Seasonality simply means tapping into what people are actually experiencing in their own lives, based on the seasons of the year. You then create and post content that serves them according to the season.

For example, when this episode airs, Valentine’s Day has just ended; so all the Valentine boards that were pushed to the top of our pages are getting pushed back down. And we are pushing up our Mardi Gras boards, along with St. Patrick’s Day and Easter.

Seasonality means always thinking ahead a few weeks to what’s coming up and preparing new content, or sharing older content again. Jillian and her team begin pinning content to the next seasonal board around 8 weeks before the holiday arrives.

What About Christmas?

For the bigger holidays, like Christmas or Halloween, pinning to those boards during the off season can be a smart move. People plan for Christmas all year long; so even if it’s the week after Christmas, don’t be afraid to share a great Christmas pin.

Especially if you have a viral pin associated with one of these holidays…pin it once a month or so. People associate happy times with these holidays, so your pin might still gain some traction even during the off season. They’ll save it for the next time.

Be sure to download the free Pinterest Planner, which tells you exactly what to pin each month. 

What if You Don’t Create Seasonal Content?

Seasonal stuff sounds great for the DIY’er, the food blogger, and the typical Mommy blogger, right? But what if your content is not typically seasonal? Is there a way to pin seasonally, without it seeming awkward or forced?

Definitely! Jillian reminds us to think about our audience. Is your audience mostly Moms? If so, then realize that their children automatically make them more attuned to the seasons. Consider the school breaks for spring, winter, and summer. Put yourself in the mindset of the person who will be using your product.

Jillian provided a beautiful example of this type of seasonality in the episode:

“Let’s say spring is the next season coming up, but you are a website designer; how do you pin for spring? Think about spring…what comes to mind? Maybe some spring cleaning?

How about creating some content on spring cleaning your website? Or updating your site?”

Learn how to clean up your Pinterest boards here.

Think about your customers; they have full lives and live according to the seasons just like we all do. How can you tap into where they already are with your product?

You also want to consider the emotion of the season…spring feels very light and airy. So pin and create content that goes along with what the season evokes in us.

 

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Utilizing Previous Content

When it comes time to move new boards to the top, Jillian opens each board and takes a look at the content. She does this not only to see which pins did really well in the same season last year, but to see if she needs to create more content for that board.

She also updates the descriptions, repins it to newer boards, and repins it to the same board. All of this helps her to consider what she needs to be creating. If you struggle with your editorial calendar and knowing what you should be creating for the upcoming weeks or months, this is a great way to fill that calendar in.

Another idea is to use pins of other people’s content to get ideas for content creation. When you pin other people’s content and you see what does really well, you can then use that information to create your own similar content.

Kate’s secret tip- create a secret board for inspiration. Pin anything to this board that inspires you to create content, using the description for notes. When you’re looking for ideas for content, go back to this board and peruse what you’ve pinned.

This doesn’t mean copying someone else’s work; it means taking someone else’s ideas and putting your own spin on it. If a pin is performing really well, you need to consider why that is, and try to replicate the idea behind it.

(If you want to see how your own pins are performing for others, go to pinterest.com/source/ your website name.com. So I would go to pinterest.com/source/simplepinmedia.com.)

Please be sure to listen in at 10:25, as Jillian and I have a 15 minute discussion on using older content, updating pins, creating new graphics from old photos, and more!

Seasonal Analytics

If you are primarily a seasonal blogger, then your analytics can be very frustrating as you see the peaks and valleys in your account. If you have some strong seasonal content, look back and see if that huge boost you had was related to a recent holiday. If so, then don’t worry so much about the dip in traffic right now.

With Jillian’s party site, they see their biggest jump in traffic right before Halloween. Then their traffic completely bottoms out between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But consider their audience- mostly mothers of young kids. And while they are still throwing parties, they aren’t doing party “research at that point. They are actually throwing the parties!

Their kids may be on school break. They are trying to pull together all the holiday stuff for their families. Jillian has watched this happen for several years now, so it no longer freaks her out. It is still hard to see those valleys, but history tells her that the traffic always comes back.

Rather than stressing over the valley, figure out how you’re going to prepare when that same season comes around the next year. — Jillian

Seasonality on Pinterest: Tips for New Bloggers

If you are a new blogger and you’re pretty sure you need to tap into the seasonal Pinterest thing, how do you do it without stressing out and going crazy? Jillian has some tips for you:

• Take baby steps. A baby step every day leads to progress over time.
• Notice trends in your niche. What kind of content can you create for the next season?
• Don’t feel behind. Work where you are, and never feel like you are too small to make a difference.
• Be kind to yourself. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. You will find your groove.

Action Item-

Think about what seasonal content you have that is appropriate right now. If you aren’t a seasonal writer, think about what content you have that could be applied to the current season.

Look at your analytics in large batches of time to see your own peaks and valleys.

Connect with Jillian online-

• Catch My Party
• Milotree
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Episodes mentioned in today’s show-

• Simple Pin Podcast –  More Followers on Pinterest 
• Simple Pin Podcast – How to Create the Best Pinterest Boards

Time Stamp:

Intro

2:00 What is seasonality on Pinterest?

4:00 Does it apply to Christmas and Halloween?

6:10 What if your content isn’t seasonal?

10:25 Utilizing previous content

26:00 Seasonal analytics

33:40 New blogger tips

What are your tips and tricks for riding the seasons on Pinterest? Join the fun below. 

FYI — I have a private Facebook group where I love to chat all about Pinterest. Join me.