Are you sharing pinnable content that reaches out to Pinterest users? If you’re not taking advantage of the Pinterest bandwagon, you could be missing out on big business.
According to Marketing Land, in early 2013 Pinterest actually beat out email when it came to sharing targeted content. And now, with its relatively recent launch of Pinterest Analytics, Pinterest higher-ups are recognizing and capitalizing on the social media site’s ballooning marketing capacity.
You don’t have to invest in Pinterest Analytics (or any other fancy-schmancy software) to optimize your content for Pinterest. These tips will help you develop a growing presence on one of today’s most share-friendly social media outlets out there.
1. Choose Images Wisely
Don’t neglect photographs, infographs, or other visuals in your posts, because they’ll do double-duty if you let them. An effective graphic both snags readers’ attention and makes your content pinnable. According to Curalate, images with faces receive 23% more repins than other graphics, and photos featuring warm red and orange tones are pinned twice as often as blue images.
More important than image color or style, though, is that your image be as relevantly tied to your content as possible. Halfheartedly tossing a stock image with a tenuous connection to your message onto a blog post won’t win you any points in the Pinterest world.
2. Pay Attention to Changing Demographics
It’s time to banish the assumption that Pinterest is all about recipes and craft projects–and that you’re limited to a female audience there. Pinterest’s userbase has always been largely female, but the demographics are changing.
Depending on the metrics you follow, women make up 65-80% of Pinterest users–but those numbers are evolving daily. A recent Pew survey reports that just 13% of U.S. men have a Pinterest account. But spin the globe over to Asia, and you’ll find that Pinterest counts are fairly evenly divided between men and women. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on in the next several months as Pinterest demographics continue to find a new balance and online publishers gain new opportunities to reach their audience.
3. Optimize Your Pinterest Personality
Developing a following on Pinterest requires a bit of a learning curve–and research. Keep in mind that the number of people who see your pin is larger than the number of followers you have, so chances are good you’re reaching more people than you realize. Taking the time to clearly and concisely use your profile to explain who you are is a great first step, but developing an attractive Pinterest profile is nothing compared to making sure that your images are well-described.
Pinterest allows up to 500 characters to get your message out there with each pin. Sprout Social suggests keeping it concise when you can, but always specifically state what your pin is about, even if your description is more than a couple of lines long. Never leave your image with a default title like “img2038.jpg.” Defining your image means it’ll come up in relevant search results and offer real value to Pinterest users.
Keep in mind that the Pinterest world is changing by the minute, so what works wonderfully this month might take on a different flavor in the weeks to come. Don’t be afraid to change your strategy and continually build on your Pinterest marketing know-how.
Writer Bio: Steffani J is a part-time content writer who loves to drink tea and create content, but struggles with one-liners.
