• Although Pinterest might seem to be limited to businesses in the health, lifestyle and DIY space, it offers benefits for businesses of all kinds.
• The key to Pinterest marketing is creating valuable and share-worthy content. It's important to use visually appealing images, optimise for pin searches and add context to your content where possible.
• By optimising your Pinterest content you can humanise your brand, drive quality traffic to your site and convert visitors. Want to know how? Check out these 10 simple tips.

Did you know that Pinterest has more than 450 million active users? It’s not just a place for DIY tips, recipes and scrapbooking inspiration!

Pinterest doubles as a powerful search engine—one that can drive highly engaged traffic to your website or store if you use it well.

As with any social media network, your content should be highly shareable and valuable. If your business isn’t in the lifestyle/DIY space, you may be wondering if your content can still do well on Pinterest and boost traffic for your website.

The answer is yes! No matter what niche you are in, there are many benefits of using Pinterest as long as you know how to create great content.

How to Get More Traffic on Pinterest

Here are 10 simple tips you can follow to get more organic traffic with Pinterest:

1. Have a purpose for the content 
2. Accompany your content with the right visuals 
3. Optimise your pin for searches 
4. Add context to your content 
5. Have a clear schedule 
6. Tap into story pins 
7. Collaborate with your community 
8. Research what your audience is looking for 
9. Repurpose your content 
10. Use every piece of content as an opportunity to improve 

1. Have a Purpose for the Content 

Because of Pinterest’s trending topics around products, DIY, recipes/food and so on, it’s easy to forget that it’s a social media platform for any sort of valuable content. The key is to use it strategically. 

What type of content does your target audience want to see? Imagine what they’re looking for before they learn about your brand. Perhaps they’re searching for some sort of tutorial. And don’t underestimate the power of inspiration! Almost nine in 10 people use Pinterest for purchasing ideas.

In short, the content marketing strategy you use for your blog, Twitter, etc., also applies on Pinterest. You should have a good understanding of your post’s content and how it relates to your prospective customers’ core desires and needs.

So, when creating your content, make sure to have a clear purpose (e.g., promoting your business, selling your products/services, and/or driving traffic to your website). Then, work backwards to find the connection with your target audience’s interests. 

2. Accompany Your Content with the Right Visuals

Pinterest is essentially an image search engine. It appeals to people who are looking for creative ideas or visual instruction. However, most users are like this — it’s part of being human. We connect deeply to visual stimuli that help us imagine new possibilities.

On Pinterest, that effect is powerful. 98% of all Pinterest users have tried something they’ve seen on Pinterest, and 91% regard the platform as a place of positivity. This means that Pinterest users are motivated to take action after they see your content.

The key is to optimize your posts for the platform. Pinterest’s visual search engine is designed for long, tall, vertical images. This invites users to immerse themselves in the content.

Here are some handy metrics when designing your graphics or formatting your photos:

• The preferred image aspect ratio is 2:3 to 1:3
• The optimal image size is 1000 x 1500 pixels
• ALWAYS use high-resolution images

3. Optimize Your Pin for Searches

Yes, Pinterest is a search engine, so you need to perform SEO just as you would for your blog. Make sure that your pins are not just seen, but getting re-pined, shared and clicked.

First, focus on discoverability. Optimize your pins for search by including your industry- or niche-specific keywords and hashtags. You can roll these naturally into your pin title, description, link text, etc. Pinterest does an excellent job of showing your pins to new users. 

Next, build boards that relate to your core “content pillars” or areas of expertise. It may be tempting to create boards for trending topics, but try to stick to areas where you can consistently provide valuable content. Then, create Pinterest boards around those areas.

4. Add Context to Your Content

Content may be king, but the story is everything. Your Pinned Images should help tell the story of the tip, recipe, craft or technique you share. Think of it as a way to lure your target customers and show them that you’re more than a content creator—you’re a problem-solver.

To figure out how to do this, perform a few searches on Pinterest for your chosen topics. Evaluate what people will see when they search for your keywords. Where can you fill in the gaps? How can you present yourself as a consummate guide and inspiration?

The more description and context you add to your pin, the better. Make it personal—Pinterest is all about human connection.

5. Have a Clear Schedule

This tip isn’t just about efficacy but also your sanity. Having a posting schedule allows you to plan out your content in advance. This way, you can post your content consistently without feeling overwhelmed or confused.

We’ve all started posting something only to remember we just talked about something similar two days ago. In Tips 3 and 4, you learned how to identify your content pillars and positioning. Now, create posts and set a posting schedule, so you can keep your followers intrigued while continually attracting new people. 

Ideally, you create your content schedule at least 30-45 days in advance. This gives you time to tweak and adjust, then simply roll out pins with minimal frustration. Just be mindful of seasonal trends, holidays and major events that may disrupt your themes.

6. Tap into Story Pins

A Pinterest Story Pin is a way to attach videos, images and text to a pin. The idea is to provide multiple steps or aspects of a tutorial, but Story Pins are also good ways to engage your audience and showcase your offerings.

Note that this feature is still being distributed and not available to everyone yet. However, if it’s available for you, definitely tap into it. The story format has already done very well on Facebook and Instagram, and with Pinterest being such a visual platform, it’s the ideal place to harness this approach to content.

On that note: Don’t be afraid to narrate your Pin or show your face. It gets your audience excited to follow you and keeps them coming back to engage, as they would on Instagram. 

7. Collaborate with Your Community

Pinterest is indeed a social network, so make it social! For example, the platform allows you to set up collaborative boards, aka group boards, where multiple people can contribute. This is the perfect way to leverage your affiliate and influencer partnerships on Pinterest.

You can also reach out to people within your group board community and work on a piece of content that you can promote together on Pinterest. People love seeing collaborative content, and everyone’s followers will see the content, which helps boost views and traffic for both you and your collaborators.

One of my favourite ways to collaborate is through Tailwind Tribes. This feature helps you discover like-minded Pinterest influencers and increase the repins of your own content. It gives you an endless supply of relevant pins that you can easily share with your audience.

8. Research What Your Audience is Looking for

You can create content that interests you and content that interests your audience. The sweet spot is where they overlap. As a business owner, you probably have interests (e.g., marketing, entrepreneur tips) that your target market may not share.

That’s why it’s essential to conduct audience research. Knowing what your audience is seeking helps you make intelligent content decisions and ensures your Pins are crafted the right way. When you understand the tone and approach that resonate with your target audience, you can create truly valuable content.

If you’ve been publishing on Pinterest already, be sure to review your Audience Insights. This is a great way to see who’s been engaging with your Pins and how those numbers compare to overall Pinterest trends.

9. Repurpose Your Content

There is no need to reinvent the wheel: whatever you have posted on your blog or other social media platforms, you can always convert it into a Pin.

For example, if you have a how-to blog, convert that into a Pinterest Story Pin or infographic. Or, take your audience behind the scenes—turn your brand story into a compelling image gallery pin or Story Pin.

Have you published a great interview with an industry influencer? Pull a quote and make it a Pin with a link back to the article. And you can extract a helpful tip from just about any blog topic, then publish it as a Pin with a link for more information.

10. Use Every Piece of Content as an Opportunity to Improve 

There is no such thing as perfect Pinterest content. Some pins will go viral right away. Some won’t perform as well as you expect. So take every content you create as an opportunity to improve. 

Which topics had higher engagement? What does your analytics reveal about the content you have been posting? What content does your audience respond to best? 

Consider these questions when you are creating content for your audience.

Wrapping Up

Pinterest is an amazing way to boost your traffic and build your brand. Start by focusing on your business’s most compelling visual aspects, then compare it to your audience research on the platform. Where they intersect is the perfect place to begin creating Pins that are shareable, valuable and conversion-friendly.

What tip will you be implementing first to create epic content for Pinterest? Let us know in the comments!