How To Grow Your Pinterest...

I have had a Pinterest account for years, I have saved quotes, recipes, wedding ideas, home decor and fashion inspiration. My mum and I have always sent each other pins here and there, but I never saw it as a business opportunity or another social media platform to spend time curating and growing, that was until the beginning of the pandemic when the UK went into lockdown and I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands and decided to start pinning more professionally (so to speak). I have started from pretty much a “nothing” account but started to pin things I like and fashion trends I am obsessed with.

I have gone from ZERO unique monthly visitors to over 800,000.

Below, is exactly what I did and am still doing with a quick 5 step guide for you.

Use your desktop for all of the below!

Step 1:

Create a Pinterest account, if you don’t already have one. Clean it up, any boards or pins that you’ve previously saved, either move them to hidden boards or categorise them and start from what you’ve got. Switch to a business account so you can see the analytics, this way you’ll be able to see how many people save your pins, what pins are most popular and how many people you’re reaching (impressions), as well as your weekly/ monthly growth.

Link your other social media handles to Pinterest and Pinterest to them, for example add the Pinterest button to your blog. You can find me on Pinterest as @alexincolour.

Step 2:

Create 3 to 5 boards that will be relatable to an audience, or anyone who finds your pins when scrolling. Think of the current trends / seasons across social media and in the world at the moment, as well as what appeals to you (you want to enjoy pinning).

Board examples: minimalist fashion inspiration, monochrome styling, positive life quotes, halloween outfits...

Name the boards with a relevant title to what the pins will be. Keep it short, sweet and catchy and make sure you enter a clear description of what the board is. (Top tip: use key words).

Step 3:

Get pinning! Pin every day! Consistency and quality of images you pin are key to growth. You need to be pinning on average between 10 - 30 images or videos a day to ensure you are an active user of Pinterest. Be sure to mix it up, don’t pin just one board one day and another board the next, be sure to vary what you pin according to your board names. Mix it up!

There are schedule pinning apps for this if you need, I have tried and tested Tailwind, which allows you to schedule your pins for up to 2 to 3 weeks. I only used the free version of this to see how it worked but I am in a rhythm of pinning myself so didn’t see the need to spend on the premium version.

Step 4:

When you post on Instagram, pin it! You can pin anything you post on Instagram, YouTube and even your blog so that anyone who finds you on Pinterest will have a direct link to your Instagram. This is called cross pollination and is an organic way to grow over on Instagram once you establish your visits on Pinterest. You can also use Instagram as a way of scouting for relevant pins for your boards, if using the desktop version when you pin from Instagram it will automatically link back to their account too! It’s a winner for everyone!

Step 5:

Follow relevant and likeminded Pinterest users. When you follow someone on Pinterest, they’ll receive a notification letting them know that they have a new follower. Some people will follow you back if they find you interesting and can relate to your boards/pins. You can view these followers and find similar pinners by then clicking on their followers tab. You can also use Pinterest search to find people that have created boards and pins similar to your own.

Top tip: Using the business option on Pinterest allows you to see what Pinterest is suggesting as it’s top weekly trends, this way you know what is popular and what can help your pins be found and pinned! Maybe even create a board to fit a trend… You can search top trends by country also!

To sum it up, Pinterest is becoming even more of an important social media channel and being active on it consistently is key to growing your Pinterest views and followers, even if it is just a few minutes a day. Connect with other like-minded users, do your keyword research and pay attention to trends. And most importantly, focus on creating a useful resource for your followers. Happy pinning! x