Social media marketing is crucial for brand awareness, customer loyalty, and increasing your overall sales-- but we already knew this, right? While Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are strong platforms to utilize, having an active Pinterest account with an effective Pinterest Strategy behind it may be the most valuable tool for different reasons.

Pinterest currently has 250 million active users. As compelling as this statistic is, we also need to consider how Pinterest is a beneficial tool for SEO purposes, making it a unique and invaluable social platform.

Here’s how to take advantage of Pinterest’s exclusive offerings for a kickass strategy in 2019:

Pin Often and Consistently

Like most social media mediums, having a regular posting schedule is imperative. According to PinCoach, you should be Pinning at least 10x a day. Your Pins should be a mix of native and curated content. Native content is content created from scratch by your brand, while curated content is the gathering of existing content such as blogs, photos, eBooks, etc. RePinning other’s Pins to your boards also shows community engagement.

Additionally, instead of Pinning all at once, you should Pin sporadically so your content is spread out. Part of Pinterest’s algorithm is based off consistency. Once Pinterest sees you are posting high-quality content that is consistent, your impressions will increase, meaning more users will see your content!

Allure Your Audience With Vivid Images

Because Pinterest is such a visual platform - much like Instagram - it’s important to have captivating images. Putting a strong effort towards the quality of your images will make a world of difference.

Be sure your images are well-lit and in focus. The images you choose are a reflection of your brand imagery, so it pays to put forth extra effort in this regard. .

Research your industry to learn what kind of images perform the best. For example, in the retail industry instead of posting a photo of the product itself, you can produce 30 percent more clickthroughs and 170 percent higher checkout rates if you use a lifestyle photo of a person wearing or using a product.

Don’t Forget to Write Detailed Descriptions

While great images are a necessity, it’s not enough to rely on strong visuals. As we mentioned earlier, Pinterest is a substantial SEO tool. In 500 words, your description should pique your audience’s interest while including keywords. These keywords are picked up by Google, and if you have a strong Pinterest marketing strategy in place, this will ultimately increase your search engine results.

Writing a solid description doesn’t necessarily mean including a brand name. In fact, 97% of Pinterest descriptions don’t. This is because Pinners are searching for specific terms or items, not brands. Think about humanizing your brand and how your audience is using Pinterest.

 

Don’t Skip Out on Hashtags

Hashtags are a great search tool on Pinterest. Hashtags are used to search for the most recent content so you should incorporate both timely and timeless hashtags such as #Christmas and #GiftIdeas. Also be sure to use evergreen hashtags and industry-related hashtags.

Engage With Other Accounts

Having a Pinterest marketing strategy is great for SEO, but it should also be treated like other social media platforms. This involves engaging with other accounts including repinning, saving, and liking, other user’s Pins. In turn, this will increase your own engagement.

Another way to increase engagement is to create a group board where you can invite others in your Pinterest network to contribute with their own pins.

Use Analytics to Skyrocket Performance

Monitoring your Pin’s performances can help you learn what’s working and what isn’t. You can then tweak your Pins for optimized results. Be sure to avoid vanity metrics, numbers that are easily manipulated and don’t necessarily provide quality to your brand. Instead, audit which Pins are sending traffic to your website, which should be the ultimate goal.

Analyzing your successful Pins will also help see how others view your brand and spark ideas for future campaigns. Gaining insight into the demographics and interests of others will assist in providing the right content to the right people.

With a strong Pinterest Marketing Strategy in place, you can expect to strengthen your brand, drive heavy traffic, and widen product exposure in 2019!