What Sites and Tools do Pinterest Marketers Use?
I’ve given you a lot to think about in terms of your Pinterest marketing strategy, and now I’m going to highlight some great sites and tools for Pinterest marketers.
Use Rich Pins
Rich pins are packed with more information than other pins, providing direct site links, and interactive features like maps and real-time data. Pinterest is home to several kinds of rich pins: articles, movies, places/events, products, and recipes. They work using meta tags so be sure your own site is configured properly for rich pins. If it isn’t, here’s how to deal with it.
Integrate rich pins by first choosing the right type of rich pins. Once you choose, you can see the documentation for the given kind of rich pin you’re after and add the right meta tags to your site. Finally, get them approved through Pinterest; without that validation they won’t work.
Use a Brand Inspiration Board
A brand inspiration board is a great way to generate traffic without needing rich pins. Pinterest inspiration is one of the platform’s main draws for most users, so this kind of board makes you and your business relatable. Inspiration boards with focuses on popular search topics also generate traffic.
Use Pinterest for Business
The official Pinterest for Business account allows you to make the best marketing use of Pinterest. Get familiar with the use policies which are more restrictive for commercial users. In particular, you’ll need to avoid spamming users with requests to comment or endless serial contests. Adhering to these rules allows you to take advantage of the perks of the business account.
For example, business users can access educational marketing materials for the platform. These include the Pinstitute, a collection of interactive workshops that teach you how to connect with pinners. There are also small business webinars.
Perform a Competitive Analysis
This is the methodical way to assess your competition. Start by choosing five competitor brands that have excellent content marketing track records. It doesn’t matter whether they are big businesses or small shops as long as their content marketing is on point.
Next, analyze those five brands and their content. Note their calls to action, core messages, content topic areas they cover, and content topics they avoid. Assess how well their content enhances their core message(s). Finally, look at the kinds of content they use in relation to how they are posted. Do they use infographics? Podcasts? Do they post certain varieties of content in specific ways, or with tailored calls to action? Track these variations for each of the five competitors you chose with an eye towards improving on their strategies.
One way to research which pins are popular for your competitors is to use the free BuzzSumo Top Content search tool. This lets you use smarter, more tailored searches of competitor materials. Subreddits (which are like channels) are another great way to hone in on high-quality content; find them using the metareddit search tool. Subreddits listed in a larger font have many users. Sort your subreddit results by “all time” and “top” to find popular evergreen content.
Track RSS Feeds
Once you have found sources of excellent content, follow them. This is easiest using an RSS reader like Feedly; these allow you to create custom feeds and view them on your dashboard. Once your dashboard is teeming with healthy RSS feeds from relevant sources and influencers, you’re in a great position to make use of the information.
Choose Wisely: Finding Keywords for Your Topics
Your first step towards smart keyword use is to create a keyword list or spreadsheet. Organize it based on both main topics and subtopics. Tools such as keyword planner allow you to refine and grow your list of topics.
SEMRush is another useful tool that lets you search possible topics by volume; this way you can prioritize your topics appropriately. Repinned.net is another great tool; it lets you locate which boards in your target topic area are the most popular.
What’s in a name? On Pinterest, a lot. Don’t use your brand name alone to name your Pinterest account. Instead, add your most important keyword to your business name (not the URL of the page itself) as to ensure that the right people find you when they search. Edit your business name using the “edit profile” tool in your settings. No one will be able to see the keywords you have added to the business name, but they’ll trigger the Pinterest search to include your page when pinners search for that keyword.
Similarly, you should include keywords in your board titles and in your individual pins. In this way you maximize your chances of being found in searches. To enhance this feature place keywords near the beginning of your titles and pin descriptions. Still not sure which words to choose? Pinterest will help you with suggestions as you type into the search box just like Google does. To show up in more searches, keep your keyword descriptions simple and short.
Control Your Timing
The Viral Tag tool is perfect for business who have customers all over the world. It lets you schedule your pins to reach pinners searching for your business even when you’re fast asleep. You can also create a Secret Board to store your planned pins; no one can see them until you post them to a live board so you can save up your planned pins there.
Use a Call-to-Pin
You’d never skip the call-to-action in your email or ad copy; don’t skip it in your pins. Pins with calls-to-pin get 80 percent more engagement. Your call-to-pin doesn’t need to be fancy; just “repin to your board” works.
Use New Pinterest Tools
Pinterest is dedicated to growth and has indicated that new tools for business accounts will be produced. Tools like the Widget Builder, the Pin It Button, and Promoted Pins are all very useful. Read the newsletter from Pinterest so you don’t miss out on newer tools.
Make Pinning Content on Your Site Simple
You definitely want visitors to your website to pin your products and content. There is a hovering “Pin It” button available in WordPress and through Pinterest directly. The buttons motivate visitors to pin your content, and if you don’t use them you’re far less likely to get this kind of engagement from visitors.
Find Social Media Friends
Always use the “Find Friends” tool on Pinterest. This allows you to make use of all of your Twitter and Facebook contacts. On your Pinterest page the button is toward the top left corner.
Use a Planning Document
An actionable, easy to use content marketing plan allows you to efficiently control your content creation. You can use any kind of spreadsheet or document for this; just make sure it is clear and include the various kinds of information you need. Include your strategic plan, channels, content types, core messages, desired actions, frequency of pins, keywords, objectives, quarterly benchmarks and results, structure, tone, topics, and URLs.
