For me, Pinterest is one of the most underestimated platforms, even though it offers enormous marketing potential. Pinterest is not only suitable for achieving various marketing goals such as building reach, directing traffic to your own website or even increasing sales. Marketing on Pinterest is also ideal for beginners or solopreneurs who cannot devote much time to promoting their business.
In this comprehensive guide for Pinterest beginners, we explain everything you need to know to get off to a successful start with Pinterest. Grab a RedBull and let's start with the basics.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a visual search engine, which is all about inspiration and finding ideas. And indeed, the name says it all: Pin ( to pin somehting for later) terest (interest), is a platform on which you can save exciting content on pinboards . Whether as a collection of ideas, a source of inspiration or a vision board -Pinterest is mainly about finding things that you can actively implement yourself. So it's not a social network: it's not about exchanging ideas with others, it's about the individual use. People are active on Pinterest to plan for themselves and find inspiration. This is why Pinterest is sometimes referred to as "personal media" instead of social media.
HOW DOES PINTEREST WORK?
You can think of Pinterest a bit like Google's image search, because the network works very similarly. Based on search terms, content is suggested to you that also visually matches your preferences. To do this, an AI scans every single image on the platform, categorizes it into visual features and topic-related features and finally matches it with your search query and the posts you have already interacted with. Pinterest also has a second algorithm that suggests content similar to Instagram.
From a marketing perspective, Pinterest offers some exciting advantages over other platforms. The mix of the two algorithms on Pinterest allows you to address your target group (even organically) much more precisely, and then pick them up when they actively search for your content themselves. Pinterest is therefore also ideal for marketing beginners.
THESE TERMS SHOULD BE KNOWN TO PINTEREST BEGINNERS
Before I show you how to get started with Pinterest. Let's talk briefly about the most important Pinterest terms. Because especially as a beginner, it's important to know what is meant by which term.
Pinner = People who are active on Pinterest often affectionately call themselves "pinners".
Board A pinboard is a virtual board on which you can note or 'pin' your content. Pinboards are often sorted by topic and there are different types: public pinboards that everyone can see, secret pinboards that are only visible to you or group pinboards, where you can pin content together with friends.
Pin = A pin is an image or video that you see on Pinterest. It is the content that you want to remember. You can think of it as a kind of notepad.
Rich-Pin Some 'sticky notes' are provided with metadata from your own website and can therefore keep themselves up to date. These are known as Rich Pins. The special feature of these pins is that they can update their description texts independently because they always compare them with the metadata of your website. For example, if you add your product feed as rich pins, you can see on the pin whether your product is currently available or has been reduced. You can activate rich pins for blog articles, products and recipes.
Repin = These are pins that you memorize from other users. Like a repost - only in Pinterest jargon.
Promoted-Pin = A promoted pin is a pin that is displayed as an advertisement.
Homefeed = In your home feed, you will find content that is suggested to you by the Pinterest algorithm or content from people you follow. Think of Instagram.
Search feed = The search feed opens when you enter a term in the search bar. Pins that are most relevant to you based on your search query are displayed here. Think of Google.
First steps on Pinterest for BEGINNERS
Before you start using Pinterest as a new marketing channel, you should ask yourself whether Pinterest is worthwhile for you.We've told you how to find out in a separate article. Feel free to read it if you're interested. In most cases, the answer to the question of whether Pinterest is suitable for you will clearly be "yes". So let's move straight on. As a Pinterest beginner, the first thing you should do is establish a solid foundation so that you can get your Pinterest marketing off to a profitable start later on.
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Create a Pinterest business account . I'm often asked whether you absolutely need a business account as a Pinterest beginner? The answer is: No, you can do without one. But in the long term, this type of profile will make your life a lot easier. Because a business account gives you access to tools that will improve your marketing. For example, you can view detailed data on your target group, use the Pinterest trend tool or place ads. Make sure you fill out your profile completely and fully. It should include a profile picture, your name, your imprint and (!) your website as well as a meaningful description that tells the user what content can be found on your site. A complete profile setup also includes verifying your website..
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Conduct extensive keyword research: As Pinterest works like a search engine, it is important to focus on relevant search terms right from the start. Pinterest beginners should therefore carry out extensive keyword research. For example, you can simply enter terms that are relevant to you and your offer in the Pinterest search bar and see which similar and other search terms Pinterest suggests.
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Think about a marketing strategy: As a beginner, you should definitely think about what you want to achieve on Pinterest in the first place. A Pinterest strategy helps you to post targeted content and and manage your account. Think about which topics you want to play on Pinterest, how often you want to post new content and which pin format (video or image) you want to use. In this context, it may also be worth taking a look at the competition .
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Create boards and pins: Once you have laid the foundations, it's time to fill your profile. In the fourth and final step, you create the pinboards and fill them with content. Tip: Create a separate pinboard for each topic you want to play on your profile and make sure that the content is very specific to the topic of the board. For a higher recognition value, it is worth designing the pins in your branding. Also use different pin formats
BEGINNERS WATCH OUT:
THESE PIN FORMATS ARE AVAILABLE
As a Pinterest beginner, you should know that Pinterest provides you with different content formats to achieve your marketing goals. Especially as a beginner, it's important to know which organic pin formats are available and when it's best to use which format. Below you will find an overview of all formats for organic pins. Remember: if you want to place ads on Pinterest, there are other pin formats available to you. As a beginner, you generally don't place any ads, which is why we won't go into them here.
Standard pin = This pin format is the most frequently used and it's no wonder, because you can use it for everything. There are no limits to your creativity. To use the standard pin optimally, you should use it in a format of 1000 x 1500 px. However, it is also available in other sizes: Square pins have a resolution of 600 x 600 px, short pins have a resolution of 600 x 900 px. The standard pin is mainly used to generate traffic.
Long pins (also known as giraffe pins) = This pin type is particularly suitable for instructions or information graphics - and is therefore particularly suitable for content that users should remember. The correct format is: 600 x 1260 px.
Video pin = A video pin is particularly suitable for instructions and quick tips. It's best to record your video in 1:1 or 2:3. Video pins on Pinterest should have a length of 6-15 seconds.
Idea pin / Story pin = This type of pin is best compared to the Instagram story. However, Pinterest announced in the spring of this year that it would no longer support this format.
Beginner's tips for your pin design
As Pinterest is a visual search engine, the design of your pin is the be-all and end-all for your success on Pinterest. Below, we'll take a look at how you can optimize your pin as a Pinterest beginner.
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Design pins in your branding: To increase the recognition value on Pinterest, you should design your pins in uniform colors. To do this, develop eight different designs that you can use again and again. Remember to place your logo on each pin. But be careful not to place your logo in the bottom right-hand corner, as Pinterest may place the product symbol above the pin.
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Be sparing with the text: Your pin must stand out immediately when scrolling through the feed. Therefore, make sure that you don't place too much text on your pins. As a rule of thumb: the visuals must arouse interest, the content must be convincing. So be sparing with the text, use it as much as possible so that your pin can also be easily read on mobile devices and for this reason also avoid overly ornate fonts.
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Keep it simple: Make sure that your pin conveys your content in the best possible way. Keep it short and simple. It should be clear at first glance what it is about and what information is waiting for you when you click on the pin.
OFTEN ASKED BY PINTEREST BEGINNERS
Pinterest marketing refers to the targeted use of the Pinterest platform to achieve various marketing objectives.
The most effective way to increase your reach on Pinterest is to carry out a thorough keyword analysis and optimize your pins for the search engine. Find out what your target group is searching for and include these keywords in the descriptions of your pins, pinboards and in your short description. Make sure you only use relevant search terms and don't overdo it. A few meaningful keywords work better than many unimportant ones.
Before you try to gain followers on Pinterest, first realize that they are not important. Pinterest is a "personal media" platform, the focus is on sharing ideas and inspiration - not on following other people. To achieve your marketing goals, other metrics are more important.
However, followers on Pinterest also serve as social proof. That's why I'll tell you a few tricks on how to gain more followers:
- Use call-to-actions in your pin descriptions and actively encourage your target group to follow you.
- Use a consistent design in your pins to be recognized. This way, people who have found helpful information on your site will know it's you as soon as they see a new pin.
- No gate-keeping. Pinterest is a search engine - so people are specifically looking for helpful content. Make sure you produce high-quality content that offers added value.
The most important thing with your boards is that they are as topic-related and specific as possible - this also means that you need more than just one board. It is a good idea to start with 3-5 boards for Pinterest marketing and then add more as required. Pinterest beginners should make sure that they only create boards that can be regularly filled with sufficient content.
Some social media managers claim that you should publish 3-15 pins a day. But honestly, who can do that? Pinterest itself emphasizes quality over quantity and says that 11 new pins per month are completely sufficient.We currently achieve the best results with around 20-25 pins per month. And here, too, we try not to create a routine: sometimes we publish two pins in one day, sometimes none for three days. To find the right workload for you, it helps enormously to keep an eye on your analytics and see what your target group likes.
- All of them. From DIY to recipes to car tuning, finance, self-employment to weddings and baby clothes. Pinners are planners and doers - everything that can inspire a person and encourage them to try something new finds its place on Pinterest. You can also find new trends and suitable topics with the help of the Pinterest-Trend-Tools.
