9 Lies Google Told Me About Pinterest

Since it's launch in 2010, Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing websites with over 72 million users and 88% of those users purchasing a product they recently pinned. This is huge for businesses, so there is no wonder why so many businesses are hopping on the Pinterest train and leaving Facebook and Twitter in the dust. For instance, over 80% of pins are re-pinned whilst only 1.4% of tweets are re-tweeted. Crazy!

Now, I have always been very loyal to Facebook as my main social media platform for Websters Chalk Paint Powder. However, with this crazy new form of algorithms that NOBODY can figure out, I have begun to see a steady decrease in the response I get from Facebook. I refuse to pay to promote my page so my reach is negatively affected. Tired of fighting Facebook, I have decided to focus more time on Pinterest, which to be honest, is where I can find most of my audience: those fabulously creative thrifty, frugal, DIYers!

As I embarked on this new venture into the beautiful and crafty land of Pinterest, I wanted to learn as much as I could about reaching my audience, engaging with others, what they found interesting, and pretty much just how to get the most out of Pinterest for Websters! So I read. I read and read, researched and took notes, and read some more. I found all of the answers I could have possibly needed thanks to Google, or so I thought..

Last week, I was in London with my wonderfully talented friend, Lauren of Lauren Aston Designs, as she competed for the Mollie Makes Start-Up Award. We had such a great time networking with other creatives, crafting and learning about Pinterest. As I sat in during the Pinterest 101 workshop with Pinterest UK, herself, I couldn't believe how much I didn't know! I was so annoyed by the fact that I had worked so hard on my Pinterest account, only to find out that I had it all wrong. At the same time, I was so grateful to have had that opportunity to ask Pinterest everything I needed to know to better my business. Now, I would like to share this knowledge with you. :)

9 Lies Google told me about Pinterest:

1. Pinterest is a Social Network
    + Pinterest in not a social network, but rather a Visual Discovery Tool. People do not go to Pinterest to connect and socialise, they go on searching and planning for something. "Discover. Save. Do" Save yourself some time and embarrassment and don't go around liking or commenting on others pins/ boards. Pinterest UK put it this way, "The things I pin to my boards are for me, not anyone else. They are things I like, want to create, etc. When someone comes onto my board and starts liking or commenting, I feel like it is an invasion of privacy!" .. Noted, Pinterest is NOT for socialising! ;)

2. Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag!
    + Hashtagging on Pinterest is not the same as on Twitter. First of all, hashtags are only clickable in a pins description so putting them anywhere else on your Pinterest is pointless. Also, using broad terms like "#computer" will bring up every single pin that has the word anywhere in the description, image file or on a page linked to that pin. Hashtags work better if they are unique to your brand or business. For instance, #Websterschalkpaintpowder brings up just Websters pins, where as a basic search in Pinterest for "Websters Chalk Paint Powder" brings up all sorts of pins relating to chalk paint, competitors, etc.

3. Expect an Instant Return
    + You should not expect to see a return for at least 6-8 months. The average pin gets repinned 11 times, but it does take time to build this exposure. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, posts don't go away after a day or a week, it is continuously relevant. Think about Halloween.. Every year when you go on Pinterest looking for Halloween crafts, costumes, what have you, you will see lots of new creative ideas, however, you will also see lots of stuff from last year's Halloween, too!

4. More Followers Means More Exposure
    + We were told not to count our followers as this is not an accurate way to measure success or exposure on Pinterest. Rather, count your repins. This is where you are going to gain the most views. If you are using Pinterest for your business, make sure you have a business account. Easily convert to a business account here! Pinterest offers a great analytics tool to measure which of your pins are making an impression.

5. Make Your Profile Aesthetically Pleasing
    + Actually, no one looks at your profile so there is no need to spend hours organising your boards. Everyone's profile looks exactly the same, just with different board names. Focus on pinning relative content.

6. Less Boards, More Pins
    + You can never have too many boards and you can never have too many pins! Pinterest suggests pinning at least 1 or 2 pins daily. Also, pins are not mutually exclusive. If a pin is relative to multiple boards, pin it to all of those boards! Pinterest also suggests 40+ pins per board, so get pinning!

7. Keep Your Descriptions Short and To The Point
    + When researching to optimise my Pinterest reach, I found that keeping descriptions short and using hashtags to cut down on lengthy sentences was the best technique because "people get annoyed when you mess up their layout". On the contrary! Long, rich descriptions give you more key words, so a better chance of coming up on a search, and you're also gaining more real estate! Pinterest UK recommends 1 long description, 1 short description, 1 long description, etc.

Don't do this: "Cute outfit. #dungarees"

Do this: "Who says you can't look cute whilst painting? Simple up-do to keep my hair out of the paint. Cool, breezy crop top underneath these darling dungarees and my favourite pair of converse. I think I'll use this as inspiration."

This gets you plugged into any searches of painting, hair, up-do, crop top, dungarees, converse, which means more exposure!








8. Pin It to Win It!
    + While you may think the 'Pin It to Win It' competitions are great for gaining exposure and creating a buzz, they're not. In fact, they are "spammy behaviour". It's not authentic when someone pins a photo "because they are told to if they want to win something", and more often than not, the pins aren't going to repinned because they aren't making an impression. Now, sending out posts like "Pin It If You Love It!" to your email subscribers, Facebook followers, etc. are going to be much more beneficial as the pins or photos are going to be of things that actually interest your audience, thus, are more likely to be repinned. It is your responsibility to create good content.

9. Pinterest is Oversaturated with Pinners
    + Except it's not. In fact, compared to the 1.4 billion Facebook users, Pinterest is still quite new and small. Pinterest is growing daily and becoming a stronger platform for users and businesses, so be sure to hop on the bandwagon before it's too late!

A few last suggestions.. As a business on Pinterest, it is so easy to  figure out who your customer is and what drives them. See who is repinning, what boards they are pinning too and other boards they are following (go to repinner or followers page, click "following"- the last number on the top under their name, and then click "boards"). This helps to give you a much better understanding of what interests your customers. Now create boards that share common interests between you and your audience!

You'll also want to stay a step ahead of your customers. Like we said earlier, Pinterest is a planning tool. Your customers are planning their Halloween costumes, decorations and crafts in August/ September. Create valuable content to go on these planning boards! 

Lastly, make sure your website is "Pinnable". Any photos, products, tutorials, etc. should have a "Pin It" link in the top left-hand corner when you hover over the photo. This gets you pins and you don't even have to do anything! The pins will then link back to your website, generating traffic. Win- win! Also, with Pinterest Analytics, you will be able to see what photos your customers are pinning from your website. 

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Thanks so much for reading and I hope you found this post useful! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! I would be happy to help in any way I can. :) 

Also, I would love for you to jot down your email below so we can stay in touch!

Now, go get pinning!!!

Devon x

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