Social media platforms have evolved owing to the innate desire of humans to communicate with each other and to find a platform where they can air out their feelings without being identified.
The birth of social media was marked by the launch of first networking site called Bolt (now non-existent) in the year 1996.
After this, a number of platforms were launched to allow users across the world to network with each other. In the year 2003, LinkedIn, an employment oriented online service, was launched to allow users to connect at the professional level.
The year 2004 saw the launch of biggest social media platform, Facebook. Launched by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, it is now the most popular social networking platform where individuals could connect at the personal level.
Grossing the highest number of users, Facebook remains the most used social media platform till date.
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Users of Different Social Media Platforms
Image Source: www.statista.com
Amongst these Pinterest and Instagram stand out as image-oriented platforms having high number of users. As of July 2020, Pinterest, the most popular visual based social platform, has 416 million active users.
Before we delve into how we can utilize this popular image-based platform to expand your business reach, let’s look into how it functions.
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How Pinterest Works
On any social media platform there are two types of users Everyday Users and Online Marketers
- Everyday users are regular users who pin different posts and organize them under different boards
- Online marketers are professionals who want their contents or products to be viewed by maximum number of users.
The same stands true for Pinterest. Mostly people look for new ideas and inspirations on Pinterest.
- What online marketers or Pinterest marketers do is link the ideas to the products they are marketing through spectacular images or short videos.
- When a user searches for a specific idea, the pins created by marketers come up. These are then pinned by the user if he or she likes it.
- The same pin is viewed, pinned, and shared by users within and outside Pinterest.
- The pin can also be linked to external websites so that users land on it through Pinterest.
- This draws attention of the users towards the brand or the business who is marketing the idea. Thus, it attracts new customers for the business.
This is why Pinterest is used by marketers to expand their reach. According to statistics, one-third of the Pinterest users in the US use it to follow brands and companies. This is an interesting fact for all marketers who are looking to reach wide number of users.
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How Pinterest Can Be Utilized to Meet Your SEO Goals?
In this blog, I will present some of the ways through which you can optimize everything that you do on Pinterest right from the outset.
1. Select the Right Username:
Choose a simple username which is matches your business. It should be SREK
- Strategic
- Related to your business
- Easy to spell and remember
- Keyword conscious
2. Pinterest SEO: Design Your Profile for Success:
Search engines crawl not just your content but also your profile information. Your profile should explain who you are and what you do with the use of relevant keywords. Always keep the first sentence reserved for keywords.
You can get creative and add some zing to your profile in the second sentence. It is understood that you should also mention your website URL in the profile. This will serve as a keyword which allows your business users to find you easily.
3. Use HD Images with Descriptive Names and Descriptions:
This visual discovery platform is all about images. It is where images speak to the viewers. Choose high quality images and use keyword-rich file names and descriptions which search engines crawl find interesting.
Most of the re-pinned and commented images had descriptions around 200 to 310 words. Hence, you can limit your image description accordingly.
4. Pin Your Content:
The next step is to pin your own content or create your own pin on Pinterest. Just re-pinning other user’s content will not fetch you the reach you are aiming at.
Once you start pinning your own content, it will enhance your brand reach and help establish a unique image on this visual platform.
With each image or pin that you post, a direct link back to your website will be included by default.
5. Follow Other Accounts and Pin Content from Other Users:
Apart from posting your own pins, you should also pin content of other users. Based on the users you follow; Pinterest will present suggestions and boards to follow.
Be very strategic in whom you follow as this will help you appear in their followers’ suggested boards.
6. Post Video Pins:
Video pins are more popular than image pins. They give a brief idea about the information that you are trying to convey.
A short video can give you a wider reach.
7. Use Keywords in Boards too:
Every Pinterest board has to be updated with a description. You can update this with the target keywords to expand your reach.
8. Use Fresh Content:
The basic strategy followed by popular users on any platform is the use of creative content which has not been copied from somewhere else.
Inspiring, fresh, and useful content interests the users and keeps them glued to your boards.
9. Craft Pins as Per the Occasion:
Not just creating content but using them on the right occasion is also one of the most effective Pinterest SEO strategies.
Make a list of seasons, days, events, etc. and post appropriate and creative content to attract high traffic. People explore different ideas at least two weeks before the holiday. Hence, plan and post your pins well in advance.
10. Be a Regular Pinner:
Posting an idea once in a blue moon is not going to get the traffic which posting an idea every 2-3 days can. Be consistent with your pins no matter with what frequency you pin.
Pin at regular intervals and experiment with various times of the day. Mornings are the best to post fresh content. Users usually explore ideas in the mornings. However, it also depends on the ideas or industry which you are targeting or posting.
Wrapping Up
This list of SEO strategies for Pinterest is not exhaustive. There are several other tricks and tips which you will discover in your Pinterest journey.
These may not be registered yet on any website. They are just a part of your experience. What may work for one industry may not work for another.
Experiment with different Pinterest SEO strategies and effectively utilize the one which secures good results. Following a strong SEO strategy is a sure-fire way to enhance your reach and secure more sales.
