If you’re internet-savvy enough to start a blog, then chances are you’re already familiar with Pinterest. With over 70 million active users, Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing social media sites, and it’s invaluable for anyone who likes to curate and collect photos, recipes, how-to’s, and general inspiration online.
But Pinterest has additional benefit for bloggers – it’s a very useful tool when it comes to promoting your blog content. We’ve already gone over some Pinterest basics in our Intro to Social Media Tools for Bloggers post, so let’s recap and then dig a little deeper.
Create Strong Content and Images
Since Pinterest is such a visual medium, it’s one of the most important tools that you can use if your blog features photographs or other images. Nobody wants to pin blurry, dimly-lit photos, so make sure that your blog photos are clear, high-quality, and pleasing to the eye.
If your blog isn’t image-heavy, never fear – Pinterest users are happy to pin content that is useful or interesting, even if it doesn’t contain lots of photos. But they can’t pin a post if it doesn’t have any images, so just create for each post a graphic that includes the post title, like the one here in this post. Don’t worry if you don’t have expensive graphics software; just use an easy online tool like PicMonkey, Ribbet, or Fotor to create those images.
Add Pinning Functionality to your Blog
While succeeding on Pinterest is mostly about having strong content and images, you should make an effort to make it as easy as possible for your readers to pin from your blog.
Pinterest makes has a Pin It button that users can drag to your bookmarks toolbar as well as browser extensions that make it super-easy for users to pin right from their browsers. But why not make it even easier? Pinterest’s widget builder makes it simple to add a Pin It button to every image on your blog, just by copying a snippet of code and pasting it into your blog code.
Be a Savvy Pinner
Start pinning from your own blog, but be smart about it. If, for example, you run a cooking blog, don’t just create one board from your blog called “Recipes” – instead break it out into categories like “Vegetarian Recipes,” “Soups and Stews,” or “Slow Cooker Recipes.” The more accurate and descriptive your board names are, the more likely they’ll show up when someone does a Pinterest or Google search.
Likewise, use smart pin descriptions. When pinning a recipe from your blog, don’t name it “My favorite dinner recipe” on Pinterest. Instead, be specific, like “Braised Short Rib with Whipped Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts.”
Use Pinterest to Engage with Readers and Other Bloggers
Don’t just pin stuff from your own blog. Use Pinterest to find your blog readers and to engage with them. If you engage with your audience by liking, repinning, and commenting on their pins, they may do the same with yours. And do the same with other bloggers and influencers that you admire.
Don’t be disingenuous, just be yourself. Social media is, well, social, so it’s a great way to build relationships with current readers, potential readers, and other bloggers you’d love to get to know.
One great way to use Pinterest to build relationships is to take advantage of their collaborative Pinboard feature. Pinterest allows users to create Group Boards, where they can invite other pinners to pin to the board. By inviting your readers to pin to your boards, you’ll turn your blog into an online community!
Pinterest = Inspiration
Finally, use Pinterest as blog content inspiration. While you’re doing your daily Pinterest browsing or blog reading, pin anything you think you may like to write about at some point. Then, when a bout of writer’s block hits (it happens to everyone!), just check your Pinterest boards for a nice backlog of inspiration.
Do you currently use Pinterest? How do you use it for your own blog?
