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25 Common Pinterest Marketing Mistakes
Are you making the same Pinterest mistakes again and again? Looking for Pinterest SEO tips to boost traffic?
Pinterest is making a buzz in the marketing world. It is increasingly termed as a selling hub that’s why no blogger or brand would like to make silly mistakes that can ruin their marketing dreams. These business-killing errors can cost your money and time.
So if you want to avoid common mistakes and take your business to a new level, this article can be worth reading.
This article will help you identify various common mistakes on Pinterest, which you may make and how to fix them to improve your marketing outcomes.
Did you know that users on this social network have strong buying intent than other social media platforms? People can save photos of products and buy them at a later date.
If your business is still not on Pinterest, you are making a big mistake and missing sales opportunities provided by this lucrative marketplace. The beginner’s guide for Pinterest marketing will help you make a powerful presence for your business on this social selling hub.
Below are 25 common Pinterest mistakes you are probably making.
#1 Not using the business account
If you are a business entity, then you can not expect good marketing results on a personal account. You need to set up a business profile on Pinterest.
Either you can convert an existing personal account into a business account or create from the scratch. Learn more about setting up a Pinterest business account.
#2 Incomplete profile page
Like any other social media platform, you need to complete your business profile. The profile lets people know about your business.
It should include details like a brand name, website name, what you do, and what products and services you offer.
Adding a website and verifying it can increase trust in the eyes of Pinterest and therefore your pins can get more exposure.
#3 Not creating relevant boards
Pinterest boards are the places where you save pins. For the naming of your boards, use topics or keywords related to your business.
Arbitrary names will not be helpful. People search for new ideas on the relevant boards ( by looking at board names). No one will search for a food pin on the marketing board.
Pins saved under the relevant boards will also get more attention from Pinterest.
#4 Inconsistent pinning
Well, consistency is the key to become a successful marketer on any social media platform.
Pinning for a few days continuously and then remaining inactive for weeks is not a good pinning habit.
If you pin regularly, page views will keep increasing, but once you become inconsistent, you will see a sharp decline.
You do not need to add hundreds of pins daily instead try to add 15-20 pins (your pins + other pins).
Pinning five times a day yields excellent results. So pin multiple times in a day at the optimal time slots. You can either do it manually or use Tailwind Pin Scheduler to save your precious time.
#5 Pinning the same pin again and again
Although it is a good idea to repin older content but repinning the same pin within a quick time is a bad idea.
Do not add the same pin to the same board again and again instead you can add that pin to your other or group boards. But pinning one image to only one board will be best practice.
The better way of repurposing old popular content on Pinterest is to create multiple images for the same blog post and adding new pins. Create 4-5 images for each popular blog post and pin those images.
Pinterest is all about images, and it loves fresh images. You can easily create new images in seconds using Tailwind Create.
#6 Adding pins at the wrong time
Pinning an image is useless if it doesn’t get repins and clicks. You are likely to get more saves and clicks if you pin when your followers and target audience are more active on Pinterest.
Try to find an ideal time for pinning to get more engagement. It takes a lot of effort to produce new content, so don’t miss Pinterest traffic by pinning your images at the wrong time.
Every social media platform has the best time and day for posting the content. Pinterest too has its timing when more people are active. Generally, it is between 8 PM to 11 PM and 2 AM-4 AM, especially on Saturdays.
But based on following and target audience, every account on Pinterest may have a different best time to post. With the help of an automatic scheduler like Tailwind, you can find the best slots for your account.
#7 Pinning your content only
If you are only saving your content, you are less likely to succeed on Pinterest. You can not build a large following in this way.
Pinning high-quality content from others can be useful for your audience. Saving a viral pin from other people can also increase your following, impressions, and page views in a quick time.
Pinterest can start recognizing you as an expert in your niche if you have quality pins that are helpful for a vast audience.
So repin content from other people which is related to your niche and can provide relevant information to your audience.
#8 Using low-quality pins
Images are at the core of the Pinterest algorithm. Pinterest is all about visual things.
If you have a quality blog post but link it on Pinterest through a poor image, the engagement (impressions and clicks) will be very low. So make your images attention-grabbing that stand out in the crowd.
Create vertical pins(size 1000 x 1500 px) with a 2:3 aspect ratio. You can use graphic tools like Canva and Tailwind Create.
Use high contrast colors to get the attention of the users in the sea of pins. Make your headline enticing and eye-catching.
Use graphic elements that best describe your content idea.
#9 Not joining group boards
To get maximum exposure for your pins, you need to promote them on group boards.
Once you share a pin, not only your followers will see it but also all the followers of that group board.
So leverage the sharing power of the group boards, they can boost your followers and website traffic.
Find group boards in your niche and join those that have a significant number of followers and are highly active.
#10 Not using Rich pins
Rich pins get more repins compared to standard pins. Pinterest automatically syncs important data, like pricing, availability, and product information on the pin itself for a product-rich pin.
So whenever there is a change in such vital data on your website, the changes are automatically reflected on the pin.
Standard pins do not have such vital information that’s why this enhanced user experience of rich pins increases overall customer engagement.
There are 4 types of rich pins supported by Pinterest:- app, product, recipe, and article pins.
The rich pins are free to use for anyone but first, you need to set up them.
#11 Not following other people
The more followers you have on Pinterest, the more impressions and saves your pins will get and hence more organic traffic.
To increase your followers, first, you need to follow other people. They can reciprocate your action by following you back. Their pins will also show up in your feed.
By following other people, you will not only increase followers but also find good content that your audience love.
So, follow people or influencers in your niche that have quality content.
#12 Inappropriate pin title and description
Pin title and descriptions are so important for user engagement and Pinterest SEO.
Pin title in brief shows what your pin is all about and while Pin description gives more information about your pin idea.
Besides the image, users also look at the title and description before making a click.
Generally, it is the first 30 characters of the title which will be shown in the home feed. So make it interesting.
Also, not optimizing Pin titles and descriptions would be a big Pinterest SEO mistake.
Pinterest is more like a search engine and therefore, along with other fields, it uses title and description texts to understand the pin idea.
When a user makes a search using a keyword, Pinterest suggests pins containing that keyword in the important places. So include your primary keyword and other semantically related keywords in the title and description copy.
You can use a Tasty pins plugin to write optimized titles and descriptions for WordPress blogs.
#13 Link issues
Make sure your pins link back to web pages on your website. Not adding links for pins means you are missing traffic opportunities provided by Pinterest.
Also, fix any broken links, they can irritate users. Broken links are also bad for search engine ranking(Google & Bing) and Pinterest SEO.
#14 Not making the best use of Pinterest analytics
Pinterest analytics is an integral part of overall Pinterest marketing. To make your marketing campaign more effective and result- oriented tracking performance is essential.
Pinterest has provided a free pin analytics tool for business owners that you can use to optimize your content and drive more traffic.
With the Pinterest analytics tool, you can find which pins generated more clicks for you. Based on such key findings, you can tweak your Pinterest marketing strategy.
For example, you can create more fresh images and drive additional traffic for a high-performing blog post.
#15 Undermining Pinterest SEO
Pinterest works more like a search engine. Pinterest users use search terms to find topics and ideas of their interest.
Therefore, you need to optimize your profile and content for specific keywords so that your pins can appear in Pinterest search results.
Perform extensive keyword research to know words that are used by your audience. Analyze search volume and difficulty level for each keyword. Generally, it is the long-tailed keywords that are more targeted and easy to rank on Pinterest.
Once you find the right terms, use them in profile, board names, Pin titles, descriptions, image names, and URLs.
#16 Not using Tailwind
Tailwind is a powerful marketing tool for Pinterest and Instagram. It can prepare a perfect schedule in advance so that you can even schedule Pins for a month in just one hour.
Tailwind Tribes can increase repins for your posts. Tailwind Create can make your life easy by creating beautiful and interesting pins in few clicks.
#17 Missing CTA in pins and profile
If you want your readers to take some action, you need to prompt them by including a Call-To-Action. CTAs can increase the conversion rate.
You can add a CTA on the image itself, pin description, and profile.
#18 Pinterest as a visual search engine
Pinterest uses lens technology to read the components of an image. It can understand the visuals and suggest related pins to the users.
If your pin has visuals of a food dish, Pinterest can read these visuals and show users similar food dishes. So don’t take pin graphics casually and handpick high-quality design elements that correspond to the content of the blog post.
#19 Not installing the Pin It button
The Pin It button appears when you hover over the image on your website. By installing this button on the site, you can increase the online reach of your images and content.
When People visit your website, with the help of the Pin It button, they can share your images on their Pinterest boards.
#20 Not inviting others to join your boards
Board collaboration can increase engagement for your pins. You can invite influencers or big accounts in your niche to join your board.
If your pins are repinned by such big accounts, they will get more impressions and clicks.
#21 Not linking with other social platforms
By linking your Pinterest account with other social media like Twitter and Facebook, you can widen your reach.
Your Pins can be directed to Facebook and Twitter, where your followers on these popular sites can engage and also join your Pinterest account. Such cross-platform content promotion can increase your content visibility and traffic.
#22 Deleting underperforming pins
Sometimes your Pins may not get enough repins and clicks as you expected. Generally content on Pinterest has a much longer shelf life than on other counterparts. Your underperforming pins may become active anytime.
So instead of removing them, try to optimize your old pins by improving the text overlay and design elements on the image, Pin title, description, board naming, etc.
#23 Spamming
Pinterest hates clickbait schemes. When a user clicks on a pin, he/she expects related content on a webpage.
Don't make promises in headlines that you can't deliver on the blog posts or articles.
Pinterest has improved its spam technology and can block accounts.
#24 Not engaging with users
To succeed on any social media site, you need to be social or engage with others. This can help in increasing your brand awareness and conversion rate.
By commenting on the pins, sharing, trying, and liking them, you can foster a relationship with other people.
When someone asks a question, respond to such queries with the answers. Comments, likes by other people on your Pins, also make them important in the eyes of Pinterest. Pins with greater engagement do well in Pinterest search results.
#25 Not using story pins
Story Pins are multimedia and multi-page pins which can tell stories and ideas more interestingly. A brand can better connect with its audience through story Pins. You can include texts, images, and videos on such Pins.
Story Pins get more saves compared to standard pins. They have a high engagement rate and can increase your following on Pinterest.
Conclusion
Pinterest is an excellent traffic opportunity for many small, medium, and large enterprises. Pinterest drives traffic and leads for almost all types of businesses.
By avoiding the above mistakes and following the best tips provided in this article, you can increase Pinterest followers and organic traffic for your business.