The theme this month is Using Pinterest for your Business. 

In this series, we are going to go step-by-step from setting up your profile to creating your content strategy.

Today’s topic is Pin Perfect Strategy to Get Traffic.  Traffic is the “end all be all” of using Pinterest successfully. In order to gain traffic (aka new viewers) you need to create a pinning strategy that will attract viewers’ attention but also make them pin your images so their connections see you.

It sounds like a vicious circle but, when you have the pieces in place, it makes complete sense.

In this video, we will go over designing your pins, how frequently you should publish a pin, and why you should get started NOW if you plan on using Pinterest in your seasonal marketing.

​Welcome to a new Systems Sunday! The theme this month is Using Pinterest for your Business. For this series, we are going to go step-by-step from setting up your profile to creating your content strategy.

Let’s jump in with today’s topic: Pin Perfect Strategy to Get Traffic.

I am Lisa Wells, Your Virtual Assistant Trainer.

Traffic is the end all be all of using Pinterest successfully. In order to gain traffic (aka new viewers), you need to create a pinning strategy that will attract viewers’ attention but also make them pin your images, so their connections see you. It sounds like a vicious circle but when you have all the pieces in place, it makes complete sense.

Remember that every pin you create is linked to a piece of content on your website. Pinterest is simply a visual way to promote that content. When you post a pin to your own Pinterest board, it becomes visible to your viewers.

The idea is to create pins that are visibly appealing as well as informational so these viewers will share them on their own boards.

For example, let’s say your mentor posts a pin that leads to an article on their site about the Top 10 Traits to Look for in a Mentor. It’s a great article, so you save that pin on one of your boards. Once you save that pin, YOUR followers then have the opportunity to follow the link to your mentor’s article.

Here’s another example: You’ve created a great lead magnet all about time management so your clients can achieve a better work and personal life balance. You create a pin and then others will share it because it’s such an important topic, thereby driving more traffic to your opt-in page.

If you want to try your hand at creating your own graphic, Canva is the go-to design program for DIYers. It’s very user-friendly and has built-in social media templates where you simply drag and drop your image and your text. However, if you don’t have design experience or if this will simply be a distraction to you, there are lots of templates on sites such as Creative Market, or you can hire a designer with Canva experience so you can get the most professional-looking pins that will reflect well on your business. I use Canva all the time, definitely recommend the program.

When designing pins, use a 2:3 aspect ratio for the size. Quite simply, the width of your pin should be 2/3 the height. If you submit a different size pin, Pinterest will take it upon themselves to resize it, which runs the risk of your image not appearing in full and/or the text being blurry. These are signs of an unprofessional design and will certainly NOT get any shares.

Optimal design sizes are 1000px wide x 1500px tall or 600px wide x 900px tall.

No matter how your readers find your website content, be sure that your images are “pinnable.” If a newsletter reader follows your link to your blog, make sure the image can be saved to their Pinterest boards. If you hover over this image and see the P of the Pinterest logo, the image can be pinned. If you get a reader from Pinterest, seeing the same graphic alerts them that they’re in the right place; and after reading your outstanding content, they might decide to pin this content, too. Optimizing your images entails using a social sharing plugin for WordPress; chances are you already have a plugin installed, so just be sure the settings include Pinterest.

When it comes to the question, “How frequently should I publish a pin (aka content)?” the answers vary. Consistency is key with any social media platform but on Pinterest, your content doesn’t get as “lost” as it does on Facebook or Twitter. However, it’s still recommended that you visit Pinterest every day whether it’s for publishing, sharing pins of like-minded VAs/entrepreneurs, finding new people to follow, or looking at your analytics.

If you plan to promote anything seasonal or publish content related to a specific holiday, publish your content a good 5-6 weeks in advance. People get excited about holidays or seasonal events long before they change the calendar page. If they go to Pinterest for ideas, YOUR content will be ready and waiting for them.

For example, if you’re a VA who specializes in helping business owners launch a product and publish a “how-to” guide about “How to incorporate seasonal marketing for your next launch,” you want those in need to get the information before the big Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays arrive so they can prepare themselves. If you’re a bookkeeping VA, your “Tips for Saving You Money Before Tax Time,” is more helpful to solopreneurs long before tax day.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to take it further, check out my new Productivity Planner – How to Use Pinterest for Business to Attract New Fans, Clients, and Sales. At 75 pages, it’s chock full of instructions, examples, and exercises to help you start using Pinterest as part of your marketing strategy. You can find a link to the product below or visit my VA Business Builder Boutique and click on Shop.

Join me next week for pinning in action plus we are going to go over board strategy.

Catch up on other Using Pinterest for Business episodes + resources mentioned in the video:

• [Video] Creating Your Optimized Pinterest Profile
• [Video] Pinning in Action + Board Strategy
• [Video] Your Pinning Toolbox: Tools, Plugins, and Schedulers
• Canva
• Creative Market

Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Check out this planner!