Pinning for Business

I have a lot of friends who have businesses, not just blogs and they are interested in getting on Pinterest as a mode of getting their business “out there”.  I am really trying to hone my Pinterest best practices.  I’m in a few groups where people are talking about pinning and what is working for them.   Pinning for business is very different than pinning for pleasure (and you may even want separate accounts, as I enjoy Pinterest, personally, quite a lot).

Let me CATEGORICALLY STATE that this is what has worked for me.  This isn’t Pinterest law and I get REALLY bugged by people who say they “know” how Pinterest works.  They don’t, and sometimes I check out those people’s boards and wonder…  Also, everyone has their own personal desires for Pinterest, so that will change how you use it.

Also, content is king.  If you don’t have great pins and great content then you’re dead in the water.

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Anyway, here are my 5 tips for Pinning for business:

1.  Join large group boards.

You can find them on Pin Groupie.  The most important thing is that you need to find group boards in the niche you’re interested in.  I belong to a few food boards, but it seems like my food pins just don’t do all that well, so find your niche.  Here’s how to find a good group board:

• Find one that has lots of followers, it should at LEAST be in the thousands (unless it is SUPER niche).  Keep in mind the more niche a board is the smaller the followers are, but head to the next step
• Check the repins.  The top rows may not have many, but scroll down 2 or 3 times, and those pins should have a lot of repins.  If you see frequent zero repins, or just 2-3 (keep in mind that likes are also important, so don’t discount those!).
• Check the pins that it is something you want to put your pins next to.  I had a group board when I started that was just gross (a lot of click-bait), and I pinned on it for a while because I was desperate but I was finally able to rid myself of the board, and I was happy. 🙂

2.  Join Board Booster

(or viral tag, or whatever pin scheduler you have your heart set on).  I love board booster.  No, they don’t have the Pinterest API, but I do also use Ahaology and I see ZERO difference between Board Booster and Ahalogy.  The reason I use board booster is that have created boards (be they private or public) that feed my group boards.  I only have to tweak (see below) and it just does it.  I LOVE it.  Dennis is amazing and so open to ideas and input.  There are days I talk to him more than my husband. 🙂  I use Ahalogy mostly for really good group boards that have high repin rates, as I am hopeful those pins will be shown to others, but Ahalogy is a post for another day. 🙂

3.  Check it frequently.

Pinterest changes its algorithm frequently.  And boards that did well suddenly do less well.  Pins that were doing great, suddenly don’t do so well (be it season or over-pinning, etc).   With Board Booster you are paying a penny per pin, so you really only want to have GREAT pins going out.  Also, I really try to limit the # of pins I’m doing daily.  Hence, when I put it out there I want it to be awesome! Board Booster shows the # of repins on your group boards.  I have, personally, stopped pinning to anything under 3.  You’ll have to decide the # that is right for you (keeping in mind I’ve been at Pinterest for over a year so I have been able to “climb the ladder” a bit). 🙂

4.  Delete poor performers.

Honestly, I don’t know if the actual deletion does do anything (I do think it helps on my own group boards) but it’s my way of checking (#3).  For me, I scroll down to about 5 days, and I delete anything that has less than 4 repins+likes.  In general.  There are boards that I leave my pins, just because they are great, SLOW boards.  Again, you really need to have the pulse of your group boards, and find what works for you in this area.  Frankly, this can be time consuming and I wouldn’t spend a ton of time here if your time is limited (and obviously, everyone’s is).

5.  Evaluate the content.

If a pin isn’t doing well, I ask myself if it’s the PIN or the content (or, frankly just some weirdness — some pins just don’t do well, regardless of how amazing my pin is or whatnot – I am ALWAYS on the lookout to promote my pregnancy pins, it’s just hard to find their niche on Pinterest).  Fix the pin, try it again.  I’ve been updating a lot of my pins lately, and it’s an interesting science project to see how they do.  Always tweaking.  Board Booster does a report of your last 500 pins that I find REALLY helpful.  Easier to sort and scan.  I {heart} board booster. 🙂

Anyway, that’s my system.  Find great group boards, make sure they have good repins (and continue to — keep checking) and delete poor performers.  Possibly update (or trash) them.

You’ll see an ad here for my good friend Jill’s Pinterest workshop.  She is a serious Pinner.  She gets Pinteret and she has a really reasonable class to help you get it too.  Check it out!

There’s lots of other things, like getting rich pins and becoming verified, but these 5 steps will get you on the train where you want to go (IF your content is there, content is King).  If you’re starting out, I’d be sure to read a few articles, see if there are any Pinterest Facebook groups you can join to learn from others.  Good luck in the land of Pinning!

**If you liked this post, check out my post about What to Love to Be a Successful Blogger**