A few weeks ago, Intentionally Inspirational founder Jason Wright and his podcast partner in crime Brandi Montambo sat down to talk with Pinterest pro Kate Ahl. They talked about all things Pinterest.
Ahl is the founder of Simple Pin Media. She has run the business since 2014. Over the years, she’s seen Pinterest evolve from a source of interesting arts and crafts to an awesome marketing tool. It now rivals the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Ahl says there are plenty of misconceptions about the platform that could hurt your ability to make the most of its ability to grow and connect with your audience.
Pinterest IS NOT Social Media
Ahl says despite what people often think, it is not a social media tool like Facebook or Instagram. Instead, Pinterest is a search and discovery tool like Google. And in some ways, it is even better than Google.
“[Users] are searching for keywords like they’re searching on Google, but the benefit on Pinterest is they get to see an image instead of a line of text,” said Ahl. “You create a type of connection [more] visually than Google, but the two operate very similar.”
It Isn’t Just for Women
In the past, it was easy to say that Pinterest was a platform made for women, but in the past few years, it’s developed into so much more than that. Contractors and home designers now use Pinterest to get ideas for their designs.
“Men are growing faster and faster using the platform and it’s internationally,” said Ahl. “When it comes to Pinterest, the demographic is someone who is searching for an idea.”
It’s About Clicks, Not Impressions
It’s easy to look at your Pinterest page and believe that you’re successful because you have thousands and thousands of impressions, but that’s not the case.
“For the most part, we’re really looking for the click,” said Ahl. “Where, why, how are people taking action on your content?”
An impression just means that someone is looking at your pin, a click shows you that someone is interacting with your pin.
This is Not Facebook or Instagram
As stated before, Pinterest is not a social media tool, it’s a search and discovery tool like Google. As a result, you need to treat it in a way that caters to that search and discovery component.
Ahl says all of your boards should be named very specifically, not just “Awesome Pins” or “Fun Tips”. The very specific names will help the Pinterest algorithm categorize your boards and make them easier to find in searches.
“Pinterest’s number one goal for the pinner is to design a home feed that serves you based on your interest, what you’ve saved, what you’ve clicked on,” said Ahl. “Generic board names are probably the number one way we see businesses miss out.”
It Has the Ability to be So Much More
“People just ignore Pinterest and I just think they shouldn’t,” said Ahl. “It is a missed opportunity.”
Ahl uses Pinterest to promote her blog posts and podcasts. She says approximately 10 percent of her overall website traffic and about 45 percent of her traffic from social media comes from her Pinterest pins.
During her talk with Brandi and Jason, Kate Ahl also talks about her three top tips to improve your Pinterest page. You can listen to the entire podcast on our website by clicking here or you can search “Intentionally Inspirational” on your favorite podcast app.
Written by Erika Towne