Pinterest Expert Shares 7 Lazy Pinterest Activities You’re Making

• Are you using Pinterest for business?

• Are you doing it “right”?

• How do you know you are exactly?

Truth is, most people are not “doing it right” and I’ve studied over 1000 business Pinterest pages.

Okay, so you’re probably thinking I’ve just posted a bunch of pretty pictures so why the heck am I not getting more repins and why aren’t I getting any followers!

Like I tell my clients over and over effectively managing Pinterest, like any other social media platform is a science. There are tricks of the trade, few short cuts and no such thing as a one size fits all.

You need to know:

1. who your target market is

2. what your strategy is

3. how you’re going to use Pinterest to achieve business goals

Unfortunately I am seeing too many common mistakes from businesses attempting to cash in on Pinterest’s success and sadly because of these mistakes they are setting themselves up to fail from the get-go.

Don’t be lazy with these seven important Pinterest activities. Roll up your sleeves and do them right.

1.  You’re not pinning enough

Not pinning enough is the most common deadly sin I see. I see Pinterest pages that haven’t been updated in months. This is from businesses that think they can do it themselves and then realize….it’s a bigger job that requires more dedication than they thought.

I recommend pinning at least five times per day when you’re target audience is on Pinterest. I don’t expect you to sit in front of your computer all day so batch your work by scheduling some of your posts ahead of time.  ViralTag’s scheduling tool can help you schedule your pins and repins.

2.  You’re not pinning helpful content

Your Pinterest page is not there for the continuous promotion of your products and services. It’s about finding creative ways to show them off. I see so many Pinterest business accounts pin images solely about their company and take the approach that “it’s all about me”.

Think of it this way – would you want to have a friend who only talks about themselves? About what they’re doing and about how great they are?  A friend who never ever takes the time to offer you anything of value?

How many of those people do you want in your live by design?  Not many right?  Well if your Pinterest page is just another form on online catalogue and company focused promotion that is exactly what you are doing while you try to make new social friends in the digital world. 

If your approach is too direct, meaning all about you, you will very likely under perform on Pinterest and forever be frustrated.  The more indirect you are the better it goes and the more impact Pinterest can have on your traffic and sales.

The key to winning the hearts of your potential customers is to offer value.  Ask yourself:

1. Who are my customers?

2. What do they struggle with the most?

3. What do they need and want?

4. What solutions can I offer to help them solve their concerns or problems?

Your posts should be 20% marketing messages (your product/service related) and 80% education, helpful tips, and fun. (Nothing to do with your product or services)

3.  You’re profile picture makes pinners say “Oh My!”

There’s a saying that goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover”…well, unfortunately too many people do not follow that advise and therefore their crummy profile pictures come back to haunt them on Pinterest.

Your Pinterest profile picture is your chance to make a statement about who you are. What I see so often, even with big brand names is that their profile picture is blurry, lopsided, or worse it just shows the Pinterest generic red pin image.

Put it this way – would you go to into a retail store where the window dressing was dirty, the products being showcased are in disarray, poorly merchandised or worse… it was empty?

C’mon people! First impressions mean a lot in business and in life. You have one chance to make that lasting impression. As a matter of fact you want to be positively memorable so take advantage of this 165×165 pixel profile picture box. Before you pin, work on that profile picture. Look good, look trust worthy, look successful like somebody I want to learn more about or follow.

4.  You’re a “snob”

Remember that Pinterest is called “social” media. If someone has commented, repinned, or shared your pin you must in some way acknowledge them within 24 hours or you will be looked upon as a social media snob. That’s right – within 24hrs. We’re all busy and I get that but by reaching out to those who acted positively to your pins is rewarding. If a customer called your shop would you call them back in a few days, a week, or do you call them back the same day? Same thing here.

A comment or a repin is like someone leaving you a message?  Your response says a lot about you and whether or not they want anything else to do with you. Again if you are too busy to do this right then hire more staff or outsource the management of your account.  Doing it poorly damages your brand image. Is that really going to help you increase sales? 

One of your goals is to build your followers. Better yet you want to build relationships with those who engage with you so over time they can become brand ambassadors. Don’t hide behind Pinterest; you need take the initiative by reaching out to others.

5.  You don’t describe your boards

Pinterest allows you up to 500 characters for your board descriptions. This is your chance to show other pinners your personality through your writing style. In addition, take advantage of keywords to increase your SEO and increase your chances of being found.

6.  No company website or blog

If you actually don’t have a website that’s one thing but if you do then… well maybe you just forgot. So that’s why I’m here… to help you succeed on Pinterest!

We all know how crucial ranking high in the search engines such as Google is to increasing traffic on your website. Make it easy for Pinterest users to find you by making sure you add your website URL under the “ABOUT” section of your Pinterest page.  Have a blog rich with key words that will help drive traffic to you.

In addition, make sure you verify your website so you can take advantage of the Pinterest Analytics that Pinterest provides businesses. Verifying your website also guarantees pinners that your account is the legitimate account for your business and not just a copycat.

7.  You’re boards are empty

One thing that drives me a little crazy is when I see several boards that only have one image on them. Having one image on a board is just plain unattractive and bad, bad, bad. It’s kind of like seeing one shirt on a rack in a clothing store. If you were shopping would one shirt on a rack make you excited? Most likely not. You wouldn’t want to open your business if you had no inventory to sell.

One image on a board is like opening for business with one item in the store. I am not saying they should be all product or company focused images, on the contrary per my 80 – 20 rule above most pins ought to be helpful in nature in general for your target audience and have nothing whatsoever to do with your products. The boards just need to be full so it looks like you are “open” for business.

If you’re a business owner you’re on Pinterest for a reason – to build followers to get more people going to your website to increase sales.

So make sure you have a minimum of five images on your boards so they look appealing to the Pinterest user. Pinterest success does include having amazing images (of course it’s not just about that but it’s the starting point). Your goal is to attract as many followers as you can through the images you pin. So if there’s nothing there then don’t expect them to check you out.

I know you know about the secret boards. Guess what? That’s one of the reasons why secret boards were created. If you don’t think you’ll be able to complete pinning five images on one board then use your secret boards. Please. And avoid undermining your brand image. More and more people are on Pinterest every day, this is not the forum where you want to wing it and look bad.

So there you have it!  Avoid these Pinterest marketing mistakes on your page. If you’ve made some of these deadly mistakes don’t worry, you can still redeem yourself by fixing them doing it right going forward.

Over to you…

What other mistakes do you see other people doing?  Let me know in the comments below.

If this is overwhelming for you and you feel like you are going around and around with Pinterest and not getting anywhere contact me to learn more about my Pinterest Marketing Course for Business.

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