Pinterest had 78.2 million active users in March 2015, an increase of 25 percent from the year before, according to the web analytics firm comScore. So why is it that some users can hear a Pin drop – pardon the pun – when it comes to getting Repins from anyone among the social media site’s expanding user base, while others have no problem producing popular Pins?

Experts say cross marketing great content and making it more visually appealing with a few simple strategies can go a long way toward getting you or your company a bigger piece of the Pinterest pie. So if you or your business can barely muster a few repins a week, try these four tips from strategists who’ve found social media success.

1. Market your pins across social media sites.

“My biggest tip for getting Repins on Pinterest is to cross-pollinate your networks. By offering a ‘Pin it for later’ call-to-action on Facebook, Google+ and even Twitter,” independent social media strategist Afton Negrea, said. “You’ll increase your chances of having your pins Repinned by people that may not be already following you on Pinterest.”

Negrea recommends pinning your content, copying the URL, and pasting it to your posts on other platforms to encourage users to click through to Repin your pin.

 

From Afton Negrea on Pinterest.

2. Be a good neighbor.

“One key to gaining more engagement from your Pinterest audience is by doing a fair share of Repinning content that isn’t just your own,” Emily Culclasure, digital analyst and marketing coordinator  for seoWorks, said. “Shameless self-promotion and Pinning only your own content gives off a spammy, unauthentic vibe.”

Pinning other users’ content gets the attention of the original Pinner and shows everyone on the site that you’re an authentic, active member of the Pinterest community and not just a marketing machine looking to sell products and services, Culclasure said.

seoWorks on Pinterest

3. Bundle appealing images into one easy-to-pin package.

“What I do is simple: I post a variety of images and make things easy to Pin,” Nathan Engels, senior engagement strategist at Northlich, said. “I also bundle all of the images in my blog post into ONE simple and easy Pinnable image with text on it.”

The bundling process takes a little extra time, but Engels, who boasts more than 25,000 Pinterest followers at his personal site Wanna Bite, has seen the strategy yield excellent results when it comes to Repins.

 

Wanna Bite on Pinterest

4. Pin compelling content.

“The most repinned Pins are ideas/products that are unique, compelling, visually stunning or make you say, ‘Why didn’t I think of that!’ Pin content that draws others in, and they’ll Repin,” said Rachael Nichol, online marketing strategist at the American Board, a non-profit dedicated to helping career changers become teachers.

And if your images are not that appealing, Nichol recommends creating a custom “cover” pin that employs bold text, bright colors and a 1:5 ratio for images, which this analysis from BoardBoosters Labs shows is the best aspect ratio for pin images.

“A Pinterest user’s feed is jam-packed with tons of visual stimulus,” says Nichol, who employs the same strategies with her personal pins. “It’s important that your pin stands apart from the crowd.” 

An example of cover pins for boards from REI on Pinterest

 

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