You are probably fairly familiar with social platforms.   As new ones pop up, you may be quick to say to yourself to hold off before jumping on yet another social platform.  If you are familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, then you understand how they work.  Pinterest is not one of them.   Pinterest has developed into an entirely different type of platform.

Updated September 2020  New changes on Pinterest and the overall progression of things have led to the need to update the workshop.    Bare with me as I update certain parts with the vid to follow after

Using the right profile type is the first step to a proper foundation for your Pinterest account. Defining your position and what you are trying to get across makes it a much easier decision whether to share or not share information. It either fits into your image or it doesn't. The people that benefit the most (lovers of your blog, list members, buyers of your products, clients) will be able to find your profile. 

Pinterest has changed a lot of the years.  Particularly this year.  Dominating on Pinterest now is completely different than it was just last year.  This is due to many new features that have advanced Pinterest to become a powerful tool.   No longer just a simple image sharing site.  Advances in site dynamics have led to Pinterest emerging as the top predictive visual search engine.  Take advantage of this before your competition does.

You now understand the basics of Pinterest and the different components.  This module is about building a winning strategy beginning day 1 that focuses all of your efforts towards exposure , engagement new business prospects and traffic.  If you understand how the system works and what it looks for, hitting those requirements puts you ahead of the pack and quite possibly about to mushroom the amount of traffic that you are not yet receiving.

The Pinterest Search Algorithm is similar to others - it is very complex.  It is not just a cut and dry explanation.  There are certain known factors involved though which this lesson will cover in depth.

Understanding these factors and how you influence them along with the layout of your boards and pins is how you dominate Pinterest and drive traffic.  Engagement , relevancy, high quality content are central to all objectives on Pinterest as it define their core purpose.

Post titles need to focus on the result / transformation / end goal (however simple it may be). For example, don’t write “20 Pinterest tips,” instead write “20 Pinterest tips to boost your traffic today.”  Your product listings, ads should all be the same way. focus on the end result of making the purchase, I'm not buying paint stripper because I like the smell or because it is safe to pour down the drain when finished, I'm buying it for the clean usable surface that will be left after so I can do whatever I am going to do next to the surface.  Focus on that clean usable surface.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Many of you might be wondering why we are going over creating boards before we go over creating pins and optimizing them. This goes back to our strategies and goals.  Maximizing the structure provided by Pinterest means starting from the top down planning it out first.  That means it starts with Boards and research to lay out our keyword map.

The Smart Feed is the grid of pins that you see when you first log in. It shows you high-value pins with the most engagement first in the topics you have followed and your recent searches.    This is very important, it doesn't show the newest pins, it shows the pins with the highest engagement.  

Since Pinterest is a very visual platform, the quality of your images is VERY important.   It’s one of the biggest factors in whether or not your pins become popular.   These items not only apply to the images you create for your own content but also the content you’re pinning from other people. This means that even if a post is incredible, but it has a crappy image that does not follow these guidelines, it should not end up in your pins. 

Remember your original pins are shown to your followers first.  Their engagement influences the algorithm on where else and how often if shows your pin to other users that have not yet seen it.  This list contains different ways to grow your following.  It is a live doc - meaning we will keep this updated with the best ways to grow traffic as we create them or we learn of them from others

Rich Pins and Promoted Pins both offer specific advantages over regular Pins.  Rich Pins cost you nothing if you have a site.  Take advantage of them as they are a definite advantage specifically for Products.   Promoted Pins are paid pins, however they are the gift that keeps on giving....

This lesson specifically is about things you can do right away if you already have a Pinterest account.  Otherwise, you need to get the account up and established before you are able to move forward with these items.  However there are things you can do to your content and products to make it all come together.

Do I need a Social Media Specialist?  That depends on multiple factors.  How do I do this, it seems like a ton of work?  It is and it is not. Organization and a plan of action are vital.  This lesson will explore options as they may apply to your situation.  It also explains the Social Media Specialist or Pinterest VA position and how to structure the position if you go that route.