Pinterest, the social media phenomenon, has been cagey about revealing any internal data.
- Pinterest users post items from an extremely large number of sites. Etsy items are “pinned” or shared the most, but Etsy still only counts for 3% of total pins.
- Pinterest engages users twice as much as Twitter did at its age
- 80% of pins are repins, or things other user have already shared.
- User interaction is declining, but it’s probably because Pinterest has been written about so much lately. New users are flocking to check it out who aren’t part of the core demographic. Thus they lose interest quickly and leave. Before, Pinterest spread quickly among loyal users — like moms.
How to Get People to Pin Your Site
In order to encourage people to pin your site you need to first understand how Pinterest works and what its users are looking for. Pinterest is primarily a bookmarking site where people can save and share things that they like.
Grab Their Attention With Graphics
The thing that makes Pinterest different from other bookmarking sites, such as Delicious or Reddit, is that the site has a very visual layout with a focus on high-quality graphics. If your website features interesting photos, unique products or inspiring images, then you’re already half-way to getting pinned. This is another reason to make sure that your blog posts have photos!
If your blog or business doesn’t have a lot of eye-candy, then it’s time to start getting graphic. As you plan your content strategy, it’s helpful to know that photos aren’t the only thing getting attention on Pinterest. Users can pin a variety of things online, but it mostly comes down to these three: photos, videos, and infographics.
Make it Easy to Pin Your Site
If your site has pin-worthy content, the next step to getting users to Pin you is to make it easy for them to do so. There are a couple of ways to do this including: adding a Pinterest button, coding your content to display well on Pinterest and promoting recent pins on your website. The easiest method, and therefore the place to start, is with a “Pin This” button.
Add a Pinterest Button
It’s relatively easy to add a Pinterest button on your website. If you have an ecommerce site, you should add the Pin This icon to every product page. Bloggers want to make sure they have a Pin This button on every post and photo gallery. Don’t go crazy! No one is going to be pinning your About Page. The goal is to make pinning your website simple, not add visual clutter.
In addition to making it easy to pin your page, the Pin This button serves another purpose. That little red and white icon provides a subtle reminder to Pinterest users and encourages them to take action.
To get started adding the Pinterest button on your site visit http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/. You can grab a “follow” button for you business if you have a business profile or get the code to add the Pinterest icon. If you have a WordPress site, there are also plugins available that make adding Pinterest buttons even easier.
Pinterest-Friendly Code for Your Website
The next step for getting people to pin your site is a bit more advanced. Though not difficult, it does take some thought to make sure that the content on your site is “Pin-friendly.” Here is what you need to know to get your photos and videos ready:
1. Pins are separate files. To get the most benefit from Pinterest, make sure that each photo and video is saved as an individual file.
2. Add captions and descriptions to pinnable content. Some people want to write their own description, others will use the default description. Make it easy by writing good descriptions with keywords that will make other Pinterest users want to click through to your website.
