Like many of you, I use
Pinterest for so many things, like finding tasty new recipes, new DIY projects, and you know, planning for future life-changing events that haven't even happened yet -- ahem. Besides all of that, though, I also like to think of Pinterest as an extension
of my “Natty Michelle” brand. You may ask, what is your brand? What is my brand? That’s a good question. The
truth is -- your brand is uniquely you.
What makes your style original? Pinterest is an excellent tool in figuring out
the answer to this question if you’re at a loss for words. Scroll through your
personal feed and you’ll likely begin to see a pattern. Let the images do all
the talking for you.
Since
the majority of new traffic to my blog comes from Pinterest, I felt like it was
important to start optimizing my Pinterest feed and landing page to benefit both my blog and my small business. Here are a few ways you can use Pinterest to boost traffic and create interest in your blog, too:
1. Take some time to make your
Pinterest page pretty. Think of your boards as an extension of yourself and your blog. I know I’m likely to hang around a little longer -- and maybe even follow someone -- if it’s obvious the pinner has taken a little time to organize their pins and set their board covers
to specific photos. Pay close attention to the cover photos of your boards -- do
they flow as a group, or do they look random and choppy? Peachy-pink is my
color of choice, and I use this color in all of my blog, Facebook and Twitter
layouts, so why not do the same for Pinterest? I chose board cover photos that
highlight this color and its closest family members: red, pink and beige. As a
result, my Pinterest boards look more cohesive, neater and they're a good representation of my brand.
2. Dedicate a Pinterest board to
your blog. If
you haven’t already, begin pinning images to a board that’s all about your
blog, whether you pin your own images or collect images that will inspire
future posts, like blog layouts, color schemes, button ideas, .gif ideas, etc. Where you own images are concerned, the more original the
content, the more likely pins will go viral. File all the images in one place,
and not only will you know where to go to find inspiration, but your readers
and followers will, too.
3. Pinning vertical images >
pinning horizontal images. If you look at your Pinterest feed, it’s likely that you’re drawn
to the bigger images, and most of these images are vertical. Pinterest isn’t as
friendly to horizontal images; they tend to get lost in the shuffle. If you want horizontal images to stand out on Pinterest, open a blank
canvas in Photoshop (I size mine around
600 x 900 pixels) and add your favorite two or three images that go well
together (horizontal or horizontal and
vertical) to make a more Pinterest-friendly image.
4. Use secret Pinterest boards to
organize content for future blog posts. I use these boards especially when I’m collecting
images for collage posts like “One Cake” or “Wishlisting” because it saves me a
ton of time -- I just add images that fit well when I see them instead of hunting for all of them at once. I also use secret boards for various client projects to
organize photos for inspiration, too.
5. Create a custom “Pin It!”
button to your blog images. A great tutorial on adding a Pinterest button to Blogger can be found [here]. I recently made a “Pin It!” button, and I’ve already started
noticing that more of my images are being pinned by visitors because of it. To make a button,
start by opening a blank 70 x 70 pixel canvas in Photoshop. Create a unique
button using the shape tools, and remember, simplicity is key. My button features the “Homemade Apple” font and pinky-peach that I use in my blog header and
other blog buttons. I also added a drop shadow to give it a little
lift. Be sure to save your button as a .png file if you don’t want that pesky
white background to show up when you’re finished!
Happy pinning!
great post natty! i love how thorough you are with these kinds of posts. (your how to decorate a xmas tree one is another favorite!) you have a great way of identifiying so many of the logical/tactical questions i KNOW i would have.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole!
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