Growing your Pinterest following is a crucial step to your business, but you can spend hours a day pinning and repinning, promoting pins, and engaging with other pinners, and never see your numbers take off!
When we first started Brilliant Business Moms, we worked hard for every follower. Fast forward just 18 months, and we can see that over and over again, Pinterest is the number one driver of traffic to our blog and shop, plus we made a significant number of planner sales as a direct result of our presence on Pinterest for both our 2016 and 2017 planners. (Psst…we don't spend more than a couple of hours a week on average on Pinterest!)
So why aren’t you gaining followers?
Let’s unpack it together.
The first thing you have to do is ask yourself: How do I decide when to hit or skip that Follow button?
Let’s say I am just getting into the world of essential oils. A friend of mine who loves her oils gave me a few samples and now I’m intrigued. This morning I woke up with a killer headache and I’m wondering if one of these oils can help me kick it before I need to take my kids to a birthday party this afternoon.
I hop on Pinterest and type into the search box: “Essential oils for headaches.” Of course, Pinterest works its magic and up pop dozens of pins that say things like: 4 Essential Oils for Headaches, Headache Relief (plus a recipe), or DIY Headache Relief.
I click on 4 Essential Oils for Headaches, because I’m not ready for a recipe and I’m hoping one of the oils my friend gave me will work. It takes me to a post (not a generic site trying to sell me oils) that is clear, simple, and helpful. I’m so excited to see peppermint as an option because I have some peppermint in my little stash; plus, this article explains how to use it safely, how often I can apply it, and exactly how to use it for a headache, so I am feeling great about this! Since this pinner is super helpful and her article gives me exactly the advice I am looking for, I am going to head over to her Pinterest profile and see what else she has to offer.
Her profile does not disappoint! Oils for Beginners, Essential Oil Safety, DIY Oil Recipes, Essential Oils and Children, Cure a Cold Naturally, For the Love of Lavender, Natural Cleaning Products, Grow Your Own Herbs for Health…these are great boards. I can see myself wanting to read content from almost all of these as I figure out this whole new world of essential oils.
When I read her profile description I can see that she uses oils herself and teaches others how to move toward natural remedies including essential oils. That’s awesome! I am going to follow her.
On the flip side, what if I had arrived at her profile to find Children’s Crafts, DIY Pallet Projects, Best Chicken Recipes, and Gardening 101. In my headachy mess, there is no way I want to sort out which boards I might want to follow and what doesn’t apply to me. And if her profile description said, “Mom of 3, loves to garden, sells doTerra.” I'd skip the Follow button and think, “Peace Out.”
Just like my new & helpful essential oil friend, your Pinterest profile is your home base.
It’s what people look at to get an idea of who you are and what you’re all about. And just like an unkempt house with peeling paint and dead flowers isn’t going to shout, “Welcome Home,” neither does a Pinterest profile that isn't intentional. Instead, you want your profile to be attractive, clear, and relevant
An Attractive Front
Why do we love home improvement shows so much? Because they take something that's functional, if a little outdated or plain, and add style, personality, and a cohesive feel. When you see the finished makeover, there is a distinct style to the home and you get a feel for the people who live there.
When someone clicks through to your Pinterest profile, does it look more like the before photos in a home makeover or the after? Do they see pleasing color combinations, well-worded board titles, and a pretty photo? Or do they click through to a page that feels like a run-down, weather-worn front porch shouting, “Warning!” instead of “Welcome!”
Check out The Cupcake Daily Blog Pinterest profile. Gorgeous cupcake photography invites you to scroll and as you do, you find board after board of creative, consistent cupcake-y goodness. I want to click the Follow button just so my feed is filled with amazing cupcake photos, ideas, and recipes.
Take an objective look at your home base on Pinterest. Does the first visual impression make you want to keep looking or move on?
A Clear Purpose
Pinterest gives you this golden opportunity to showcase who you are and what you're about in your Pinterest profile. Brevity is a good thing in this case! In just a short sentence or two you want to communicate a clear reason someone would click Follow.
What does your Pinterest profile description say about you? Read it out loud and answer these questions as if you had read it for the first time:
-Who is this person?
-What do they do?
-How will their content help me?
If your profile description doesn’t answer those questions, you aren’t communicating a clear purpose and people who find you aren’t clicking the Follow button because they don’t know why they should.
We just love Bethany at Math Geek Mama and her super clear purpose. Right away in her profile description, she asks, “Are you struggling to engage your kids in math?” And here's the deal–if I am struggling, I'll keep reading. If I'm not, I know I can move on. Of course, she goes on to give the solution to struggling parents: “Teach math with confidence and make it fun!” That's perfect because I know exactly what she can do for me. Even better, she makes me an offer right away: “Get my free ebook here.” It is not a hard decision to click Follow if engaging my kids in math is an issue. She's clear that she can help me with that. And as I scroll down, there are fabulous, specific boards all about helping me help my kids in math.
Relevant Content
Imagine that your profile description does answer those questions and communicates your clear purpose. Your boards need to be in line with that purpose, just like Math Geek Mama and The Cupcake Daily Blog. If you help people lose weight, they aren’t looking for Valentine’s Day crafts. If you’re a photographer, then you shouldn't be promoting your expertise on gardening. The people who land on your profile want to see your work, your tips for photo day, how to find a great photographer, how to get great school photos, etc., and not the best herbs for a small garden!
Do your board titles (and ultimately your content) match your purpose? Or is your profile a mishmash of disconnected ideas?
All it takes is a little bit of TLC and a couple of hours to freshen up your home base so that potential followers who land on your Pinterest profile think Follow and not Peace out.
(Pssst! You might love these other posts on using Pinterest for your business!)
- How to Make Pinterest Board Covers in 2017 (and Why You Need Them!)
- How to Create Custom, Vertical Pins for Your Online Shop