As we prepare to turn the page on a new decade, it’s time to take stock of the state of digital marketing. Specifically, are the same social media marketing techniques upon which we’ve relied for years still effective at shepherding prospects through the buyer’s journey?
Or are we truly in uncharted waters?
With respect to Pinterest, one of the lesser-studied of the top social media marketing vectors for North American commercial users, the answer is: a little bit of both.
Marketing experts advise committed Pinterest users to follow these seven effective Pinterest hacks in 2020. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that this list includes something(s) borrowed and something(s) new — but its entirety is already tried and true.
- Focus on Re-pins, Not Follower Counts
Twitter and Instagram users live and die by their follower counts. Pinners, not so much. On Pinterest, you’re free from the tyranny of the follow/unfollow binary.
Not that no Pinterest metrics are of concern. Watch your re-pin counts carefully and adjust your content strategy accordingly.
- Use the Same Hashtags and SEO Keywords That Work Elsewhere (Pending Keyword Research)
Pinterest is a keyword-rich environment. For better or worse, hashtags still matter here, too. As
this wealth management professional’s Pinterest page demonstrates, judicious use of hashtags drives follower engagement and may increase post visibility.
- Try Out a Group Board (If You Can Find Suitable Collaborators)
Pinterest is an inherently collaborative medium. If you can find any plausible path to co-branding initiatives with erstwhile competitors (or industry peers upstream or downstream of your company), Pinterest’s group boards will be ground zero. Their importance is only going to increase as interest silos come to dominate the social media landscape.
- Pin Early and Often
When your Pinterest marketing apparatus fires on all cylinders, it’ll pin multiple times per day. Those are the rules.
Okay, there’s no actual rule that your Pinterest account must post multiple pieces of original content per day. But you’ll attract more quality engagement when you do. Re-pins and shared content are acceptable too, of course.
- Hook Your External Social Accounts to Your Pinterest Account
Pinterest will never be the be-all, end-all of your social media marketing operation. Connect your external social accounts, notably Instagram and Facebook, to your Pinterest account to ensure prospects who find you through Pinterest can see what you’re up to elsewhere.
Pin This, Not That
You wouldn’t know it from a quick survey of the platform, but the overriding determinant of Pinterest marketing success is discretion. That is, the commercial Pinterest users who tend to stand out on this platform do so because they know when to hold their fire.
Holding one’s fire means something very different in the context of Pinterest than, say, Facebook or Twitter, where one ill-advised viral post is enough to destroy a business case. On Pinterest, discretion is mostly about preserving the integrity of a commercial brand. That may actually be a heavier lift: When every post matters, perfection is required.
That’s a conversation for another day. Today, and in the coming year, focus on doing right by your audience. They’re counting on you.
