Imagine being able to generate almost the majority of your traffic through one platform.
As a blogger, corporate blogger, or website operator, you have a natural interest in people finding your content. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be online. I no longer need to mention that search engine optimization is the top priority. In her series of articles about SEO, Daniela has already clearly explained how you can ensure that the search engine also finds your content relevant.
However, Google or Bing are not the only sources of traffic for your corporate blog. Maybe you are also on different social networks. You are also guaranteed to receive visitors from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The image platform Pinterest stands in their shadow. I deliberately write image platforms because Pinterest is not a social network. For example, the information in the profile about “followers” was replaced with “viewers per month”. The focus is on the reach of the account and not the number of followers. You can find out more about Pinterest changes in the article “Pinterest Changes 2018” by Barbara Riedl.
In this article, you will find out why Pinterest is particularly suitable for corporate blogs and how you can increase your traffic with it.
Pinterest is growing: 25% in 12 months!
In September 2018, Pinterest published the new statistics for the current year. 250 million people now use the platform. In September 2017 there were still 200 million. That means growth of 25% in 12 months. Of these, 80% of new signups and monthly users come from outside the US! In the products category, Pinterest itself expects an increase of + 115%. For several other categories, estimates are at 50% growth.
It’s definitely time to take a closer look at the image platform.
In Janneke Duijnmaijer’s article “Pinterest for Bloggers: How to Make Your Blog “Pinteresting” she describes how to make your blog fit for Pinterest. I set up my Pinterest account following their instructions and before long, Pinterest was my third largest source of traffic.
She writes that you should save ideas and content at least 10 times a day. Of course, that’s a bit of work at first. Maybe it scares you off too. But there is a tool that does a lot – I would even say everything – for you – Tailwind.
With Tailwind you can get the most out of Pinterest!
The tool pins for you regularly and at the right time. It ensures continuous activity on your Pinterest account and offers extensive analysis. Tailwind is also an official marketing partner of Pinterest.
Since I started planning my content using the tool, my reach on Pinterest has increased tenfold! The image platform is ranked third in the “Acquisition” category in my Google Analytics.
After you log in to Tailwind with your Pinterest business account, the tool analyzes your account. It checks when your target group is online or most active and creates a so-called Smart Schedule for you. So a schedule for the ideal time to pin.
The optimal image size is important
- One change in 2018 was the image size. Square pins have also been played since September.
- Square pin: 600 x 600 pixels
- Short pin: 600 x 900 pixels
- Long pin: 600 x 1260 pixels
- You can easily and creatively create images and infographics for Pinterest using the free tool Canva.
How to plan your content on Pinterest with Tailwind
You probably offer the option to share your articles via social media on your website or blog. Since the GDPR came into force, you should use the free Shariff Wrapper plugin. You can read why in the article “Shariff: Social Media Buttons with Data Protection”. In brief: “The Shariff button only establishes direct contact between the social network and the visitor when the latter actively clicks on the share button.”
As soon as you have installed the plugin, a field for the Shariff settings will appear in the sidebar in the text editor. Under “Pinterest image” you can upload a correspondingly optimized post image for Pinterest. You do this via the media database, just like with the cover photo. If a reader wants to pin your post, this image will be suggested to them.
You have now
- your optimal schedule from Tailwind
- the optimal image size
- and know where to put the image for Pinterest in WordPress
For Tailwind, you should also include the images for Pinterest in the article itself. So that your infographics and pins do not appear in the article, but only for Tailwind, you can hide them. I also got this trick from Janneke. In the text editor, insert the shortcode <div style=”display: none;”>insert image here</div>. This means the image doesn’t appear in the text, but you can share it with the Tailwind Extension.
Once you have logged in to Tailwind, the tool will ask you to install the extension for your browser.
With the browser extension, you can now share images on Pinterest from any page via Tailwind. To do this you must be logged in to Tailwind. After you click on the Tailwind browser extension, this window will appear.
- Here you can assign 1 board for all images.
- If you use YOAST SEO, this is the description you enter there for Facebook and Twitter. The image to Pinterest that you provide via Shariff Wrapper uses the ALT attribute of the image description. So here you have to decide between accessibility and image description for Pinterest.
- You can assign a different board to each image. Then 1 is omitted.
- These are two more features of Tailwind that I will explain in a moment.
- You can assign these Pins to your schedule right away or save them as drafts and edit them later.
This is how I proceed and plan my Pinterest posts. This way I can create content for Pinterest for the next 4-8 weeks in one day and then I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
What you should always consider when planning with Tailwind: Does the description fit? It has often happened to me that the description was too short or that it simply contained the title of the blog post. But Tailwind also helps with this and makes you aware of it.
Two brilliant features: Tribes and Loops
Tailwind offers two solutions for distributing your and third-party content. With “ Smart Loops” you can play out evergreen content again and again. Through “Tribes” you can get in touch with the Tailwind community and distribute your and other people’s content.
Smart loops
You use rules to determine how your content is played out via “Smart Loop”. This is particularly suitable for content that relates to seasons, holidays, or seasonal offers. So Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or if you want to display your offer again and again at different times.
You can keep an eye on the pins in the “Smart Loop” using the calendar (schedule). And even if you use group boards on Pinterest, this is a practical feature so you don’t break any rules. Tailwind also offers its own statistics for “Smart Loops”. This will help you find out which content works well and which don’t and where you need to make improvements.
Tribes
You can connect with other Tailwind users via “Tribes”. In the tribes, you share your ideas with the community. In return, you also share their content. This means that all content within a tribe has even more reach and visibility. Tailwind has created a real traffic machine.
Decorate with foreign feathers
In her article “Content Curation and Networking: How to rank better on Google!” Daniela writes about how you can improve your own reputation by sharing third-party content.
Pinterest and Tailwind support the curation of third-party content. It’s not about getting as many followers as possible, but about sharing interesting content and ideas. Curating appealing images is the priority. Tailwind takes this to the extreme with tribes and smart loops and makes it very easy for you with the browser extension.
Conclusion
Contrary to the popular belief that Pinterest, and therefore Tailwind, is only for food and DIY bloggers, I think it is also well suited for businesses and solopreneurs. You can find infographics with statistics, attractive pins with product descriptions, and much more on the platform.
A pin has a lifespan of 3 months! We can only dream of that on Facebook & Co. The image platform thrives on curation. This is something I miss a bit in the blogosphere and social networks. Pinterest is also suitable for personal branding. The optimally sized images can be created in the corporate design and receive attention. And if you’re only interested in facts: as I said, the platform grew by 25% within 12 months. If that’s not a reason to look into it more intensively.
I think the Tailwind planning tool is particularly suitable for corporate blogs. This allows content to be scheduled regularly and distributed automatically. This saves a lot of work and can be easily integrated into everyday processes.
Are you already on Pinterest and using the platform for your blog? I’m interested in your answer, please write in the comments under this post.