Whether we like it or not, we’re living in a digital world. Between using our computers, phones, tablets, watches, and televisions we’re exposed to a lot of digital content every day. There are millions of voices online and among them, businesses are vying to be seen by consumers. If your business has an online presence this means you need to create digital marketing campaigns that are strategic and efficient to get through all the noise. In order to optimize your content for Pinterest, there are a few easy things you can focus on now. Continue reading to learn about the essential components you need to create click-worthy Pinterest pins so that you can feel more confident in your Pinterest marketing strategy.

Save to Pinterest for Later!

1. Types of Pinterest Pins

Did you know there are different types of pins you should consider using in your Pinterest strategy? I already mentioned that one of the ways to Improve Your Pinterest Profile was to incorporate Rich Pins. But here I’m talking about Standard Pins, Video Pins, Carousel Pins, and Story Pins. Let’s see how they differ.

Standard Pins

You create a Standard Pin when you upload an image for your pin. These pins show off your products and ideas in a still image and link back to your website

Video Pins

Video Pins can tell more of a story about your product or idea. Video Pins have a cover image that captures your audience’s attention, similar to a standard pin. Video pins play directly in users’ feeds

The idea is to capture someone’s attention in a short video clip but not give away the whole idea to them. You want to make them curious enough to learn more so that they click through to your content.

Carousel Pins

A carousel is a Pin that has multiple images included in it. Carousels can showcase different features of a product, advertise many products at once, or tell your brand story in chapters.

Carousel Pins are shown to users in their home feed just like the other types of pins. You can tell which pins are Carousel Pins because they show dots under the pin, indicating there is more than one image. Users can swipe through the different images, called cards directly from their home feed or in a close up look at the pin.

Story Pins

Story Pins can include multiple images, videos, and URL links. Story Pins tell a story, show different views of products, create step-by-step instructions, and bring together collections of products. As of the time of writing this, Story Pins are only available to some users.

What type of Pinterest pins should you use?

To determine which types of pins will work best for your business, you need to test them all and see what resonates with your audience. You could also do a search on Pinterest to see what types of pins your competitors are pinning. Take note of what’s working for them and see where you can stand out.

• Are they only pinning standard images?
• Have they been creating new and exciting Video Pins?
• Are you seeing any Carousel Pins?

2. Pin Size

Also, consider using Pinterest’s recommended sizes when creating pins. Long, vertical images are best, and Pinterest has recommended using an aspect ratio of 2:3 for pins. If you follow the 2:3 ratio you’ll want to create pin images that are 600 x 900 pixels or 1000 x 1500 pixels, for example. Refer to the chart below for other image sizes that have a 2:3 ratio (in pixels).

For video pins, Pinterest allows the standard video sizes including widescreen (16:9), square (1:1), and vertical (9:16, 4:5, 2:3)

3. Pin Image Quality

Beautiful, motivational, and useful content that tells a story is what users expect to see when browsing Pinterest. Because Pinterest is a visual platform, your pin images should be a major focus of your pinning strategy. Well-designed pins that use high-quality images stop people in their scroll and get far more attention than pins that are of average quality.

In order to create scroll-stopping pins, you’ll want to stay away from free and outdated stock photos. For best results, take your own high-quality photos or invest in a stock photo membership that matches well with your brand or niche. I invested in a photo membership with IvoryMix and use their stock photos for a lot of my graphics. New photos are being added to the VIP membership each month so there are always new stock pictures to choose from.

You’ll also want to follow principles of design and incorporate your branding into each pin you create. Good pin design should also include your brand’s colors and fonts. And be sure to include a watermark of your logo or your website URL somewhere on your pin image. If you don’t have a team member skilled in this area, don’t be afraid to hire someone or outsource the work of designing beautiful pins.

4. Images That Make Sense

Be sure to use images that are relevant to your subject matter. You can read more about why you want to use high-quality pin images that are related to your topic in my post about Improving your Pinterest Profile. By following this simple tip, you will create a cohesive story between the title, description, and text overlay on your graphic and the visual representation it conveys.

5. Test Your Images on Pinterest

Using photos that don’t correlate to your message will confuse both your audience and Pinterest. To make sure you’re on the right track with your topic and your images, try testing your image on Pinterest before you pin your image to a public board.

First, create a secret board on your Pinterest account.  To do this:

1. Make sure you are in your “Boards” section on Pinterest.
2. Select the red and white plus sign to create a new board.
3. Add a board title. I suggest using something like “Research” or “Test”.
4. Check the box that says “Keep this board secret.”

Note: Your new secret board and any pins you save to it will only be visible to you and anyone you invite to this board. So now you can use this board to test your images to see how well Pinterest can determine what’s in your image.

Next, test your images on Pinterest:

1. Upload your image with no identifying information (no file name, URL, title, description, etc.).
2. Save the image to your secret board.
3. Open your pin and see what shows up underneath in the “More like this” section to see what images it’s compared to.

As an example, because this is a health and wellness account I uploaded a picture of healthy food. The image has a generic file name of “IMG_20190725.jpg”. And I did not add any other distinguishing information into Pinterest.

When I view my pin and scroll down, Pinterest shows me the “More like this” results. As you can see in the screenshot (if we ignore the promoted pins that I crossed out), the rest of the pins all look similar to my image. From the search results, we can tell that Pinterest is “seeing” that this image has a green salad in a white bowl, with avocado and red produce.

So based on these results, if I want to use this image for a blog post about healthy eating or for a salad recipe, Pinterest would know exactly what my pin is about. And because of this, Pinterest would be more likely to show this pin to people looking for healthy salads.

6. Straightforward and Keyworded Pin Descriptions

Your Pinterest pin descriptions offer you many opportunities to profit, so don’t forget to optimize this space.  The pin description helps your pin rank in the search engines. You can use up to 500 characters in the description field, so take advantage of that real estate. In your pin description, be sure to include SEO targeted keywords, long-tail keywords, and 3-5 hashtags that you have researched ahead of time.

When using the keywords you researched, stay away from keyword stuffing your description. By that, I mean, don’t list out all the keywords separated by commas. Be sure your description reads naturally and tells your users exactly what they’ll find upon clicking through to your content.

If you use click-bait to get people to click through to your site and they don’t find what they’re expecting, you will lose trust from your audience. Remember, well-written copy that’s on point can convert well, inspire trust, and increase your page views.

7. Have a Strong Call to Action

If you don’t include a strong call to action with your pins, you may be missing out! Whether they know it or not, people tend to follow directions when they’re given. Guiding your audience by using a short and instructive phrase is an easy way to get more potential buyers to click through to your content. Go ahead, give it a try! (See what I did there?)

So where can you add these Call to Action (CTA) phrases to your pins? You can do this in a couple of different ways. The first and most obvious way is to add them within your pin descriptions. You can add a short sentence telling them what action you’d like them to take. Try using simple, but impactful, CTA phrases like:

• Download
• Share this
• Save this for later
• Make this
• Pin this now
• Repin this idea
• Try it today
• Get yours today
• Buy now

You can also try adding different CTAs right on your pin images. Adding things like buttons, arrows, or even showing a mock-up of what they will get by clicking through will get people to take action. Here are a couple of examples of adding visual CTAs on pin images:

Creating Click-Worthy Pinterest Pins

Using these 7 essential elements of a click-worthy Pinterest Pin will help improve the effectiveness of your marketing plan. Creating quality Pinterest pins is definitely worth the time investment and can be a lot of fun to implement.

At the end of the day, you want your pins to be a reflection of your business. If you follow the tips I’ve laid out here not only will you start to see higher levels of engagement, but you’ll have better brand recognition. And as a result, you’ll start to make more sales and build customer loyalty.

If you don’t have the time or you don’t feel like you’re creative enough to come up with beautiful pin designs, I can help you with that! I offer Pinterest Pin Design Packages that fit any budget. Click the button below to check it out and then let’s chat about how I can help improve your Pinterest pins!