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As a Pinterest strategist, I have seen it all! With the hundreds of audits, countless Pinterest consultations and networking with other Pinterest marketers and fellow bloggers, these are the top 5 mistakes you are making on Pinterest. Unfortunately, all 5 of these are pretty common mistakes I see on the regular. If you improve on these 5 areas, I bet your Pinterest game will be on point.
5 Mistakes You Are Making on Pinterest
Pin Design
I know you love IG and cross posting, but please stop. Instead, create a 2:3 ratio (1000×1500) Pin using tools like Canva to create an eye-catching, on brand Pin that will seriously stop the Pinterest scroll. Pinterest even says in their creative best practices that vertical 2:3 Pins are still the best. I know it can be tempting to cut corners, but please don’t. If you have a Canva Pro (affiliate link) membership, it only takes a click of a button to resize your graphics from other platforms, so why not!
It’s really this easy: IG post and Pinterest Pin. Voila!
The sizing is the #1 Pin design mistake I often see, but there are others Pin design mistakes too.
- Do not use text from edge to edge. It might get cropped in the Pinterest feed and it can be hard to read. Give your text room to breathe while also being big enough and clear enough to read.
- Add your branding, whether your website name or logo. Again, not around the edges. Preferably in the top center or bottom center whenever possible.
- Use a brand font and color on your Pins. One font and one color will do, no need to use all in one Pin, unless it is fitting.
- Keep it simple with your Pin copy. A few words or short sentence using keywords will do.
Pins Without Optimized Descriptions
I see one of two things: either no Pin description at all, or a hot mess of a list of hashtags or random words, also known as keyword stuffing. Sorry to break the news to you, but hashtags aren’t doing anything for you on Pinterest. If anything, they are hurting your Pin performance. Pinterest can and will flag accounts with the overuse of hashtags. If you can’t live without them, keep it to 1-2 hashtags max. But honestly, people do not search Pinterest using hashtags.
Rather than using hashtags, use Pinterest keywords in a way that flows and makes sense. My Pin descriptions are usually 2-3 sentences and that’s it. No hashtags, no fluff, no keyword stuffing.
If your Pin descriptions make no sense, list words or hashtags or come off as click bait, it’s time to rethink your Pin descriptions. Here is an example of a great Pin description:
Boards Without Descriptions
Let’s talk about Pinterest Boards! They are the place to hold Pins of similar topics. The #1 mistake I see with Boards is: no descriptions at all! I think one reason this happens is because when you create a Board, you aren’t asked to add a description. You will need to go back and edit the Board to add a description.
Make sure all of your Boards have keyword-rich descriptions. A few sentences or a short paragraph will do. Both Pin and Board descriptions weigh heavily in the Pinterest algorithm, so makes sure all of your Pins and Boards have high quality descriptions. The same rule also applies for Boards, so do not use hashtags or list/stuff keywords. Here is an example of a good Board description:
Re-Pinning & Looping Content
I know, I know. Re-pinning USED to be smart. Nowadays? Not so much! The current Pinterest algorithm wants fresh, new content (aka new Pins). Your time is better spent creating new Pins than re-pinning or setting up loops.
If you must re-pin, Pin someone else’s content to fill in the gaps in your scheduling queue. The only exception for re-pinning your own content is when you initially schedule the Pin to various Boards. While the first Pin will always have the best performance, you might have followers on different Boards and they can still help add some extra love to your Pin.
No Strategy or Consistency
Logging into Pinterest once a month and bulk posting a bunch of Pins is not a strategy and it is also not consistent. You are better off scheduling those bulk Pins throughout the entire month using Tailwind (get a free month with this referral link).
Pinterest will thank you for being active and consistent on their platform rather than coming and going. I promise it isn’t a ton of work, especially if you use Canva and Tailwind. All you need to do is devote a few hours per week for your Pinterest marketing.
5 Common Pinterest Mistakes
I’m sure after reading these common mistakes you might be wondering what are Pinterest keywords anyway and how do I find them? Check out the Pinterest Trends for 2021 to get your Pinterest keywords all lined up for the entire year!
