Setting Up a Pinterest Business Account: 5 Things You Need to Do
Today’s post is for you if you’re a blogger or content creator who is new to using Pinterest. I’m sharing the top five things you absolutely need to do when you set up your Pinterest business account. All too often I see talented and successful entrepreneurs and bloggers with incredible content missing the mark on their Pinterest marketing because they just don’t have a solid foundation. Don’t make the same mistake, build a solid foundation so that you can increase traffic and grow your email list!
What I’m sharing is not a secret, it’s not a signature formula for Pinterest success - but it is best practice. If there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that not everything has to be an “original system” in order to be effective.
Sometimes it’s just simple, strategic, and straightforward.
So what I want you to know is that this might sound familiar, and that's okay. My goal is to help MORE people understand best practice for building their Pinterest business accounts.
What is a Pinterest Business Account?
Pinterest Business Accounts are specifically for business owners. A business account gives you access to Pinterest analytics to see how your pins preform along with other tools and resources to help you grow your business on Pinterest.
An important thing to note: When you sign up or convert over to a Pinterest Business Account you are agreeing to their business terms of service and privacy policy.
How Do You Set up a Pinterest Business Account?
Setting up a Pinterest Business Account is really very simple and there are a few different options for how you can choose to do it.
If you’ve not had a Pinterest account before then you can set up a business account right when you start the process. But if you currently have a personal Pinterest account (like so many do) then its a simple transfer over to a business account.
Additionally, you can add a business account to your personal account. Though, I don’t really recommend this option as it can tend to complicate things.
My best advice is to start a completely different Pinterest business account or transfer your personal Pinterest account over to a Pinterest business account.
What’s the Difference Between a Personal and Business Account?
The functionality of Pinterest between a personal and business account is essentially the same. However, a Pinterest business account offers analytics. Pinterest analytics are helpful and provide insight as to which of your pins are performing the best.
You can also run promoted pins on a Pinterest Business account. Promoted pins are Pinterest’s ads and can generate additional traffic to your site.
Is a Pinterest Account Free?
It’s safe to say a Pinterest Business account is free! The only time you might end up making some kind of investment is if you choose to run a promoted pins campaign. Promoted pins are a great way to expand your audience and grow your website traffic.
So now you’ve decided to launch a Pinterest Business Account - what’s next?
don’t skip these five essential pieces when setting up your Pinterest business account
1. Know Your Why
Do you want to grow your email list? Sell products/services? Knowing what you want to get out of your Pinterest marketing is an important part of seeing success on the platform.
You should also know that Pinterest is a long game. It takes time to build momentum with your content and you’ll want to be consistent with content creation.
2. Do Keyword Research
Keywords allow Pinterest users to find your content more easily. It’s also one of the ways Pinterest knows how to categorize your content and serve it up to users.
The search bar on Pinterest is one of the best ways to do keyword research. When you begin typing in a keyword, suggestions for other searched terms will pop up below. This helps you know what users are searching for (these are keywords you want to use!)
Pinterest recently introduced the Trends tool. It will show you search trends and when they occur as well as keyword search popularity. You can also see the top search terms from the last 12 months and when the trend upwards on Pinterest.
When you begin your keyword research, create a spreadsheet with a list for keeping track of them. It’s likely you will use the same keywords multiple times and it will be nice to have a place where you can go see which ones they are.
3. Use Keywords In All the Right Places
Knowing where to place the keywords once you know which ones you want to use will be super helpful in getting the most out of them on your Pinterest business account.
Pinterest Profile
Start with using one generalized keyword in your profile name. For example, the way my name displays on my Pinterest Marketing Pinterest account is - Anna | Pinterest Marketing. And how it displays on my blog Pinterest account is Anna | Simple Home Style. Then use them in your profile description. Your profile should tell who you are and what you do in 2-3 short sentences.
Board Titles
For all things lovely and holy - please please please avoid using cutesy names as your board titles. It won’t do you a bit of good. Stick with board titles that clearly explain the purpose of the board using keywords.
When you set up your boards, try to think of what your audience will be looking for. Don’t try to add in any personal type boards unless you make them secret. Pinterest has shared that our boards should all be specific to our niche.
You want to fill your boards with high quality niche specific content that will help your audience. Imagine your profile as a “one stop shop” for everything they’d want to know in relation to your niche.
Board Name Examples:
Pinterest Marketing Ideas
Content Planning Ideas and Tips
Blogging Tips and Tricks
Board Description
Use keywords in the description of your board. Generally board descriptions are 1-2 sentences long. Describe what the board is about using 2-3 keywords within the flow of the sentences.
Pin Descriptions
When you schedule new pins to publish to Pinterest - write a description with 1-2 keywords used within it.
4. Create High Quality Pin Images
Pinterest images that perform the best start with a good quality photo. For best results with your pin images, use light and airy photos. If you’re taking your own photos here are a few tips for getting the perfect shot.
Start with a clean lens. It’s so simple and so obvious that I think it gets overlooked. But a dirty lens can completely ruin a good photo. Especially if you’re shooting with your iPhone.
Use natural light (and lots of it). Shoot with the light from behind you. When you shoot into the light it distorts the photo and is hard to edit.
Take lots of photos and use different angles. You’ll be able to go back and delete anything that doesn’t work. But giving yourself lots of options is a good idea.
Keep the scene free from clutter and extra stuff that will only distract from the subject of the photo.
Use a compelling text overlay with colors that contrast and pop. Use san serif, easy to read fonts. Reserve script fonts for accent words and use them sparingly.
5. Make Sure Your Site is Pinterest Friendly
Your Pinterest account can be the best there is and still not yield the results you want if your website isn’t optimized for the traffic coming from Pinterest. Here’s a few things to keep in mind when it comes to preparing your website for Pinterest users.
Mobile friendly - A majority of Pinterest users are doing so from their mobile devices. Visit your site from a mobile device and test it for ease and flow. If links are broken or it’s difficult to navigate, prioritize these things to ensure you present a quality user experience.
Tells Users What to Do - It should be super clear what you want readers who visit your site to do. Do you want them to grab your content upgrade and be added to your email list? Make it super easy and clear for them to do that. Do you want them to send you an email via your contact form or schedule a discovery call? Where ever your user lands they should not have to think about where to navigate on your site. Make it easy and tell them what you want them to do.
Social Share Buttons - Make sure your posts all make it super easy to share content on social. This includes a Pin it button for content/images users want to save for later.
Okay - how ya doin? That’s a lot of information. But it’s time to get going and begin checking items off your Pinterest to-do list. Just start with the first thing and move through the list at your own pace. You will be SO happy you did!
Laying a strong Pinterest foundation is essential to increasing traffic to your site!
Happy pinning!
