As part of my work as a freelance Pinterest manager, I spend a LOT of time reading about the platform. Best practices, constant algorithm changes, new launches, tips and tricks – I find it all fascinating. And in this daily reading, I come across a lot of misleading or outdated information being peddled as truth (and even charged for…!) so I wanted to post the first of a few Pinterest myths posts.
Pinterest myths come in a few different guises. There are rumours that have got out of control, there are some that used to be true but are now out of date, and there are those that are just absolute nonsense. As a content creator or business owner it can be impossible to keep up with the constantly shifting goal posts: the algorithms for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, newsletter best practice, blogging SEO, Google ranking… there are so many moving parts and it’s understandable that you don’t have time to fact check every advice post you read. So I put together this Pinterest myths post for you.
Let’s bust some Pinterest myths!
MYTH: Don’t repeat content
I can see where this one comes from as it’s a little bit frowned on to repeat content on Instagram, or to RT yourself on Twitter. But it doesn’t really make sense to me. If I spend ages on a photo or a blog post, why shouldn’t I keep sharing it? I purposefully try to create blog posts that are evergreen so why would I only show them to my followers for one week and then retire them? It’s bonkers! Pinterest is a visual search engine, so if people continue to search for the content you are sharing you should be making the most of that. Obviously I wouldn’t recommend spamming the same 5 posts over and over again each week, but don’t be afraid to keep your best content in circulation.
TIP: A good rule of thumb is to wait about 3 months before recycling content to avoid looking too spammy. Tailwind is a scheduling tool that can help you space out your reshares as it has a brilliant interval scheduling tool that means you can plan super far in advance. I have used Tailwind for my own account for over 3 years and also use it for all of my clients and cannot speak highly enough of it. Also, if you sign up for Tailwind with this link, you get your first month free and I also get a month free – win/win!
MYTH: Delete under-performing pins
There was a blog post a few years ago that I think was the root of this myth but it’s a wide-ranging one that lots of people still believe. The theory was that your board has an average repin rate, and by deleting pins with low repin rates you would increase the average ‘score’ of that board and therefore beat the algorithm and be seen as a better pinner. This doesn’t really make sense for a few reasons:
- By the time you’ve noticed a pin is under-performing and removed it, Pinterest already know that it’s not resonating so you’re not gaming the system by removing it.
- Instead of deleting them (which takes a lot of time) that time is better spent learning from these under-performing pins, creating new pins, and doing some AB testing to see why they might not have worked so well the first time. Is it your imagery? Is it the colours? Is your CTA not exciting enough? Does your description need work?
- But most importantly, one of the greatest things about Pinterest is that a pin can take off at any time. You might post something that sinks without a trace, but then a year later it could suddenly be discovered in search and go viral.
MYTH: You need branded cover boards
This is one of the Pinterest myths that’s a point of contention because creating board covers does look nice and does sometimes look more professional and therefore some people do still recommend doing it. However, unlike with traditional social media accounts, it’s very rare for a person to look at your Pinterest profile in isolation. As it’s a visual search engine, people will come to Pinterest with a specific search term in mind, so they might find one pin or a board of yours, but it’s unlikely that they’ll click through to look at your whole account as a package. Having board covers won’t hurt your account, but there are probably 10 things you could do in the same amount of time that would actually improve your account in a tangible way.
MYTH: Sharing groups are the best way to promote your content
Comment pods, liking threads, click-through lists… no matter what you call them, these are all ways to game the system by creating inflated, unnatural engagement. This is directly against Pinterest’s terms of service and they are aware of it. I have heard of countless people having their accounts suspended specifically for using these types of groups so I avoid them like the plague and recommend my clients distance themselves ASAP.
As a side note, I have seen so many of these groups and the content tends to be extremely low quality and would you really want that reflecting on your account when you’re spending so long making your pins and posts the best they can be? You might get a small boost when those accounts reciprocate by sharing your pins, but will your followers appreciate your feed being filled with the crappy pins you’re sharing because you have to? Probably not.
MYTH: Your follower number is key
Yet another myth that comes from people not really understanding how Pinterest works and how it differs from traditional social media. Are you bored of me saying that Pinterest is a visual search engine yet? Tough, because here we go again! Pinterest works through search, which means that you could have 1 follower (hi, mum) but if you’ve utilised great SEO and wonderful photography, people will find, save, and click through on your content. You’re not limited to your own follower feed and you’re not punished for only starting an account a week ago, because content is king! Followers do play a small role, because Pinterest looks at how well your content does with your followers on first posting new content, and this feeds into how well it spreads across the platform. But small followings can still equal big traffic and engagement!
I hope you enjoyed this Pinterest myths post, was there anything here that surprised you? Are there any other Pinterest tips you’ve heard and wondered if they are true? Let me know in the comments below as I want to do a few more of these posts in the future!
If you want to follow me on Pinterest you can do that HERE, and if you are intrigued by Pinterest but have neither the time or interest in learning how to use it, you can have a look at my management and account refresh services HERE.
Lex
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