How to Use Pinterest as a Designer
Pinterest is essential for any creative business, but for designers, it’s truly priceless and shouldn’t be left out of your social media repertoire. (I know Pinterest is a search engine and not a social media platform, but it requires planning and strategy just like social media, so I bunch them together.)
Why?
If you’re wondering, “Why should I be on Pinterest, I get plenty of clients on Instagram?” I have a few answers for that.
Pinterest is the first thing people use to find inspiration for any creative project. As a designer, what do you most likely have your client do first to establish creative direction? Make a Pinterest board! People will often create boards for when they DIY their brand, and if they stumble across some of your content that just totally trips their trigger, who do you think they’ll go to when their DIY strategy isn’t enough anymore?
Secondly, Instagram is great, but wouldn’t you like to have clients coming to you through multiple avenues, rather than relying on a company that is aging out of the game? You could blink and Instagram would be gone. Are you ready if the ‘gram suddenly becomes not-so-cool anymore? At worst, you have a solid back-up plan. At best, you’re getting an influx of eyes on your work (if used correctly, Pinterest can get you anywhere from 1 to 10 million impressions per month) and more inquiries.
How?
You may be only familiar with Pinterest as a consumer and not a business owner. That’s okay! It’s really similar. If you use Pinterest a lot for fun, this makes using it for your business that much easier.
The only thing that changes with a business account is a look into your analytics. You get to see who liked, viewed, and saved any of your pins. This is vital information because now you have a direct idea of what content is doing well, and (most importantly!!!!) which keywords are working for you.
Pinterest best practices are constantly changing, but here’s a good recipe for success as of right now:
Utilize “idea” pins (these are just like IG stories). They’re new, and naturally, are being pushed out to more people since Pinterest wants people to use this feature.
Schedule a few pins a week to start. When making pins, you can opt to publish right away or post later. You could be really zealous and bank a month’s worth of content, or just do a few days. Whatever works for you. Try to keep new content constantly coming in at whatever consistency you can manage. Also be sure to pop in and re-pin a few things on your home page.
Map out your short and long tail keywords (your specialties/what you want to rank for) and put them everywhere.
As a designer, this usually includes graphic design, typography, and brand ideas/inspiration
Think like a customer. what words are they typing into that search bar?
Where exactly do these keywords go? Good Q.
Your bio, board descriptions, & pin descriptions. Every. Time.
Just like SEO practices for websites, don’t keyword stuff. Don’t be lazy, now!
Overall, consistency and keyword research are your best friends. If you’re wanting to diversify your lead generation strategy and have more eyes on your work, Pinterest is a non-negotiable. I happen to be pretty good at it if you don’t feel like doing it yourself.
