As it is with other platforms, Pinterest trends and – the word we dread the most – algorithms are changing over time.
But this is a natural process as we all know that the only constant is change, and change is the main component of progress.
(TBH, after some changes – especially on social media – we’re sometimes like, WTF? But hey, that’s life :D)
If certain things did incredibly well in the past, this doesn’t mean this is still the case (pinning the same pin to hundreds of boards over and over again, I’m looking at ya!).
No matter what Pinterest favors or what is trending currently, 3 essential elements for Pinterest management that brings results will never change.
However, today I want to talk about five not-so-secret secrets of a successful Pinterest strategy in 2021. You’ll also learn which best practices from the previous decade you should absolutely leave behind if you want to crush the platform like the proper Pinterest rockstar you are.
THESE ARE THE 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD INCORPORATE INTO YOUR PINTEREST STRATEGY IN 2021:
FRESH PINS
As I said, long-dead are times when we could create one pin for an article or product and pin it into 267 (just kidding, let’s say 36) relevant boards (and every single group board we were a member of).
RIP easy times.
Nope, Pinterest made it clear that they want fresh pins. Heck, they even went that far that now we can talk about different levels of freshness when it comes to pin design.
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What are fresh pins on Pinterest? A fresh pin is essentially a pin that hasn’t been seen on the platform before. Never. Ever ever.
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The main goal of fresh pins is to provide value to the Pinterest users (admit it, seeing the same pin 10 times in a couple of days feels kinda spammy) and appeal to different audiences.
PRO TIP:
Creating fresh pins doesn’t mean that you need to use a completely different picture or text on every single pin, but try to play with the angle, size of the image, layout, etc. Even better, try to create pins that will attract people with different interests and preferences.
Here is the example:
If possible, avoid just changing the color and leaving everything completely the same (of course, if you’re in a hurry sometimes, that’s also OK, but since Pinterest can recognize images, it may not consider your pin as fresh as you’d want it to appear; Also, users will recognize after some time if you’re just changing the colors of the same pin 🙂 ).
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Is design not your cup of tea, and you’re struggling with creating beautiful pins? You can grab these FREE Pinterest Canva Templates that will help you create unique designs faster!
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CREATING NEW CONTENT
If at the beginning of 2020, we were all surprised when Pinterest put even greater emphasis on fresh pins, we quickly composed ourselves, utterly confident that we’re just going to create 20+ pins for a particular article and call it a day.
Yeah right.
I’m telling you, their algorithm is smarter than that.
Frankly, Pinterest has been telling the creators for ages that fresh content is important; it’s just that we ignored it and pretended we know better.
But as the months passed by, it was more and more apparent that this time, Pinterest really meant what it said. Therefore, creating new articles or product pages regularly is one of the most critical factors of the Pinterest strategy in 2021.
Without creating new content, account growth is slower and more difficult (unless you already have a large, established account, it’s a tad bit easier for those).
If possible, I would suggest creating at least one new URL per week (or once every other week) to consistently show Pinterest you’re an active creator who provides valuable content to the pinners.
This can be either a new blog post (or a gallery post without or with minimum text if you’re a photographer!) or a new recipe, printable, etc.
I hear you, especially if you’re in the e-commerce business, this might sound concerning since you’re probably not creating new products every other week.
But this is where you can get creative – you can also create product gallery posts or create pins that will lead to your homepage or category pages.
You can also create landing pages to promote freebies (FREE downloadable resources), which is also a great way to grow your email list.
UTILIZING DIFFERENT PIN TYPES
If you’re not entirely new to Pinterest, then you probably know that static (image) pins are no longer the only type of pins on the platform.
In 2020, carousel, video, and story pins gained popularity. As of the beginning of 2021, story pins even made it to the top of your Created pins (on your Pinterest profile). This means that Pinterest is favoring them even more.
I’m not THE biggest fan of story pins since they don’t have an option to add your URL, and their point is to keep users on the platform. But they do boost impressions and views across your account – meaning also your other pins get more exposure – which is ultimately a good thing. Besides, you can always include a CTA and URL as text on the story pin, so if somebody is interested in your content, they might go to your website.
Carousel pins are static and can be used in a similar way as story pins. For example, if you’re a food or travel blogger, each pin can include an article subtitle or a recipe step so that pinners will know what to expect if they click on the pin. Photographers can add more photos from one photo session; a product-based business can add product lifestyle photos (everyone just LOVES to see how products look in real life).
Video pins are great for tutorials or as inspiration (think dreamy travel videos! 😉). And even if you don’t have any knowledge or time to create video pins in dedicated software, there’s no need to freak out. You can simply add animated elements to your static pins in Canva (or insert phone-made videos instead of photos), and pins will automatically become video pins.
Similar as it is when it comes to Instagram (guides, reels, videos), utilizing different pin types is a crucial part of the 2021 Pinterest strategy, so make sure to incorporate them in your pin creation process if possible!*
*Unfortunately, video and story pins are not available in all countries (and for gosh sakes, I cannot fathom why). While Pinterest claims that story pins are still a feature being tested, this “story” is becoming old when it comes to video pins.
If you’re not from the USA, let me know if you already have story and video pins! 😊
LESS IS MORE WHEN IT COMES TO PINNING
“How many times per day I should pin?” was probably one of the most asked questions in 2020 when Pinterest started to change its algorithm.
In the past, it wasn’t uncommon to pin 50 or even several hundred times per day – especially if you participated in repin threads where you pinned all pins from others in exchange for others pinning your pin; but that’s a whole other story, and yet another strategy that should be avoided in2021.
In fact, thousands of accounts, especially in the travel niche, were (temporarily) suspended last year due to too frequent pinning when Pinterest strengthened its spam filter (even though their content wasn’t spammy at all).
What hasn’t changed is that if your account is brand new, you should start slowly. Pinning fresh pins once per day or once every few days (and manually pinning or scheduling with Tailwind to a few other relevant boards in certain time intervals) is entirely OK.
Even though Pinterest now prefers pinning original content over repining others’ content, it is still perfectly fine to repin valuable curated content from others, especially if you’re just starting and don’t have much of your own content yet. When you do have more articles/products, you can gradually decrease repining from others and keep it to a minimum (i.e., repining only pins from Tailwind Communities or group boards you’re part of to keep the balance of submitted/shared pins)
Oh, numbers, you want to know numbers, I KNOW.
Well, here it is: Tailwind (an official partner from Pinterest) recommends pinning anywhere between 10 – 25 times per day and not more than to 10 different boards (yours and group boards, if you use them). A little notification will appear next to your pin if you exceed that number, but you’ll still be able to pin to more than 10 boards if you want to.
A few established accounts (active for years) claim that even in 2020/21, they kept pinning a large number of pins per day without seeing any adverse effect. Still, I would strongly advise against doing that to any newer or not established account.
Besides – if pinning less also leads to growth, why would one want to spend more time on Pinterest marketing than necessary, right? 😊
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TRENDS AND ANALYTICS
Perhaps this is not something THAT new, but it is so important that I felt it should be included in a Pinterest strategy for 2021 anyway, especially in the light of last year’s events that severely affected (and are still affecting) several industries. #youknowWHO
I will assume that you researched if your target market is hanging out on Pinterest at all. And I will assume the answer is YEP, ABSOLUTELY! 😉
Great, then it’s time to find out what your target audience is searching for.
The thing is, that even if you’d be making fabulous “alpaca-wool coats for groundhogs” (Wouldn’t they look cute in those tiny fluffy coats?!), chances are, nobody is searching for such items on Pinterest. Or, translated into not-so-imaginary-things, if you only have Europe travel articles or big wedding posts on your website, this kind of content is not likely to rank that high in 2021.
Why?
It’s because pinners are not searching for these topics currently! (When are we going to travel around Europe again? Oh, just a second, let me take my crystal ball out.)
Use Pinterest trends or the search bar to identify current trends on Pinterest and create content that will resonate with your audience (i.e., local travel or bucket list travel lists, micro wedding ideas, outdoor photoshoots,…)
The second important thing is not to throw spaghetti at the wall, only to wait and see what sticks.
In other words, don’t create content without a proper strategy. Sure, it’s totally OK sometimes to create posts or recipes just because you love the topic, but keep in mind that you need to follow certain “rules” in order to grow your business.
Approximately once a month, perform a deep dive into your Pinterest, Tailwind and Google Analytics to determine which content is performing well. This will tell you what your audience is interested in and what kind of content (and pin designs) you should focus on in the future.
Are you ready to crush Pinterest strategy in 2021? (I’ll take HECK, YEAH as an only answer!)
But, in case you need any help along the way, just DM me on Instagram or message me here – I’m happy to help! 😊
Or if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the information or lack time to dive into Pinterest marketing, I’ve got your back too. Take a look at my packages that include everything from creating a custom Pinterest strategy for your account to monthly management and pin design. I can help you with certain parts of Pinterest marketing or do everything instead of you while you focus on your business!
