Follow Living Locurto on Pinterest10 Do's and Don'ts ~ How to Use and Grow your Following on Pinterest LivingLocurto.com

I have written various articles about Pinterest since it first began. It changed the way I blog and pretty much the way everyone blogs these days! It has put blogs on the map, provided jobs, and continues to grow as one of the largest social media sites ever.

As much as I use Facebook to interact with the Living Locurto community, I admit that I use Pinterest a whole lot more and like it a whole lot better!

Over the past year, I have learned to really love it and spend a lot of my time pinning. It’s sort of taken over my addition to chocolate. Well, I wish… when I look at this board, I still cave and get into my chocolate stash.

I have done several talks about marketing your business with Pinterest, been quoted in Pinterest books and look forward to speaking at ALT Summit this week where the founders of Pinterest will be the keynote speakers! I figured it was about time to write some tips here for those of you who love Pinterest as much as me. I hope these do’s and don’ts help you in your quest to grow on Pinterest!

NOTE: There are challenges for some of the tips. If you take on a challenge, come back and leave a comment to let me know how it goes!

10 Do’s and Don’ts ~ How to Use and Grow your Following on Pinterest

1. DON’T: Pin the Same Thing as Everyone Else

I think the people who stand out and grow fast on Pinterest are finding things to pin that are unique and different. It used to be that anything you pinned was re-pinned numerous times, but now it seems like people are getting bored because there are a lot of the same things floating around. The key to growth is finding great content to pin and not always pinning your own content.

 Challenge —>  Find at least one unique photo to pin each day.

 

2. DO: Create Unique Content to Pin

If you are a blogger or business owner wanting to market your company on Pinterest, you must have creative images and content that is unique to you. If you do the same idea as someone else and style the photo the exact same way, what makes you different? Not much. Make it unique to you. Even if you have an article with no photos, you can always create an eye catching graphic with fonts and colors.

The best way to grow your following is to provide unique and useful content along with eye catching images that people want to pin.

 

3. DO: Use Vertical Photos Instead of Horizontal 

I’m sure you have heard this before, but if not, longer vertical images get repined and clicked a lot more than a horizontal photo. A vertical thumbnail image will look bigger and stands out more. If you don’t like long images in a blog post, you can always add a pinable option of the photo near the bottom of a post so readers can pin it if they like.

Challenge —> Make your photos 300-500 pixels longer than the width.

 

4. DO: Create Portfolio Boards for Your Business

If you are a blogger, designer, photographer or own any type of business, it’s great to have a few boards just to pin work or articles from your own company. Use this as a portfolio to show off your services and talents. Share this board often with your clients and readers. As a blogger, it’s a great place for a brand to scan your portfolio of ideas!  I used to have an online photo gallery of portfolio images, but now I use a Pinterest board instead. I even have a link to my Living Locurto Tutorials board in my about page for PR inquiries.

Challenge —> Start 2 boards just for your company. Be sure to put them on the top two rows.

 

5. DO: Edit the top 2 rows of your Pinterest boards.

Think about rearranging your boards. The top two rows are what most people will see first when visiting your Pinterest profile. Be sure to have the boards that you want others to follow on the top rows.

Challenge —> Put your company portfolio and most popular boards on the top two rows. Pin often to those boards.

 

6. DON’T: Forget to move your holiday boards around. 

Do you still have Christmas boards on the top rows of your Pinterest page and it’s nearly February? Time to rearrange!

 

7. DON’T: Pin the same image 10 times in a row!

There is nothing worse that seeing 10 or more of the same images pinned at once by the same person to different boards! I’m sorry, but I will de-follow anyone who does this and I’m sure many of your other followers will do the same. Yes, Pinterest is great for exposure and traffic, but please don’t turn into a spammer.

You don’t have to pin the same photo over and over on the same day. There are various apps to schedule pins to help you space them out.

If you absolutely must have the same photo in all of your boards, you can schedule your pins to go out on different days. This looks more organic and not so spammy. Plus, you won’t lose followers… you might actually gain some by thinking more strategic!

I currently use Viral Tag to schedule my pins. –> Get get a $15 credit when you use this link to sign up with Viral Tag.

Challenge —> Space out your pins and mix in photos from others.

 

 

8. DO: Comment and Repin

I wish there was more interaction on Pinterest. I might have nearly 100,000 followers, but I read each comment that appears on my pins. If you tag me, I will definitely see it. When I see something on Pinterest that is awesome, I always try to leave a nice comment or at least re-pin it while tagging the person. This is a great way to communicate and be friendly with influencers and your readers on Pinterest.

Challenge —>  Comment on or share three pins of people you admire. Tag them also when you do this. If you are left a comment, reply back with something nice or a thank you!

 

9. DON’T: Ask to Join a Pinterest Board in a Comment Unless that is Part of the Invite Process

I have a popular Pinterest board full of some amazing DIY bloggers. I get asked daily by someone in a comment if they can get an invitation to pin on my board. That is not the way to engage in a conversation with someone you don’t know. It would be nice if those people were to get to know me via comments first by saying something lovely or constructive before immediately asking me for a favor.

I personally would never ask to join a board through a comment unless the owner of the board specifically said to leave a comment in a pin to be invited. You can read the board’s description to see the rules. Some group board owners even provide email addresses for contacting them. My Pinterest boards are made up of people I know personally and asked to join.

 

10. DO: Start Your Own Collaborative Boards

I really think now more than ever, with so many people blogging, that collaboration is key. Being a part of group boards can help you reach more people. If you don’t know anyone who has a large community board to personally ask for an invite, then start your own board with a few friends!

Some boards take off very quickly depending on the topic, so you just never know what will happen. That’s the beauty of Pinterest! But be strategic about who you invite to a new collaborative board. Think niche, how often they will pin (the more often the better for a group board) and the quality of their pins. It’s good to have rules figured out ahead of time and make that clear to everyone involved.

 Challenge —>  Invite some friends to join one of your boards.

 

What challenge will you take this week? I hope to hear about your progress. Happy Pinning!

You might also like these tips for Pinterest:

 

Come follow one of my favorite DIY  boards. I promise you’ll love it!

DIY Creative Ideas Pinterest Board - 25 Talented Bloggers - Crafts, recipes, printables, home decor, parenting, photography, party ideas, fashion and sewing.

 

Share the fun!

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55 Comments

  1. I’m currently using PinPinterest for my 4 accounts and by far this is the best tool I ever discovered for my pinterest. I have never used any tool as powerful as PinPinterest before. The results I got were steady, legit, safe and most importantly automated. The best part about this tool is that it runs on cloud storage and there is no need to download any software on your pc. You just need to provide information to PinPinterest of what you want or to be scheduled which takes very few couple of minutes and once you are done logout, close your browser or even turn your computer off and enjoy your day PinPinterest will be your assistant and will do the whole work for you at the right time for better results.

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  3. Thanks for sharing. We have a new, family run business and are learning about using Facebook and Pinterest to help promote it. Appreciate you sharing some helpful tips!

  4. These are wonderful tips! I don’t blog, maybe one day. I’ve been trying to rearrange my boards and don’t know how. Would you mind explaining to to me?

  5. thank you for such a wonderful post. I want to know what will happen when pinterest will start their paid services for PIN promotion(like fb ads), as they are currently working on it and soon they shall start it. What will be the affect on bloggers?.

  6. Wonderful advice, thanks so much for sharing! I had no idea that vertical images were highlighted more – what a handy tip. Your post was better than all the other ones I've read. 🙂

  7. Thanks! This was a great article. It taught me a lot and also verified much of my own thinking.

  8. I just created an Etsy shop and I created a board for it on Pinterest thinking it would help with traffic but the board doesn’t have any followers at this time. I’m still new to marketing my work and this article gave me a couple of really good ideas…especially rearranging my boards. Going to give this a shot now. Thank you!!!!

  9. Most of these pins do not apply to me because I have no business or blog, but I like these tips and can still use a few of them. Thank you for the advice!

  10. Thanks for thes these! I’m the only one who didn’t know how, bit how do I rearrange my boards? I have no clue!

  11. Thanks so much for this Amy! I’m addicted to Pinterest too! I was planning to build my portfolio and wasn’t sure if I should put pictures of my own

  12. Thanks for the great advice. I find lately that not many people want to share their road to success, they want you to pay them $50 and then they will tell you. So thank you for your generosity!
    Jennifer :www.useatissue.blogspot.com

  13. This is a great post! I hadn't considered making a "portfolio" for Pinterest. I do have a board that is specifically for my blog, but I haven't treated it in a way that I would necessarily present to businesses. I'm going to spruce it up and do just that.

    What plug-in do you use that puts the "follow me on Pinterest" button above your post photo?

  14. Hi…I”m just trying to start a business, and i was wondering if it was appropriate to give a price on a new item that i made and post?!?

  15. Christina Mendoza Ahh, thank you! I mostly do it from my phone so maybe that is why! I will check it out on the computer. 🙂

  16. Hi Kate! Also, when you join a group board, there is no obligation to pin. You can just view others’ pins if you choose. Your pins won’t be copied to the group board automatically — just like with your own boards, you will have to specifically choose to place a pin on the group board, if and when you choose to. Group boards can be fun! If others like what you pin, they often choose to follow you directly. And if it’s a topic you like (and a well-run board that avoids spam), you’ll see lots of great pins on it!

  17. Hi Jennifer, to reply to a comment, just go to the pin, and scroll down. There will be a field below — an open box — where you type in your reply, and then click the button to post it. It might be harder on a phone or tablet, but you can definitely do it as I described on a computer.

  18. #5 was a really great tip. I am part of a group of pinners building faith based boards. Yep, top two rows is one of the rules.

  19. BIG DON’T….Don’t go on a pinning mania of silly. I have friends who get into multiple posts of “yellow” or something else. I unfollow those boards quickly because it’s just too much to visually handle and most of them are usually useless.

  20. Just a thought. Be sure to check any links before you pin!!! There’s nothing more frustrating than a beautiful DIY project or great looking food and the link goes nowhere!!!!

  21. Excellent tips! I also read all comments on my pins and many times, it’s how I find new people to follow. I really like your first tip – very clever!

  22. Oops, posted on the facebook thing up there..lol. But anyway, people comment on my pins, but I can’t figure out how to reply back. I must be missing something…lol. I know it has to be something simple, but I don’t see the option at all! 😛

  23. People comment on my pins, but I can't figure out how to reply back. I must be missing something…lol.

  24. Thanks so much! I’m a brand new business and your tips were so helpful! I immediately rearranged my boards and moved past holiday products to the bottom and upcoming holidays to the top. I can’t believe I didn’t think of doing that!

    http://www.pinterest.com/sunbeamroad/

    Thanks for all your tips! I hope that 2014 is a great year on PInterest!

    MaryRuth

  25. Hi Kate- If you are invited to a board, that means the board will show up on your profile and you may pin photos to it. But unlike your other boards, anyone in the group can pin to that board. So you should be selective about what invites you accept as you might not like the content others are adding to that board. It’s a good way to get your pins seen by others. I hope that helps you some!

  26. Could you explain what being invited to join a board means. I have been invited over several months to join boards, but I have not done it because I can’t find an explanation as to what I have to do when I join one. Does it mean that every time I pin something on my board for say ‘Christmas’ , I have to go and also pin it to the other board or does that happen automatically? Thanks for any advice.
    Kate

  27. These are some great and helpful ideas! Thanks for sharing them. What are some of the Pin apps or plugins to use to schedule Pins? I need to do that so that I’m not pinning a photo to all my boards at the same time. Thanks!

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