Pinterest is the best traffic driver to the content on your website. While you don’t need a website to be on Pinterest, you can read more about the benefits of having a website for your business. But what happens when they get there? Many people are quick to judge Pinterest for “not working” when they don’t see ROI. This means their time (or money) is not translating into sales or e-mail sign-ups. The problem isn’t necessarily Pinterest. It may be that your website isn’t converting correctly. So how can you maximize your website for Pinterest?
We spend a lot of time researching ways to create content and drive traffic. Both of these are great activities. But think about times you might have been on Pinterest and tried to follow a pin back to the website and all of a sudden you find something fabulous you want to save, but there is no way to save it. Or maybe you have seen threads within Facebook groups inviting you to share blog posts or opt-ins. That’s great that you shared a blog post, but if I want to share that content with my audience, I typically don’t share it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter accounts. Instead, I would save it or share it with my Pinterest community. If it turns out the post isn’t sharable, I can’t do that. And it’s annoying if I want to save it for my personal use to refer back to later.
Set-Up Your Site for Sharing
1. Claim your website on Pinterest.
Do this within your Pinterest business account under your settings. Pinterest has created simple instructions for claiming your website on different platforms. If you have already claimed your site, you will see a little checkmark next to your URL on your profile. Once your website is claimed, anyone who looks at your profile can click your website address and click through to it. You will also have access to analytics, and be confident that your content shows up as your content and your website URL stays with your content.
2. Include a Pinterest widget on your sidebar to gain followers.
When your readers are on your blog, take the opportunity to add them as a follower. Making it easy for them by adding a Pinterest widget on your sidebar so they can follow you with just one click. The Pinterest business site shares how to create the Pinterest widget builder here. It’s as easy as answering a few questions and then copy and paste the custom code to your site.
3. Create a social share icon on your site.
It’s possible you already have other icons such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter so your readers can follow and connect with you on other social platforms. Be sure to add Pinterest as well once your account is up and running. Recently I have been working with new clients who are adding Pinterest to their marketing efforts; this is one of the first things that I make sure they do to maximize the website for Pinterest. If your readers love Pinterest, they might want to follow you there. Again, make it easy for them to follow you by adding a Pinterest social share.
4. Make your content easy to save and share.
Making your content shareable is easily done through a plugin. The one I use on my WordPress site is called Grow by MediaVine (formerly Social Pug), but there may be others you can choose. Once the plug-in is installed, you can decide where your articles are shared; Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Within the settings, you can also select where the buttons will be placed in relation to your blog post.
I have mine set at both the top and bottom of my blog posts as well as a floating sidebar that moves as you scroll down your page. If you have ever been in the middle of an article and need to click away, the floatable share is there at your fingertips without having to scroll to the image to find the save button. Omitting this option is the biggest mistake that I see; people put on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, but then they leave out Pinterest. Just because you may not have an active Pinterest account, I suggest you still set this up because others can share it, and it will drive traffic to your blog post.
Add a SAVE button to your blog post pin image so readers can save your content to their account. This is the save button that shows up when you hover over an image within your blog post. You can do this by adding HTML code, which you can access here. From the Pinterest business website, you can choose what kind of save button you want. Do you want it a rectangle, round, or do you have your own customized? Once you select the type of icon you want, copy and paste the code into your website.
OPTIONAL: Consider the Tasty Pins plug-in if you have a lot of images on your posts. I also recommend a paid plugin called Tasty Pins, which is $29 a year. Tasty Pins allow you to use HTML code. I don’t use this, but instead, choose to have one image per blog post. I create multiple pins within Canva and then upload those directly to Tailwind for scheduling. If you have multiple images within your post and want to offer people a choice of which pin to save, Tasty Pins might work for you.
You may have seen this when you click “save to Pinterest” from someone’s blog and many random images that show up. Those are pulled from different places on the website but may not be related to that blog post so you don’t want those shared/pinned. Tasty Pins is especially helpful for food bloggers or DIY bloggers where the blog post is exceptionally image-heavy as in demonstrating a tutorial. Not all the images have to be set as sharable (you stirring a chocolate cake, for example). You may only choose to set your branded images with text overlays shareable; the HTML within Tasty Pins will restrict or permit what’s shareable.
Capture Leads to Your Site
5. Make sure you have a way to capture email addresses on your website.
After you have done all the work to drive traffic to your site, create multiple places to sign up for your opt-in or paid offer. These may be something you link into your blog posts. In other words, create an effective funnel.
I also recommend adding your opt-in to your front homepage, above the fold, front and center. This way, anyone who comes to visit your website will see this (and sign up so I can nurture them and build relationships through email). When you drive traffic to your website, send them directly to your homepage, and they’re going to see this first thing.
If you don’t have an opt-in already, I definitely recommend creating one. Gone are the days when people land on your site to be greeted with an offer like, “Hey, sign up for my newsletter!” and then happily enter their details. They have become much more particular about who they give their email address to and what they’re going to receive. It’s always helpful to offer something specific that will solve a problem for them.
Growing your e-mail list is one of the smartest decisions you can make in your business. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can remove your content at any time. You cannot depend on social platforms as a reliable means of growing, nurturing, and retaining your audience.
BONUS TIP: This one may be a little outside of the scope of this tip-sheet, but I also recommend having a tripwire set up. This can always be added later, tested, and changed at any time. Once your visitor signs up for your opt-in freebie, they will be redirected either to a “Thank You” page or another page which presents your reader with an EXCEPTIONAL DEAL for a limited time only.
On my website’s home page where I have my opt-in hosted, there is a countdown timer with the only place you can get that deal. It is set for 12-15 minutes. After that, the page expires, and if you continue to the Thank You page. When the tripwire expires, it’s key to follow through with what you promised. Don’t offer this in any other place. It disrupts trust in your brand.
Take some time to capture traffic. Ask for an email address. Offer an e-book or digital product. Add a call to action to book a strategy call with you for a special price.
Some of this may seem overwhelming, especially when you are focusing on serving your clients and showing up with value (in addition to living life). If you are taking the time to do those things, you will WANT to make sure you maximize your website for Pinterest. Ensure you are visible, that your content is sharable, and that you’re capturing information from your ideal clients. If you need support around maximizing your website for Pinterest or maintaining an effective Pinterest marketing strategy for your business, schedule a time to talk with me, and let’s talk about what you need.
