8 Ways You Can Drive Traffic to Your Blog Through Pinterest

With more than 175 million monthly active users, Pinterest is a force to reckon with. The world’s most visual social media platform, with an impressive growing presence worldwide, Pinterest is a goldmine for brands because it’s a place where consumers hunt and gather.

While Facebook and Twitter could be sending nice traffic to your blog, Pinterest may be taking all of your prospective readers. Tweets and posts have short lifespans but a pin will be repinned tomorrow, next week, next month, and even next year! If you are not leveraging Pinterest, get active now!

Use these tips to drive more traffic to your blog.

#1 Create Original Content

The most important decision you have to make when pinning is choosing images. More than 80% of pins on Pinterest are repins. This means that if you repin other people’s content, you won’t get anywhere. However, if you create your own content, you get a lot of exposure as you have a mass of people waiting to circulate your pins.

Creating original images is beneficial as you can use them on other social media channels to improve click-through rates. You can create an image, video, or an infographic. Always remember these 4 things when creating your own content:

• Choose vertical images – all pins on Pinterest have the same width, focus on the length to create standout images
• Stick to your blog’s visual identity – Use the same color scheme or fonts that are on your blog
• Embrace bright and bold colors – these will capture people’s attention
• Be sure to add a link to each pin to ensure people are directed to your blog when they click on it. If you don’t add links, you’ll get zero traffic. Pinterest usually adds dead links to pins without links.

#2 Add Descriptions to Your Pins

The description is set under the pinned image and gives additional information about it. It is very important as it gives you a chance to tell people what your blog post is about. It also appears each time a person repins the pin.

Use concise and appealing wording that reflects your blog post’s content. Even if your images have text, add a description. People search for pins using keywords and if yours don’t have descriptions, they won’t appear in the results.

In your description, cover the following elements:

• Tell people why they should read further
• Incorporate keywords relevant to the blog post
• Don’t reveal everything to entice people to read more
• Make it short and simple
• You can add hashtags and a web address

#3 Hold a Contest

Many companies have driven traffic to their websites simply by holding contests on Pinterest. To make sure you attain the same results, hold a contest where contestants must pin content from your blog or repin your existing pins that link back to your site.

The most important thing is to ensure people share pins that promote your blog. The winner should be the person who has given you the most exposure.

For example, you can pick someone whose pin has been repinned many times over or someone whose board has a high number of followers. When creating a contest, look at how popular brands on Pinterest do it.

#4 Create a Board

Creating a board on Pinterest is of utmost importance. You should have one main board for your blog. When you create too many boards, some people might follow individual boards and ignore the “follow all” button.

Make it easy for people to find your blog posts and to follow your blog. Also, add a category to your board to ensure your pins appear in the category. This way, even those who don’t follow you will see your pins when they search in that category.

Give your blog board the same name as your blog. You can also add keywords if you want your board to show up on search engines.

#5 Join Popular Group Boards in Your Industry

Another way to get more traffic through Pinterest is by contributing to group boards. Popular group boards have many loyal followers and can generate a lot of traffic to your blog.

Set aside some time to find popular boards in your industry and like, repin, and comment on their pins. Afterward, request their owners to add you as a contributor. Once you are added, start contributing content from your blog and from other people’s blogs. When you share your content on popular boards, you connect with a bigger segment of your ideal audience.

#6 Concentrate on Trending Topics

This technique is highly underutilized by most bloggers. Why post pins people will never open? If you want your pins to enjoy a high click-through rate, focus on trending topics. Relate your content, services, and products to current events. For example, you can create a Christmas Gift Ideas board and fill it with your company’s products. Write blog posts that relate to trends or conditions in your industry. Always research what is hot in your industry prior to writing.

#7 Engage with Your Followers

As with any other social network, engagement is vital on Pinterest. When you engage with people, you turn them from pinners into readers.

Engage with your followers and they will connect with you on your blog as well as other sites. There are numerous ways you can engage on Pinterest. You can repin your followers’ pins, follow them, ask questions, and offer solutions.

#8 Add a Call to Action

One thing you should never forget is that the powerful marketing strategies that work on other social networks also work on Pinterest. For instance, a call to action can increase the engagement of a pin by 80%. After adding a description to a pin, ask people to click on the link, to like the pin, to repin, or to leave a comment. Don’t wait for them to figure out the action you want them to take, tell them!

Wrapping Things Up

Pinterest is a great platform for generating new blog readers. However, most marketers and entrepreneurs see it as a hub for food bloggers and DIY enthusiasts. Far from it! A site is a tool any blogger can use to increase their reach online and grow their blog.