Getting The Most Out Of Pinterest

Do you want to get more from your Pinterest marketing?
Are you looking to get more traffic, pins and repins?
If you want to make the most of Pinterest, you need to create images.
A great image can increase traffic, get you more pins and repins and improve your presence on Pinterest.
Below are 5 tips to help you create a Pinterest-friendly image.

#1: Use Relevant Labels on Your Images

Great Pinterest marketing starts with the images you publish on your blog or website. One of the first things you need to do is use a relevant label for the images you publish.
When someone pins an image from your website or blog post, the label that automatically appears in the description is the name you give your image. When you give your image a good name, it’ll automatically have a good description when someone pins it.
If someone pins your image without changing the image description, your image will still be effective.
Instead of labeling your image as Image 1 or Image 2 (or any other random name), label your image with a relevant name, specific to your image.
It’s worth taking the time to do this, at least for the most prominent images on your site.
For example, if you’re writing a blog post and you have several images, you can give the cover image the same name as your blog post. If possible, you can also label the other main images in the post with names relevant to the title of your post.

Always label your cover/first image.

A great example is the post “How to Add Facebook Comments to Your Blog” by Francisco Rosales on SocialMouths. If you take a look at the cover image, it has the same name as the title of the post.

The image name will appear in the description.

Try it. Visit the post, pin the image and see what appears in the description. The label of the image is the same as the title of the blog post. And if you visit other posts on this blog, you’ll probably find a relevantly labeled cover image as well. These images will have a good description when pinned on Pinterest.
So always make sure you label your images.

#2: Write a Text Message on Top of Your Image

You can add a text message onto your image. This means your images will have their descriptions with them all the time.
If you visit the popular section on Pinterest, you’ll notice that most of the images have a description in the description box, directly on the image itself or on both.
A plain image by itself might not always make sense. But if you add a description, people immediately understand what the image is about.

If possible, write a message on the image.

In the example above, Wong Ching Ya wrote “19+ Facebook Timeline Features and Resources You Should Know!” on the cover image of the article. When you come across this pin on Pinterest, you immediately know what the post is about thanks to the image. You won’t even have to read the description.
A great tool for adding text to images and screenshots is Snagit from TechSmith and a free alternative is Gimp.

#3: Add a Logo or Name to Your Image

When you add your business name, website or logo, you’re also making your images more effective. You could also add other text on your images, such as your Twitter handle.
This way if your image is pinned onto another Pinterest board, everyone knows who created it and others will find your site and your social media profiles.

Adding the website address to your pins can increase traffic.

A great example of this is Sevenly. When you visit their board Inspirational Image Quotes, you notice that the pins have the link to their website Sevenly with the quote on the image.

When you look at the above image, you instantly know the source and the artist who created it.

Just take a look at the above pin. When you see the pin, you instantly know who created the image, even if you find it under another Pinterest profile.

#4: Ask People to Pin Your Images

Some people decide to use Pinterest cautiously to avoid possible copyright issues. You can learn more about this issue by reading this post by Kirsten Kowalski. They’re still waiting for Pinterest to fix the issue.
You can make it easy for others to share your images by asking them to pin your image. For example, you could display a message such as “Feel free to pin,” “Feel free to share on Pinterest,” etc. This way, others are more likely to share your images.
This might also increase the number of pins and repins you get. Studies show that Facebook posts get more likes when you ask people to like and more retweets on Twitter when they’re asked to retweet a tweet. Similarly, if you ask others to pin or repin your images, they might listen to you.

Asking for pins and repins might get you more of them.

#5: Keep Your Descriptions Between 200 and 300 Characters

It’s not only important to create fantastic images for your website and blog, it’s also important to pin your image with a description and share it with your followers on Pinterest.

Keep the length of your descriptions between 200 and 300 characters.

Make sure you write descriptions that are between 200 and 300 characters long. A study by Dan Zarrella shows that pins with descriptions around 200 characters long get more pins and repins.
So put some work into each of your pins and write good descriptions. A good description that tells the story behind the image can capture followers and make your pins more shareable.
Use these tips to create images that will be shared repeatedly on Pinterest.