Ten Ways to Fail with the Biggest Social Media Platforms Pinterest
This is the second in a four-part series on ten ways to fail on social media platforms. If you missed the first one on Twitter, read it here.
You’ve had a presence on Pinterest for a few months or years, yet nothing seems to happen. The pins seem to languish on abandoned boards, with no one liking or repinning any of them. Your three followers don’t pay any attention to what you pin. If you set out to fail, you’re in luck! Here are more ideas about ways to fail!
Don’t pin anything
Why doesn’t anyone follow you even if you have no pins or boards? Aren’t they your friends? Don’t people owe you that much at least?
Fix: Get pinning!
Ugly pins
Some of the ugliest pins, to me, are the failed Do it Yourself projects. So if you have something that doesn’t look quite right, why not take a picture of that and pin it? Better still, make it the board cover! No adorable, beautiful, or funny pictures for you!
Fix: Make your pins beautiful, useful, funny and adorable. Here are some thoughts on making beautiful board covers, by the way.
Put everything on one board
Why do you need so many boards, anyway? Why not have one humongous board called “Stuff I like a lot for many different reasons!!!!” and put everything there? Why not, indeed?
Fix: Create a few different boards to organize your pins.
All your pins look the same
Variety is so overrated. You can easily pin the same pin over and over. And over.
Fix: Think about the person coming to your account. Then act accordingly.
Steal pins and identities
Ten Ways to Fail with Pinterest
If you find an account you like, pin everything from that account. Don’t change the descriptions of the pins, and use the same names for the boards, too. Better still, create accounts with other people’s names and pretend you’re them. Celebs like having “fans.”
Fix: Nobody likes a thief, so don’t be one. Here’s a great article (see number six on his list, “Don’t Steal Someone Else’s Board.”
100 pins, then nothing
When you can’t sleep, get on Pinterest and pin. A lot. Nobody who follows you will be annoyed by all those pins of cute hedgehogs, right?
Fix: If you must pin, pin to a secret board. Then, when you’re more awake, move those pins a little at a time, to other boards.
No descriptions
A period (“.”) is the best description. Or you could also use a slash (“/”). Both are equally descriptive.
Fix: Tell us what we’re seeing. And don’t say something like, “Jeff would like this.” Unless we’re a close friend, we don’t know who Jeff is!
No fun
Make sure everyone knows your opinion. Repeat it many times and use a lot of exclamation marks!!!
Fix: Modulate your voice a little bit. Unless you’re a celebrity, people don’t like ranting.
Pins that link to Spam or Malware
Nobody’s going to actually click on that pin. Are they?
Fix: Click all the way through the pin to see where it goes. There are some not-very-nice people on the Internet. Here is Andrea Eldridge’s Article about 12 Mistakes You Are Probably Making On Pinterest.
Seen any good fails lately?
Have any made you laugh? Have any made you cry? Have any made you shout? Leave me your opinion, please! Thank you!
Pinterest: Top Ten Tasks (and Power Tips)
Top Ten Pinterest Tasks
You may have seen my previous post on Top Ten Twitter Terms. Here are the first tasks you should tackle on Pinterest. If you’re more advanced, skip to the “Power Tips.”
Set Up Your Profile
Fill out your profile. Go to “Settings” on the top right, scroll to Profile, upload your picture or avatar and fill out the “About You.” Connect your Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can invite friends at the top left of your home page. If you plan to sell on Pinterest, you’ll need to set up a business account.
Power Tip: Use Location for a short descriptive sentence, if you prefer. Make sure to click “save settings.”
Create Boards
Boards are how you organize pins on Pinterest. Choose an easy name for your boards—nothing fancy. For instance, Blogs, not Words Words Words, will be found easier. Create a category and description for each board. And, since Pinterest is a visual medium, make sure your board covers are pretty!
Power Tip: Create at least 5 boards of 5 pins each before you start following anyone. People want to know what your pins are like, and what your interests are before they’ll follow you.
Add Pins
A pin contains an image and description. Upload an image from your computer using the red plus icon at the top right of your Pinterest account, or use the Pinterest browser button, available from Pinterest.
Power Tip: Fill out each pin’s description completely. If you’re repinning, change the description to make it yours. Think about how people would search for that pin. For instance, if you’re pinning a watercolor painting, you could use the words, water color, painting, and art. You might also add the dominant colors and the topic, since people sometimes search that way.
Find Others to Follow
Pinterest is visual, so make your boards pretty!
Click on the icon–which turns red when you hover over it–in the top left corner and you’ll see all kinds of categories. Explore your interests and find boards and pinners to follow.
Power Tip: You can follow a single board or an account. If you don’t like one or two boards, follow all, then unfollow the boards you don’t enjoy.
Repin
When you find a pin, either through search, or through discovery in your own stream, you can repin it. When you repin it, change the comment.
Power Tip: Click all the way through a pin to discover where the pin leads. If a pin leads nowhere or to spam, don’t repin. You can report spam and Pinterest is pretty good at removing it.
Like
A “like” is not as strong as a repin. You might “like” a pin rather than comment, if it’s outside your niche.
Comment
People rarely comment on Pinterest. It’s a very powerful way to be noticed by influencers.
Power Tip: If you want to be noticed, comment. You can ask questions or tag others in a comment, too.
Give Credit
Pinterest usually gives credit to the destination of the original pin. Authors and artists also appreciate getting credit.
Power Tip: If you don’t know whose image you’re repinning, you could ask your followers right in the comment of the pin, such as “Does anyone know whose image this is or have any more information?”
Know Your Audience
As with all other social media platforms, know what people are looking for. For instance, if you’re a spa owner you might also pin tips on relaxation, how to get good sleep, smoothie recipes, etc.
Power Tip:After awhile, you’ll get a feel for what your audience likes by what gets repinned. Repin more of the popular content.
Clean Up Boards
Occasionally, you can delete pins that don’t get much traffic.
Power Tip: At first, none of your pins may get much traffic. If you believe something will get traffic (but wasn’t seen the first time you pinned it), you can repin it to the top of the same board, and delete the one further down.
Did I Forget Anything?
Please let me know in the comments! Thanks!