Pinterest Archives - Page 7 of 7 -

Pinterest: Five Newbie Mistakes You’re Making

Since Pinterest showed up on the social media scene, people have been flocking to it like ducks to water, or maybe like addicts to a new video game. People who weren’t that visual became more visual, and those who didn’t know they were visual, are suddenly spending hours on this visual site. So what are a few things to avoid and what should you be doing to have fun for yourself or your brand on Pinterest? Here are some simple fixes to common errors.

Keeping Default Boards

Fix: decide on the boards you really want. Say you are a small business selling hand knitted leg warmers and other trendy items for chihuahuas. You might want to create boards such as Tiny Dogs, SPCA, Local Doggy Events, and of course a board for your own homemade doggy outfits. You might also want to create boards for different types of outfits, such as hats, vests, paw warmers, etc. Keep in mind that you can change the names of boards later if you like. To change the board name, click on the board, go to “Edit Board” –>Title (don’t forget to save your changes!).

Ugly Board Covers

Fix: Make Each Board Beautiful! To entice people to see the contents of a board, pin the most visually beautiful cover you can. To change a board cover, simply hover with your mouse over the board. Click on “Edit Board Cover” to choose a photo. You can position the photo if you like, at this point. Then click “Set Cover.”

Following Nobody

Choose the Best Covers for Your Boards

Fix: Follow people you already know or whose pins you enjoy. Although unfollowing people who don’t follow you isn’t easy, you can unfollow people later. Note: like other forms of social media, there is spam out there! So beware of people who have 40 boards with just one photo on each board, or who don’t appear to be real people, or who only sell things like wrist watches.

Not Commenting

Like other forms of social media, Pinterest is social. So “like,” repin, and especially comment on others’ pins! People will appreciate you, and they will be more likely to reciprocate!

Not Having Your Business Name in Your Profile

Fix: Along with your business name and logo, you might want to include a few things about you. A photo of you or a logo also legitimizes your account. People want to know a little about you! To make changes, click “Edit Profile.” You can use the First Name line for your business name. Don’t forget to click “Save Profile” when you’re done. Note: Pinterest has recently partnered with brands to add information to pins, which is very useful for brands.

Not Pinning on Sundays

Fix: Take Saturday off and pin on Sundays! Sundays are the busiest days on Pinterest. So even just pinning a few pins will really help you with traffic and getting more eyes on your content.

What Have You Learned About Pinterest?

Have you changed your strategy along the way with Pinterest? What has helped you the most? Please leave a comment below! Thank you!

Pinterest: How to Unfollow People Who Don’t Follow You

So you got on Pinterest and followed a few hundred people when you first signed up. Now you’re wondering: how in the heck do I figure out who is not following me back or is inactive? You can look at the lists of who you follow and who follows you, sure, but it isn’t easy to figure out, is it? That was my conclusion, too!

After searching and reading many blogposts, I never found anything to help with this. Twitter has a million tools to help you unfollow, but Pinterest doesn’t seem to have the same tools (if there is a tool, I’d be happy to hear about it). In the meantime, here is a step-by-step guide.

Step One. Open a Blank Text Document

Open your Pinterest account and click on “Followers” near the top of the screen. Now cut and paste each name into a doc. I tried cutting and pasting the entire list, along with the graphic images, but that didn’t work. So, yes, it’s time-intensive, but it does work. Once you have the names in there, save the document. I put the date when I did the cleanup at the top, too, so next time it’ll be easier.

Step Two. Click on “Following”

Still in Pinterest, near the top, click on “following.” Scroll all the way to the bottom of that list. You’re going to start at the bottom and scroll up, one screen at a time.

Step Three. Compare the Two Lists

Next, you’re going to have to search in your text doc to see if the person you follow also follows you. So you’re going to compare the two lists. Say you have someone in your “Following” list named “Silliest Pinner.” Go to your text doc and search for “Silliest Pinner.” If they’re there, you keep them. Of course, you may not care if someone is following you back. I follow some influential pinners because their pins are valuable. But if the person doesn’t provide any value (no pins through inactivity, for example), unfollow them.

Step Four. Unfollow

To Unfollow, simply click on the “Unfollow” Button. Unfollowing is a little confusing because the “Unfollow” button is grayed out. You’ll know you’ve been successful when the button changes to say “Follow” and is darker.

Going Forward

You may want to schedule time to do cleanouts, or add people to your “Following” document, now that you have a “Following” document.

Have a Better Idea?

If you have any tips on how to make this process simpler, please share. Really. I’d love to hear from you!

Update – November 15

Aida wrote to me, via @Business2Community, and told me about the “Followers on Pinterest” App for iPad/iPhone. So for those of you with iPhones or iPads, you’re in luck! Us Android users may have to rely on old-school methods, unfortunately. Thank you Aida!