You might be wondering, why does my blog need Pinterest?
Why Pinterest? What makes it so special? Is it still worth it in 2021?
Perhaps, you’ve heard of Pinterest before. Maybe as a whisper that “your blog needs Pinterest” or even as a shout that, “Pinterest is the best thing ever!”
Both statements are true, and if you’ve seen Pinterest getting the credit for boosts in traffic, growth in subscribers and an increase in sales, that’s also correct.
The internet (and Pinterest for that matter), has no shortage of blog posts titled, “Pinterest 3x my traffic in 30 days” or “How to get a massive explosion of Traffic with Pinterest.” They promise you and your blog the moon and the stars.
Pinterest is capable of all of that and so much more. Granted that you actually know how to use it and have some version of a strategy in place. (If you don’t, but sure to sign up for my FREE PinPerfect Masterclass.)
Is Pinterest the Best Platform for Bloggers?
Yup, the rumors were true, Pinterest is indeed the miracle cure for what ails your blog. If you’re stuck, stagnant or slipping, Pinterest can provide the boost you need to achieve all your online goals.
So, now that you know what Pinterest could very likely, probably and most assuredly do for your blog traffic, subscribers and sales, let’s talk about why that is. Why does your blog need to be on Pinterest?
Here are 5 blog-changing reasons why you need to stop what you’re doing and focus on Pinterest instead. Why Pinterest is not only the best way for new bloggers to get traffic, gain subscribers, and actually make sales but the logical choice for how to spend your limited time, money and energy.
Because you and I both know it’s a struggle just starting a blog, you already have so many things to learn and “doing all the things” isn’t going to work. You need to focus on a strategy and a platform that loves you back, that gives you a good and consistent return on your investment.
5 Reasons Why Your Blog Needs Pinterest
#1. Pinterest is the #1 Source of Traffic for Most Bloggers
Do you need another reason other than this?
If you’ve ever read a blogger’s traffic breakdown or a blog post about how they grew their traffic, especially as new bloggers, most give credit to Pinterest.
And as a new blogger myself back in late 2016, I noticed this running thread through everything I was reading. So, I decided it cannot be a coincidence, that there’s gotta be some truth to this Pinterest thing.
To be honest, back then Pinterest was a complete mystery to me, I didn’t have the app downloaded and I don’t think I ever really used it before. So, there was a bit of hesitation on my end, and several months went by before I decided to give it a try.
Grow Your Traffic with the Right “Social Media”
You and I both know that social media is one of the ways that new bloggers can drive traffic to their blogs.
But, the problem arises when you’re splitting your energies across multiple platforms. Trying to post to your Facebook page, daily to Instagram, be active on Twitter, plus Pinterest. As a new blogger, this is too much.
You need to create a social media strategy that is focused on mastering a single platform. And that platform should be Pinterest (if you’re not convinced yet, you will be by the end of this post.)
Know Where Your Traffic Comes From
Here’s the test: if you’ve been trying to post to all the platforms for your blog, go into your Google Analytics, click on “Acquisition” on the left-hand side menu, then “Social” and “Network Referrals.”
Where exactly does the majority of your social media traffic come from?
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or dare I say Pinterest? If you’ve been active on all the platforms, where are you actually getting clicks from?
Just in case no one has told you this before, it’s not about vanity ratings like followers and how many likes your posts get, it’s about how many people are actually clicking to your website.
Here’s a look at what I saw for my blog, It’s All You Boo, back in 2017, it was so clear that after trying to do all the things, only Pinterest was really delivering results.
Sure, Facebook wasn’t bad, but Pinterest was the clear winner. So I doubled, nay, tripled my efforts to this platform and mostly ignored the rest.
Why waste time, when you can boost your traffic more efficiently with just Pinterest?
#2. Pinterest has a Level Pinning Field
Meaning that no matter who you are, how many followers you have or pins you’ve created (a pin is what you call any image shared on Pinterest) you can be successful on Pinterest.
Yup, even if you’re just starting out as a new blogger.
Since Pinterest is NOT really a social media site your social network doesn’t impact your reach as much as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Let me explain.
Followers Matter on Facebook and Instagram, Not Pinterest
On Facebook for example, when you post to your business page or even your personal profile, only those who follow, like or are friends with you will see your posts. Then, the number of actual people who see your post is diminished by the algorithm (which determines who to show your post to).
If you have 1,000 Facebook Page likes, but Facebook will only show your post to 5 people. True story, that’s harsh.
On Instagram, especially with yet more new algorithm changes a lot of bloggers are reporting that no one is seeing their posts.
Right there you’re seeing that with traditional social media sites (mostly owned by Facebook, to be honest), your reach and exposure is not only limited to but also limited by your followers and limited to your followers.
Sure, Hashtags Help but Not as Much as You Think
Yes, both Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter use hashtags that allow people to discover your posts. Plus, with reshares, retweets and trending pages on the platform you can get discovered.
But, let’s be honest, posting endlessly hoping that one day you’ll go viral and become the next social media sensation is not a strategy, it’s a wish.
And although using hashtags on traditional social media sites does help you grow your followers, you’re still mostly limited to your followers.
Remember, what you need is clicks to your website, what you want is traffic, not likes and followers. These vanity metrics do not pay the bills.
Hashtags Work Differently on Pinterest
Unlike the above sites, hashtags on Pinterest help the platform to understand what your content is actually about.
Meaning that when you use hashtags with your pins, you’re not just getting more followers or repins (reshares in Pinterest speak), but you’re actually increasing the odds of your pins being seen.
Hashtags help Pinterest understand what your content is about, so always make sure they’re relevant.
Followers Don’t really Matter on Pinterest
Remember when I said Pinterest is NOT a traditional social media site? Well, what is Pinterest then? Pinterest can best be described as a Visual Search Engine, closer to Google than to Instagram.
With one major advantage over traditional search engines that you need to know about. Whereas the visibility of your blog posts in Google search results is very much dependent on your domain authority or page authority (basically a measure of how trustworthy your website is), that’s not the case with Pinterest.
On Pinterest, it doesn’t matter nearly as much how long you’ve been pinning, how much content you have, or how much authority you have.
As I said, it’s relatively a level pinning field.
And if you’re using Pinterest SEO (search engine optimization) as you would for any search engine your pins can reach and be discovered by any Pinterest user (not just your followers).
Your blog needs Pinterest because Pinterest will help you reach your target audience without worrying about limitations like followers and domain authority.
Any new blogger who has a Pinterest strategy can be successful on Pinterest.
That’s a major reason why your blog needs Pinterest.
#3. You Don’t Need to Pay to Be Seen
Although Pinterest ads are totally a thing, they’re not required to get seen on Pinterest.
Remember how most Facebook Business pages and now Instagram posts need to be boosted in order to be seen by their followers? That’s not the case with Pinterest.
Not sure what boosting a post means?
Say for example you post to your 1,000 Facebook followers, but organically (meaning without being paid) only 10 or 20 or your followers see and engage with your post. You can pay Facebook $5 or more to boost your post, meaning to actually show your post to your followers (or an audience who’d be interested in your content).
Sure, being able to run ads and boost posts can be helpful if you’re running a promotion or promoting a webinar, but you don’t want to pay for every single blog post to be seen.
Pinterest Loves New Content
On some social media sites the more you post, the less your posts get seen. I’ve seen this happen with my own Facebook page where maybe one post a day is the maximum you can get away with.
That is so NOT the case with Pinterest. They love new content, they love new pins. Pinterest wants you to create new images, new content and share it.
Granted you’re using the Pinterest SEO (which if you have no idea what it is I teach it inside my Pinterest Popular program), your pins will be delivered to the right audience who are looking for exactly what you’re writing.
For now, anyways, Pinterest is largely a free platform as they just went public so we don’t entirely know their future profitability model.
Plus, to design your Pinterest pins you can use a free online graphic design tool like Canva. If you sign up for my free masterclass, you’ll unlock something special to help you with this too.
Pinterest-related Investments Worth Making
You might be wondering, are there any other costs associated with using Pinterest for my blog or business?
The #1 tool you need is Tailwind, the best Pinterest post scheduler, to help you automate your posts by scheduling them well in advance. Click here to start your free Tailwind trial.
If your website is built on WordPress.org, a social sharing plugin like Social Warfare or Tasty Pins that allows you to optimize your pin descriptions would come in handy. Both cost $29/year and you only need one.
If you’re looking for an all in one Pinterest solution, a course that teaches you everything you know, check out my Pinterest Popular Program. I also teach you how to get Tailwind for free forever.
That’s it.
#4. Pinterest Can be Mostly “Hands off”
Once you get the hang of how Pinterest works, not much time is needed day-to-day. That means that you can schedule your pins in advance and forget about it for the most part.
Remember, Pinterest is not a social media site, so you do not need to be social! That’s the aspect of social media that takes up all your time.
If you’re on Instagram, to grow your followers you need to like and comment on other peoples’ posts. You do not need to do that on Pinterest.
Listen, blogging success is largely achieved by being hella organized and knowing how to be productive. Aka as knowing how to get more done in less time because you’ll always feel like there’s too much to do, and too little time to do it.
Thankfully, with Tailwind, you can upload your pins directly and spread them out over a month, two or even more. Real talks, I’ve got pins scheduled well into next year.
Life does not get in the way of me getting consistent traffic from Pinterest with Tailwind. That traffic brings me daily subscribers, who become happy customers.
So, if you’re pinning every day and spending way too much time on Pinterest, you are doing something wrong.
Automate Your Pinterest with Tailwind
Since you don’t have to be social on Pinterest, you can schedule it instead.
You do not need to be on the platform every day, instead, you can batch creating pins and scheduling them. Batching meaning you’re designing a lot of pins at once, at one time, instead of designing one pin a day.
So, if you’re not new to Pinterest and you’ve been manually pinning (meaning uploading and resharing pins in real time, yourself on your phone or mobile app), then you really need to get Tailwind. Use this link to start your free trial of Tailwind now.
Just a word to the wise, just because you can schedule it and forget it with Tailwind, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check in regularly (especially if you’re new!) to make sure it’s working as it should and you’re not making a major mistake.
If you’re worried that your pinning wrong, sign up for my free Pinterest masterclass. I show you a simple pinning strategy that will save you time and get you better results.
#5. Pinterest Pins Have the Longest Lifespan
Depending on who you ask, a Pinterest pin can live anywhere from 21 days to no end in sight.
When we’re talking about lifespan, we’re basically asking for how does your post “live” after posting it, without you doing anything to get more people to engage with it? How long after posting are you getting clicks, comments and reshares?
Not sure what I mean by “live” or “lifespan”?
No worries, anytime you post to a social media site your content has a shelf life aka the length of time your post will be seen, relevant or served up in results. Once it expires, hardly anyone will see your post unless they scroll all the way back.
What is agreed by the experts, is that Pinterest pins have the longest lifespan of any social media posts. You already know why that is, because Pinterest isn’t a social media site per se (see reason #1 for explainer).
Comparing the Lifespan of All Social Media Posts
No matter what statistics you look at the breakdown of social media posts lifespan goes something like this:
- Twitter posts live for minutes
- Instagram posts live for more minutes
- Facebook posts live for hours
- LinkedIn posts live for a few more hours
- YouTube posts live for days and weeks
- Pinterest posts live for months if not more
Pinterest Pins Keep Getting Found
I have seen first hand with my own Pinterest pins for my blog It’s All You Boo, that Pinterest pins do indeed live a very long time. I’d say way longer than any of these experts expect.
On multiple occasions, seasonal pins I’ve created last year or even the year before have resurged right around that time. Did I leave out that they do this without me doing anything else?
Pinterest pins that are pinned properly (shout outs to “Pin SEO”) get discovered and rediscovered every year. As long as you’ve done your part the first time you’ve uploaded them to Pinterest, your pins are good to go forever.
This also applies to non-seasonal pins, as I saw recently when one of the very first pins I initially pinned back in spring, 2017, re-emerged as one of my hottest pins.
When was the last time one of your Tweets from two years ago did anything for your blog traffic? Or a post you shared on your Facebook page came back to life?
Your blog needs Pinterest because unlike any other “social media” platform, Pinterest posts keep sending you traffic.
The more pins you have, the longer you’re on the platform, the less effort you need.
Quick Recap of Why Your Blog Needs Pinterest
Do you feel like dropping everything you’ve been wasting time on, and get started with Pinterest? To get serious about Pinterest?
You really should, your blog traffic will thank you. This could be the defining decision for your blog’s success, like it was for me back in March 2017.
Here are all five reasons your blog needs Pinterest:
- The #1 Source of Traffic for Most Bloggers
- There’s a Level Pinning Field
- You Don’t Need to Pay to be Seen
- Pinterest Can be Mostly “Hands off”
- Pinterest Pins Have the Longest Lifespan
And if somehow you’re still not convinced that your blog needs Pinterest. If you’re not satisfied with these five reasons why Pinterest is the platform for your blog, then here is one eye-opening statistic.
A Pinterest Statistic You Need to Know About
There are 2 billion monthly searches on Pinterest. Meaning every single month, Pinterset’s 250 million active users are searching for the answers that you have.
That’s just one statistic, check out this article on HootSuite for more Pinterest statistics.
To put that in context, Pinterest is technically the 3rd largest search engine in the world. Obviously, Google is number one, and the second is YouTube (which is owned by Google).
When we’re talking about your choices and opportunities for blogging success Pinterest is the only major platform for driving traffic that isn’t owned by Google or Facebook (who also owns Instagram).
Pinterest is largely the new player on the screen whose algorithm is really friendly to you and your content. Now’s the time to get on it!
If you’re not gaining organic search traffic from Google because your domain is relatively new, or you’re not ready or interested in creating YouTube videos. If you’re frustrated with Facebook and Instagram because they’re not driving traffic to your site, then your only choice is Pinterest.
That’s why Pinterest needs to be your choice for boosting traffic to your new blog, brand or business.
If you’re ready to get started with Pinterest, sign up below for my PinPerfect Masterclass, where I teach the top three mistakes you do NOT want to make on Pinterest.