Organic Content on Pinterest: Free Advertising That Pays Off

We all love the idea of having our own Pinterest board, right? It shows off our taste to the world, allowing them a glimpse into just how unique and interesting we are. 

But Pinterest is more than just a catalog of images that inspire us to try new recipes, redesign our kitchens, or plan a wedding without our partners knowing (we know you do it, but we won’t tell 🤐).  

Pinterest is also a powerful marketing tool. 

Before you start panicking about how incessant advertising might ruin the one platform that you treat as your haven, hear us out. 

One of the best things about Pinterest is its plethora of ways to organically promote content that your audience cares about. That means you’re getting practically free Pinterest advertising without ruining the look and feel of the platform.  

The Repin: How Organic Traffic Works on Pinterest

Pinterest works differently than other social media platforms. The platform does not consider followers the same way Facebook and Instagram do, where more followers give a post legitimacy. 

Instead, it identifies a pin as relevant when it gets repinned. Because of this, it gets pushed more in search results. As a pin earns impressions, it gains potential for more impressions.

In order to get your message across to a massive audience that is busy curating their board as we speak, you have to give them a reason to repin your work. 

To Pin or Not to Pin?

When it comes to choosing what you should or should not pin, start with the goal. We have already established that for organic and free advertising, your goal is that your audience will repin your content. You must engage them by inspiring them, or piquing their interest, or making them laugh. Create pins worth saving! This way they will want to make your post a part of their board. 

Here are some other Pinterest tips to keep in mind:

📌 Make sure to include branding in your content, but keep it subtle enough so that it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. If it’s too in your face, your audience may not want to pin it and you lose traction from the start.

📌 Another Pinterest best practice to keep in mind is to focus on keywords that your audience is likely to search. If you use targeted keywords, you will come up in users’ searches and your brand will gain increased visibility. Take some time to compile relevant keywords and come up with appropriate board names.

📌 Pinterest, like Instagram, is a very visual platform and not just any old images will do. Plan your Pinterest imagery to catch the attention of a scroller. 

📌 Don’t just post and pin to create content. Be deliberate with your content strategy—this is a good time to curate your board. Entire boards can draw users and turn them into followers, so that they know where to keep going for more content. For example, if you’re a men’s clothing eCommerce shop, don’t just pin a shirt or slacks here and there, create boards with outfit ideas for different occasions and seasons.

📌 Remember, a pin can be linked back to a description for more context. This means Pinterest can always play a part in a larger advertising campaign for your business. Just pop your store URL, or even better, a landing page URL, into the pin to lead traffic to your website.

📌 When in doubt, research what other companies are doing with their organic content on Pinterest, and emulate the strategies you like.

Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Pins?

Any avid Pinterest user won't think twice before answering a firm “No”! 

But that’s probably because they use real life to influence their Pinterest boards and not because they're marketing mavens. 

The truth is, Pinterest does not rely entirely on fresh content to overtake older content on its feed. Pinterest has stated that all content across board browsing, search browsing, home feed, and category feed is viewed equally. 🤯

Pinterest decides what should make it to a person’s feed according to the quality of each post as opposed to how recently it was uploaded. As a brand, quality over quantity will definitely serve you well.