Using Pinterest will Make You a Better Blogger
Have you heard of Pinterest? Are you a pinner but not sure how it can enhance your blogging?
After all, Pinterest has been around since 2008. Since then, it has attracted over 11 million users. Over eleven million people using what’s tantamount to a digital bulletin board? Absolutely, and a great many of them are bloggers.
If you use Pinterest in the practical ways I am going to suggest, you will be a better blogger, and your blog will be better because you used it.
Use Pinterest to Network
I recently advised a blogger not to compare her blogging journey to someone else’s. However, is blogging really a solo journey? Recently, I did an Expert Round-Up Interview of 19 bloggers who’ve experienced success. When asked what is the one key ingredient to successful blogging, the majority of them answered “networking”.
There are two ways to use Pinterest to find like-minded bloggers. The first is the use of hashtags.
If you are going to make practical use of Pinterest, you need to do a little legwork. Go to Twitter and see what topics are trending, and use those topics as your hashtags. For example, yesterday was the 2015 Academy Awards. Oscars was trending on Twitter all day. People interested in the Oscars (or whatever the topic is that you wrote about) will be able to find you and follow you. You will be notified via your Email. You should not only follow them back, but you should follow the people who follow them. You will be able to view their followers. They will be notified of your follow, and the next thing you know, you will not only have a network, you will have a community. A community of future blog followers or readers? People interested in your pin are often interested in the article accompanying it and will visit your site.
If you want other bloggers to be able to find you, tag your pin description with a hashtag of a topic that is popular on Pinterest.
The top arrow shows you where to go to find the drop down menu of topics. The bottom arrow is pointing at the word “popular”. Once you tag your pins with hashtags of popular topics in your pin description, the many people looking for those topics will be able to find you.
The next way to get a community is by using group boards. If you type in Group Board Directory into the Pinterest search bar, you’ll be able to find directories of group boards. Email the group board administrator that you’d like to join, and you’ll get an invitation. Once you are able to start pinning to group boards, your pins will be exposed to groups of people, people with your interests with whom you could network.
Pinterest Will Save You Time
Pinterest is time-efficient since the content is already composed. It takes seconds to pin your image to a board.
The top arrow is pointing at the Pinterest plug in I installed so I could easily pin my pictures to my Pinterest boards.
Pinterest Will Enhance Your Creativity
In 4 Simple Ways to Start Blogging Creatively, I explained how to make a pinnable image for use on Pinterest. I advised a combination of tools. Trying to envision a memorable, pinnable image and create it takes ingenuity. The thought process will enhance your creativity. In turn, your blogging will improve since creative bloggers engage readers.
Using Pinterest Will Improve Your Science Skills
In 13 Foolproof Ways You Can Stop Writing Ineffective Blog Headlines I explained that writing blog headlines is like following a formula, a tool used in science. There is a science to using Pinterest too. For example, Pinterest users are most likely to be online using Pinterest on Sunday morning. In addition, red pins get pinned far more than any other color. (Did you notice that I used red in this post’s image?) Taller pins do better than shorter, and so forth. See, there is a science.
Before you go forth and start pinning, a word of warning–Pinterest is highly addicting. Hey, it sounds like the perfect place to go network.
Just a thought, if you enjoyed my post, you are encouraged to share–on Pinterest–or any other social media.
Readers, what are your experience with Pinterest? Has it enabled you to meet other bloggers in your niche? Has using it increased your traffic? I look forward to your views.
