Hey my loves! Monday is upon us, new week new goals as I always like to say. I’ve recently been doing some research on my social media about what you guys want to see more of! A lot of you guys want more social media strategies and tips, so you guys asked.. you shall receive! I want to dive into Pinterest because I think that’s a social media platform often overlooked, as people usually take a quick look and think it’s confusing or don’t understand how to utilize it. (Check out my post on why Pinterest is great for blog traffic here!)
Pin for later!
Well I will tell you a little secret.. a lot of it has to do with the images you use! Yes, that’s right. It’s really not complicated, I think a lot of people like to over complicate. Here’s the deal with Pinterest, it’s basically a search engine. People hop on there to search for things, recipes, tips, ideas, etc.. So it’s like Google in a way! Therefore, you want to be using eye-catching images to get people to click on your content, right?
My strategy is very simple, I use Canva, nothing special or fancy. Canva is the best tool for any social media creator or blogger in my opinion, most of the features are totally free, and it is easy to use! That’s why I want to give you guys a few Pinterest Templates to start editing making your own, so you can get a hang of the Canva platform! You’ll love it if you don’t use it already.
But first let’s dive into the 5 steps it takes to make a viral pin!
1. Colors
This is something I use to make a huge mistake with, I admit. I use to stick to blacks, whites, and grey for my Pinterest graphics. Don’t ask me why, I have no clue what I was thinking! Ever since I added in pops of pink into my images and background photos, my Pins have exploded!!
What not to do:
Instead, add some extra color like this..
Notice the difference? Just some simple pops of color makes a world of a difference!
2. Switch up the text font
Images catch more attention and appear more visually appealing when you switch text fonts, and emphasize parts of what you’re trying to say! You can see from my first Pinterest image above, I don’t make too much use of text fonts. Most of the text was the same font, and I bolded one word, not good enough for a viral pin.
Instead, I like to use one text font specifically to emphasize what I want the reader to focus on. For example, that second Pinterest graphic is cursive and highlighted pink for one of the words, while I bold out another word, and switch the text fonts throughout the image. I have found this highly successful for getting your Pin noticed! Give it a go and see what happens, guarantee you’ll see major differences.
3. Add a background image
I used to include a solid background to my Pin graphics, now I add a background image of a flat lay, flowers, a computer, just something nice and pretty looking. Also, try to keep it relevant to your theme and content! For example, if your Pin graphic is about how to become a blogger, have a background image of something tech-related instead of flowers.
Here’s a few stock photos I like to use for the background of my Pin graphics..
*You can find similar free stock photos from Pixistock, She Bold Stock, Styled Stock Society, love their stock photos!*
4. Hashtags!!
I had no idea how important hashtags were to Pinterest! Although it’s mainly used as a search engine, it’s still a social media platform, so be sure to use those hashtags! Ever since I added hashtags to the Pin post, my Pins have been getting way more reach and way more re-pins!
What I mean by this is once you upload the image, and you are about to publish it on Pinterest, add hashtags to the Description of your post! Like this..
The hashtags vary on every post, make them relevant to your content!
5. Image size!
How can I forget this tip, this is probably the most critical step to a viral pin. Pinterest graphics usually have a certain size, the Pins that do the best are the ones that are vertically longer. Luckily, Canva has the automatic size for you! When you go to the Canva website, just type in Pinterest and it will come up with a template for Pinterest Graphic.
Those are the 5 Steps to a Viral Pin! Now get pinning with these tips and I assure you will see some magic happen.
Before you go, I created some editable templates for you to get started on your Pinterest journey!
Q: Do you use Pinterest? Why or why not? Did you find this post helpful? Let me know down in the comments below!
