‘Tis the season to improve your Pinterest strategy! The social media outlet is a great resource for marketers year-round, but it’s especially popular during the holiday season.
In fact, there are currently more than 604 million holiday-related pins on Pinterest, as well as 244 million gift-related pins, according to the company’s business blog. Plus, there are more than 65 million people following boards with holiday or gift pins.
With holiday pinning so popular, it’s the perfect time of year to take your Pinterest game to the next level. Not sure how to take advantage of the network? Don’t worry; Pinterest has some helpful hints to get you pinning up a storm.
According to Pinterest’s blog, there are three things to keep in mind. First, know that it’s not all about holiday shopping. Second, make sure that while you’re creating new boards, you’re not neglecting your old ones. And third, don’t focus your attention solely on aesthetics — make your pins have a call to action, too.
“While Pinterest serves as a solid wish list for millions of people, don’t forget that the holidays aren’t just about sales and crowded aisles,” wrote Kevin Knight, Pinterest’s creative and brand strategist. “Think about the other things that make up this time of year—travel, food, catching up on reading and your favorite shows, and lots (and lots) of family time.”
Brands also can take advantage of Pinterest in several ways that don’t involve pinning items to create gift guides. Knight had a few suggestions:
- Publishers can curate lists of long-form pieces or under-the-radar stories from the year.
- Travel and hospitality companies can add pins focused on winter escapes and family-friendly activities.
- Entertainment and media brands can add must-watch clips from fall TV shows or funny memes.
It can be tempting to create and pin to brand-new seasonal boards during the holidays, but forgetting about your old ones is a big mistake. Why? Because they already have followers. Keep in mind that some pinners may follow your account, but others may follow your individual boards and could miss out on your new posts.
“A winter sweater can go in a special seasonal board, but don’t forget to add it to your existing women’s fashion board, too,” Knight wrote.
“Pin holiday items to multiple boards, and you’ll appear in the home feed of every pinner who follows one of those boards,” Knight added.
And while the inspirational imagery is great to share around the holidays, Knight also noted that winter is generally a time of reflection and planning for the New Year — meaning many people are looking for new projects to try. For this reason, mixing inspirational pins with actionable pins is a great way to reach a wider audience.
Most importantly, make sure that when you’re pinning, you’re adding descriptions to your pins and your boards to include holiday-related keywords. This, Knight wrote, makes your pins more discoverable to pinners who use Pinterest’s Guided Search.