NOTE: A lot has changed technically with Pinterest since this post was published. But there’s still some great philosophy stuff in here so keep reading!
Ahh, Pinterest! The newest site to take Social Media by storm. If for some reason you’re under a rock and haven’t heard of it, it’s a beautiful website that mimics a pinboard. You find cool images, posts, articles or websites online and pin them on your own boards.
I have boards for food (which I use as a cookbook about once a week), bloggy resources (links to my favorite photographers, tutorials, etc.), hairstyles (to show my stylist), kids crafts I want to do and even a purple board! It’s the only bookmarking site I’ve ever used with success.
Let’s talk about how I use Pinterest when I write a blog post…
To Pin Or Not To Pin?
I do not like to pin my own posts. It doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe that’s how old-skool folks on Twitter felt when people started adding their RSS feeds. But I’m standing firm. Pinterest is a board for ME. Pinning my posts feels spammy.
Pinterest even cautions against self-promotion, “Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.” (source)
Instead of pinning yourself, why not ask your golden rule group to pin it?
So, How Do I Make Pinterest Work For My Blog Posts?
1. Put a PIN IT button on my posts. If my post is something I think people will want to remember (one of those evergreen posts), I go to Pinterest and craft a personal Pin It button for your post. I made you a screencast, because they are fun. It’s under 58 seconds. Enjoy…
There are plug-ins that do this, too. But I haven’t had much success with them. Has anyone else?
2. Make my Photos Pinnable and Re-Pinnable. If you have a good post, people are going to pin it regardless of your pictures. If you have good pictures, even more people are going to pin it. But if you have a super-perfect photo people will REPIN it!
For example, my Little House on the Prairie party was pretty adorable. But the pictures alone, don’t pique any interest if there’s no context (ie. people browsing Pinterest). By adding graphics to one of my photos (the first photo in the post) it makes my post pinnable AND re-pinnable. Plus, it sets up a nice title for my post. See?
The only thing that would make this picture better is if I had put “ohamanda.com” in the bottom corner. No need to waste an opportunity to advertise my blog title, you know?
3. Pin My Own Posts. I thought you said you didn’t pin your own stuff?! Well, I don’t. Mostly.
Let’s go back to Lydia’s Little House party. When I first started planning the party, I made Lydia’s Little House on the Prairie Party board on Pinterest. I added all the ideas I found on etsy, via google and from Pinterest. Then once my party was finally done and my post up, I pinned it with a description like, “And here it is, Lydia’s party!”
My board is a fabulous resource for people who want to do a Little House Party (however small that audience might be) and I couldn’t NOT add my own post!
I’ve actually gone back and started boards for some of my old parties like Lydia’s Tangled Party because I still love the idea & have found fun ideas that go with it. Then I can pin my post on the board without being spammy.
I do this lots on my Impress Your Kids blog for series I’m doing. My Super Sunny Day, Advent Calendars and Super Hero board has tons of really fun links and then ONE link to my posts when I’ve published them. It’s a win-win for Pinners AND for folks reading my blog because they can see the extras I’ve found on Pinterest!
Another idea…
Some people do have boards titled, “MY BLOG POSTS” or “GREAT IDEAS BY ME” which is just a big RSS feed from their blog. And that’s fine because you can follow boards individually. If you don’t like seeing someone pin their own stuff, you can unfollow that board. I tried to do this. I just forget to pin my stuff.
Now. Let’s Talk About Being Nice On Pinterest.
There are so many blog posts about this right now. I was going to do my own little dissertation on permalinks, graphics and more. Instead, I’ll leave you with this: JUST CUZ YOU PIN SOMETHING DOESN’T MAKE IT YOURS. And on the other hand, IF SOMEONE PINS YOUR CONTENT THEY MIGHT THINK IT’S THEIRS. WHATCHOO GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
And now, to explain those awesome warnings, read these posts. Seriously. Pin them if you have to, they are that good:
Information for Bloggers & People Who Use Pinterest and Pinterest Is Changing How I Blog from Amy at Living Locurto. {If you’re getting traffic from Pinterest or WANT traffic from Pinterest, you MUST MUST read these two posts.}
The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips at Blogging With Amy {Honestly, why am I even doing a series about blogging when Amy’s blog exists? She’s got her finger on pulse of blogging.}
I could honestly talk about Pinterest forever because it’s so interesting to me. I didn’t even touch on the insight I gain from watching my blog being pinned (see: http://pinterest.com/source/ohamanda.com). Talk about real time feedback!
But I’ll stop. You’re welcome.
How do you leverage Pinterest for your blog?
{And if you’re not on Pinterest and need an invite, let me know and I’ll send you one!}
Coming Soon: Miscellany {Part 10}
Catch up on the whole series…
