Back again this week talking all things Pinterest. This can be an overwhelming topic to get started with so I am going to provide just 5 simple tips to get your Pinterest cleaned up and ready for your business. No need to over complicate this with all the steps. Let’s focus this post on how to simple clean up and get set up to have your business on Pinterest.

5 Simple Steps to Get Started On Pinterest:

// Step 1: Make all your personal boards SECRET

• Making all your personal boards secret helps keep all your pins but only for you. These personal pins are not relevant to your business and will not help draw audiences.

• Or start a whole new Pinterest account from scratch (either works).

   

// Step 2: Add Business Information

• In your settings, add your website (or Instagram link), business email address, description of the business and update any information.

• Make sure you only add information that connects to your business. If you do not have a professional email,now is the time to do so- it will come in handy for everything else.

• Make sure your Pinterest Link is updated to your business name or as close to it as possible.

• Do go to the “claim” section and claim your website and other links.

• Update your photo to your business logo.

• NOTE: do not share your phone number unless you want scammers calling 24/7.

   

// Step 3: Add 5-6 Boards that relate to your niche

• Creating 5-6 boards that are directly related to your niche are important first steps because it gives you “buckets” to dump photos of your own as well as share others. The boards should have your key words in them (key words I will go over in later post).

• Add descriptions to each board that have your key words, business name, and niche sections in there. This helps pinners find the right boards based off those words.

• I encourage you to have 3 boards that are just for your photos. My niche is Market booths, Retail Displays and Customer Photos. Examples of Vertical Ledges boards are:

  • Example Vendor Tables

  • Branded Retail Displays

  • Market Stall Displays

• The other boards can be for repining other ideas that are related to your business. I like to pin other stuff that is the top-of-the-line examples of booths so others can find our page and actually stay connected, not just seeing our stuff over and over again. Examples of boards I pin to that are not directly our photos are:

  • Chic Booth Displays

  • Cart Inspiration for Customers

  • Craft Show Displays

     

// Step 4: Adding Pins to each board

• You can do this manually OR you can go to Tailwind and try it out.

• This is pretty straight forward. Both options are easy to understand and start learning from BUT Tailwind will be able to schedule yours pins out throughout the following days/weeks.

• Do know that Pinterest only takes your top 5 pins “seriously” so it is best to limit yourself to 5 pins a day. This is a good goal to set about 6 months into this process. It took us about 6 months to even get enough photos to be able to pin 5 pins in advance for 3 weeks. That is 120 curated, crafted photos with descriptions, titles, links, and key words.

• Make sure to add pins to each of your boards and to re-pin similar items to boost engagement.

   

// Step 5: Staging Photos

• It is time to focus on your photos for Pinterest. When I first started, I used some really, I mean REALLY ugly photos, bad lighting and rough edges. While it is where I started my foundation, it is best to start with really bright, clear photos.

• Try using natural light when possible and a white background.

• Focus on close ups, styled (lifestyle) and staged photos. This can be product photos from your website, lifestyle photos of your item in use from your Instagram (or even your customers) and staged photos for seasonal ideas.

• Think ahead to the next season and try to be one step ahead of the season you are in. Meaning, do not take winter photos in February, take spring photos. And then for Summer, start taking styled summer photos in March. So on and so forth. Preparing for fall In July, and winter holidays in August.

Take each step slowly. Do not rush. By no means necessary do you need to have everything done in one day or even one month. It starts with small steps. If you are the EVERYTHING of the business, then it can feel overwhelming.

Feel free to check out our Pinterest for Ideas, or go deeper into the topic with Jenna from Goal Digger Podcast.

That’s all for now from the VERTICAL.

//

Sydney