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The Social Strategist

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How to Create High-Performing Pinterest Images

Pinterest, Social Media

Is Pinterest a part of your marketing strategy? If not, it should be–especially if you have a blog. Pinterest is a major search engine with hundreds of millions of active users. Think how many more people you could reach if your content is on Pinterest. But, you’ll need to know how to create high-performing Pinterest images if you want Pinterest to actually move the needle in your business.

Unlike other social media platforms, Pinterest offers a more relaxed and inspiring environment where you can dream of creating things you love. People go to Pinterest for mainly three things: inspiration, solutions, and tutorials. 

Since Pinterest works a little differently than Instagram, your content will need to be different, too. Just as you create content according to what your Instagram followers want, you’ll do the same thing on Pinterest. As you create content for your Pinterest audience, remember these three things: inspiration, solutions, and tutorials. 

 

What are High-Performing Pinterest Images?

High-performing Pinterest images are “pins” content creators upload to Pinterest for users to click on and save or view the content linked to the image. The high-performing part means that you have a high percentage of clicks and saves.

There are different ways to increase the clicks on your pins, but your niche plays a large role in what will be most effective. For example, a food blogger would do better with a plain picture or video of a dish they made. On the other hand, an Instagram expert would do better with an infographic about tips for growing your followers. 

How do you know which type of pin is best for your niche? The tips in this post will guide you, but the best way to find out is to do the research. You can create several different types of pins and after a month or two you can refer back to those pins and see which ones had the most reactions. It’s super important to look at your data and pivot where needed. 

 

Why Creating High-Performing Pinterest Images Should Be a Part of Your Marketing Strategy

Screenshot of Michelle Gifford's Pinterest banner showing a picture of herself and her business title.

First of all, if Pinterest is not a part of your social media strategy, it’s time to add it to the list. There are over 522 million active users on Pinterest every month. Think of all the new eyes you can get on your content that could become new loyal buyers of your brand. 

It’s always a smart choice to use multiple platforms to market your business because you never know what will happen to any of them. One of them could be gone tomorrow and you’d have no say on it. (Did you hear about the possible TikTok ban?) 

With that being said, you want to give yourself options for where you market your brand. Plus, there are different audiences on each platform, so you’d be multiplying your reach at least by thousands. 

It is SO easy to add pins to Pinterest. 

  1. Set up a Pinterest business account
  2. Create pins for free on Canva.
  3. Upload your pins to Pinterest.
  4. Organize your pins into boards.

You can learn more about this process HERE.

 

How to Create High-Performing Pinterest Images

The customer journey on Pinterest is very specific: users are looking for solutions, inspiration, or tutorials. They start on Pinterest’s home feed, search with broad keywords, and refine their search based on the results Pinterest shows them. Next, they scroll until something grabs their attention—often a pin with a text overlay that matches their exact needs. 

They click on the pin to view it larger, then click again to access the valuable information. Because of this we always include a hook either in the title or the text overlay if it is a pin with a template or text on it.

If you are at a loss for writing good hooks that sell, click HERE to get my free 131 hooks list!

 

1 – Brand your pins.

Screenshot of Michelle Gifford's Pinterest feed.

Each pin should include your brand colors, logo, fonts, and overall aesthetic. Bonus points for including your website URL. That way pinners will know exactly where to find more of your content if they like what they see. 

Giving your pins one cohesive look will make your brand come off more professional and memorable. People will start to recognize your brand as they keep seeing your pins because they all fit together. 

You can create an entire brand guide on Canva. It is super user-friendly and can create well-polished, professional content for Pinterest and so many other social platforms. If you don’t know the first thing about creating a brand guide, my design team can help! Check us out HERE to see what we can do for you.

 

2 – Include SEO.

Screenshot of how to add an image to Pinterest and where to type SEO keywords.

Google is not the only place for SEO. In fact, Pinterest is one of the three major search engines people use daily to find specific content. Before posting your pin you want to make sure you’ve filled in the SEO info alongside the image. This includes:

  • Pinterest Title

This should be a short and sweet title that is super clear and explains what someone will find if they click on your Pinterest image. You definitely want to include a keyword here. (A keyword is something someone would type in the search bar to find your content.)

  • Description

This is where you can give a short description explaining a little bit more about what your content is about once they click on the image. 2-3 sentences are plenty. Make sure to add a hook in there that will make someone want to click to read more and don’t forget your keywords here too!

  • Image File Name

Did you know even the name of your image file is searchable? This is what you name your image in the space where it says “.jpg” or “.png”. You can use another keyword here to help explain what your image is about.

Biz Pro Tip: People probably search for more than one or two keywords to find your type of content, so make sure you use all of the possible keywords throughout each of these SEO places rather than using one keyword for each section. This will give your SEO a good boost and get you to the top of the search results! 

  • The Image Itself

The text you include on the image itself is the best place to include keywords for your content. (Only if you are putting text. Do not include it if your pins will perform better as a plain picture.) The text on the pin is the first thing people usually notice. You want to always write a title that hooks the reader, making them want to click on your pin and go to your site to read more.

 

3 – Utilize basic design skills.

Screenshot of a pin created by Michelle Gifford advertising b-roll ideas for any niche.

Pinterest is full of creatives and designers who have an eye for what looks aesthetically pleasing. It’s important to know and use basic design skills when creating your pins so they attract your audience. 

Basic Design Skills:

  • Easy-to-read strategic headlines
  • Branded colors and fonts
  • High-quality images
  • Bold colors
  • Consistent aesthetic
  • Include your logo
  • Use vertical pins with a 2:3 aspect ratio (1000 x 1500 pixels)

Having a set of Pinterest templates is helpful so you don’t have to start from scratch every time you’re ready to create more pins. My design team can help you with that! They can create a set of templates for you that you can use on Pinterest, and create an entire brand style guide to get you started on the right foot. Come chat with us HERE to get started. 

 

Examples of High-Performing Pinterest Images

Impressions (pins showing up on someone’s feed) will be high on a pin due to it having the right keywords in the categories mentioned above, while engagements, clicks, and saves come from a visual interest in the pin.  In other words, keywords cause your pins to show up on someone’s feed and then the image and text on the pin (if any is necessary, which isn’t always the case) cause a person to interact (like, save, etc.) with it.

The type of pin that does best totally depends on the person’s niche. My followers like infographic pins best in both a broad and narrow search. Since I have such a specific audience, I’m going to showcase two examples from my client’s pins that have performed well.

My agency’s fashion and food clients’ pins do best with a video or beautiful picture and either short informative text on the picture or none at all. It also helps to have a short, descriptive title. The pins for the plant client I have need a great hook in the title and on the picture or the pins won’t convert to sales (which is their goal). The descriptions are more ancillary. Some people read them, but they are mostly for the algorithm

 

Example: Food Blogger

Screenshot of Lillie Eats and Tells Pin. A recipe for Molasses Cookies.

 

This pin has a beautiful, inviting picture that is awesome as a standalone, but the overlay takes it up a notch. The text overlay is bold, on brand, and solves a problem for a reader looking for a holiday dessert. It features different text in the overlay and the title: it maximizes keyword usage in as many spots as possible! The description is conversational and keyword-rich, it also includes a great hook and call to action. A bonus is that it is a rich pin: it gives the reader the recipe right there which incentivizes them to save the pin.

 

screenshot of Lillie Eats & Tells pin--chicken salad recipe.

 

This pin has a simple, beautiful picture. The overlay is on brand, easily readable, and delivers the information clearly and with keywords, too! The pin description is conversational and chock-full of keywords without sounding spammy.

 

Main Takeaways

  • Pinterest is one of the three major search engines (along with Google and YouTube).
  • 3 tips to help you create high-performing Pinterest images
    • Brand your pins.
    • Include SEO in every piece of content.
    • Utilize basic design skills.
  • The three places to include SEO for your pin are the Pinterest title, description, and image file name.
  • Basic design skills to use when creating pins:
    • Easy-to-read strategic headlines
    • Branded colors and fonts
    • High-quality images
    • Bold colors
    • Consistent aesthetic
    • Include your logo
    • Use vertical pins with a 2:3 aspect ratio (1000 x 1500 pixels)

 

Creating High-Performing Pinterest Images

These tips will help you create high-performing Pinterest images in no time. If you want some professional help to get you started on your Pinterest journey, you can hire my team HERE. We will walk you through step-by-step how to create a Pinterest strategy and offer you our professional design and expertise that will transform your social media strategy! 

If you liked this post and would like to know more about setting up a Pinterest strategy, you’ll love these posts:

Give me a follow on Instagram @iammichellegifford so we can stay in touch! I share the best and latest tips for growing your brand on Instagram and beyond. 

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