Many bloggers use Pinterest as one of their primary platforms for marketing despite the constantly changing Pinterest algorithm. When coming up with a Pinterest Strategy 2022, you need to adapt to the latest changes and updates.
Pinterest is free to use and enables you to promote your blog or business. To take advantage of this opportunity, you need to start now!
Different Pinterest experts might tell you different things about what is the best Pinterest strategy.
But in this blog post, I am showing you what is the latest working Pinterest strategy in MY experience.
I’ve compiled the knowledge from many successful bloggers and courses and came up with a Pinterest tactic that worked for me, as well as many other bloggers.
Now let’s get started!
What is a Pinterest Strategy
A Pinterest strategy is a set of tactics that help you grow your audience and bring Pinterest traffic to your blog.
This platform is designed for visual content – images, and videos that are searchable in a similar manner as you would search for something on Google.
So, multiple things factor into a Pinterest strategy:
- What kind of visuals to use for pins
- How and when to publish your pins
- How to make pins discoverable
- What extra steps can you take to maximize your Pinterest growth
As you can see, there are plenty of things to consider if you’re trying to grow on Pinterest.
A Pinterest strategy is what combines all kinds of different Pinterest success tactics into one bundle.
If you choose the right Pinterest marketing strategy in 2022, there is still a lot of traffic to be gained.
Why use Pinterest for blogging
It is one of the most popular search engine platforms that’s used by many bloggers because it has a lot of potential for traffic generation.
If you pin attractive images on your Pinterest boards, they will lead people to your website. You can either pin your blog posts or products that you are selling on the internet.
It’s easy to get started and learn how to use Pinterest to promote your blog or business.
The growth of Pinterest since it was launched is huge and you can take advantage of this growth by using the RIGHT Pinterest strategy.
Does Pinterest still work as a source of traffic?
Many bloggers are worried that Pinterest no longer works as a source of traffic.
This is because Pinterest is notorious for changing the algorithm in a way that forces creators to keep pivoting their strategy.
Pinterest is certainly harder than it was a few years ago.
You need to adapt your strategy just as you would adapt to changes on big social media platforms or Google algorithm updates.
So does Pinterest still work for bloggers?
Yes, Pinterest is still a source of traffic to many bloggers. It works if you are committed, patient, and willing to experiment.
Now, let’s take a look at the latest changes and how they affect your Pinterest strategy.
What are the biggest changes on Pinterest?
The best way to adapt the Pinterest strategy for 2022 is by looking at what Pinterest has changed in the last couple of years.
By understanding where Pinterest is shifting its’ focus, you can beat the algorithm and still have great success on Pinterest.
Here are the two biggest game-changers:
Promoted pins
Since Pinterest went public in April 2019, the platform has seen an influx of ads.
Pinterest now lets users promote pins, allowing businesses with big Pinterest accounts to pay to have their pins shown more often in the Pinterest feed.
Sadly, this means that a lot of the bloggers which are not able to pay for being promoted are being pushed out of the top search results on Pinterest.
In other words, Pinterest is no longer an untapped source of fast traffic.
Instead, it is a source of traffic that requires patience (same as Google SEO) as you need to compete with promoted content.
On top of that, Pinterest is favoring new formats of pins that aren’t necessarily good for us (bloggers).
Idea pins
Another big change on Pinterest (and the most hated by some bloggers) is the rollout of Idea pins.
Idea pins allow users to post carousel-style pins and videos, but with a big caveat.
Idea pins don’t allow links.
Historically creators used Pinterest as a way to get users to their website and Pinterest was known as a place where you would go look for blog posts as well as inspiration.
Now, Pinterest is pushing Idea pins to get people to STAY on the platform instead of clicking through to someone else’s website.
This is a big (and slightly scary) game-changer that requires consideration when creating a new Pinterest strategy.
So how do you navigate all these changes?
What are the things that still work to get Pinterest traffic in 2022?
What works? Pinterest Strategy 2022
There are still plenty of success stories on Pinterest.
Below, I’ve compiled a 15-step Pinterest strategy that can help you grow your Pinterest traffic in 2022.
Let’s begin!
Set up your Pinterest account the right way
There are three things you need to do before delving into the Pinterest tactics:
Sign up for a Pinterest Business account
The first thing you should do is set up your Business account on Pinterest. You are required to do so if you want to ultimately use Pinterest with commercial intent. But also it comes with some great benefits, such as Analytics for your account.
Claim your website
The second step is to claim your website. This will allow you to see the Analytics data for all the pins that you create.
Enable rich pins
Rich pins add extra information under your pins. This enhances the user experience and makes your pins look more engaging.
Once you’ve set up your account, you’re ready to start pinning.
Pin fresh content
Pinterest in 2022 is all about fresh content.
No matter how many times you repin your own content, it will not provide any extra value to the user, so the platform does not reward this kind of behavior anymore.
Therefore, focus on finding new and exciting ideas for your pins instead of recycling old pins.
If you don’t publish new blog posts very often, you can still pin fresh content on Pinterest. Here’s how:
- Create more than one pin per post. New pin = fresh content. You don’t necessarily need to increase the frequency of your blog posts. Every time you create a new blog post, make 3-5 different pins for it.
- Batch-create pins to save time spent on pin design.
- Tweak pins instead of re-creating every pin from scratch. Even a change of background photo, or changing up the fonts and some element colors will make your pin “new” in Pinterest’s eyes.
Learn Pinterest SEO
You need to understand how Pinterest SEO works to rank your pins.
Just like with Google SEO, you will have to do keyword research and find good keywords for your niche.
Sidenote: if you don’t know what your niche is, it’s probably because your niche is too broad.
There are three things you should pay attention to if you want to get your pins seen:
Titles
Make sure your pin title includes your keyword so that Pinterest can understand what your pin is about. If possible include your keywords at the beginning of the title.
Your title should be catchy. It’s important to grab the user’s attention in the search results to get people clicking on your pin.
Descriptions
You must include your keywords in your pin description as well.
You can write 2-5 sentences summarizing what your post is about – this is your chance to add even more relevant keywords. The pin description is another place Pinterest is looking at, to understand what your pin is about.
Make sure that your descriptions are engaging and informative. If the description can provide the user with enough information to capture attention, they might go ahead and visit your website.
Boards
It’s important to optimize your boards as well. The title and description of your board should include your keyword.
It also matters WHAT board you pin to. For example, if you have a board called “Keto breakfast recipes”, you should not be pinning pasta recipes to this board.
There is such a thing as a board-pin relationship, and pinning to board with a different topic might confuse Pinterest. Only pin to boards that are most relevant to your blog post topic.
How often to pin on Pinterest
You should pin consistently. However, you don’t have to be rigid about the frequency.
Pinterest will not penalize you if you skip a day or two, as long as your Pinterest SEO game is on point and you’re pinning fresh, valuable content.
I know a lot of bloggers get hung up on their 5-fresh-pins-a-day strategy (just an example).
This is fine if it works for you. But if you prefer pinning more pins once in 3 days instead of a few pins daily – that is fine!
I’ve seen Pinterest accounts grow without a strict pinning schedule. If anything, this is more organic (natural) behavior, so don’t be afraid to do what suits you, as long as you are not neglecting your account for weeks on end.
Do you need to pin third-party content?
As we’ve already covered, your fresh content is most valuable to Pinterest. Does that mean pinning third-party pins is a big no-no?
Not exactly. You can and should still use third party pins in certain circumstances, such as:
- Your Pinterest profile (and your bog) is very new and you don’t have much content yet. If you don’t have many pins of your own yet, you should pin some of the other people’s pins so that your boards don’t look empty. This will help establish your boards for Pinterest SEO reasons and make your profile look more credible.
- Some of your blog categories are smaller than others. For example, if your niche is frugal living, but you also have a few articles on kitchen organization, your Pinterest board about kitchen organization is likely to be quite empty. In this case, to make it more prominent on Pinterest, you will want to fill the gaps with third-party pins.
It’s great if you have lots of your own pins and can fill your bards with your content.
If that is not the case, pinning some third-party content is a great solution. As long as it’s all on-topic (related to the main keyword of your board), it can actually benefit your account.
Idea pins
Idea pins introduced a big dilemma for many bloggers – ignore the new feature completely and stick to the old way of pinning, or play along to please the Pinterest algorithm, even if Idea pins don’t bring them traffic?
The short answer is, you need to try them and see if they work for your niche.
One way idea pins can benefit you, is if people click through to your profile and follow you.
Some bloggers have had success with it, others didn’t.
The best advice is – try them. See for yourself how much work is required to create them, how many impressions, saves, and profile visits they bring in, and make your own conclusion if it’s worth it.
Note that MANY bloggers still don’t use Idea pins and their traffic has not dropped.
It also depends on your niche. If you are a fashion or food blogger, idea pins could be something to explore.
Group boards
Are group boards still relevant in Pinterest strategy 2022?
For me – no. Let me explain.
In the past bloggers were able to exploit group boards to increase their traffic, but most of them quickly became very spammy and did not have a clear topic.
That was NOT how Pinterest intended for us to use group boards, which is why they put a stop to it, and nowadays, group boards don’t have the distribution opportunities they used to have.
In other words – MOST of them do nothing for your traffic. Do not waste your time looking for 50 different group boards and messaging the members asking to join them, as it is simply not worth your time.
However, joining a group board that is in your niche and well managed (all the contributed pins are good quality content, no spam in the group board) could have some benefits. Some bloggers still report success in increasing pin visibility when using group boards in their niche.
The issue is that it seems to be hit-and-miss.
You have just as many chances to get your pins seen pinning to your own boards if they are well optimized.
Seasonal content
For those of you who don’t know – Pinterest LOVES seasonal content.
If your niche allows it, create some seasonal blog posts.
Users often go to Pinterest to get holiday inspiration.
If you have holiday-related content on Pinterest, you might get an increased number of clicks and saves – for free!
Scheduling
An important part of the Pinterest strategy is deciding HOW you are going to distribute your pins.
You have two options: to pin manually or to use a scheduler.
Schedulers are very popular among bloggers. Here are some tools to consider:
- Tailwind – probably the most popular Pinterest scheduling tool. It can completely automate your pinning, which is especially good if you pin a lot.
- Canva – Some people don’t know this, but you can also schedule pins straight from Canva. All you need to do is connect your Pinterest account to the Content Planner section.
- Pinterest Native scheduler – it allows you to schedule pins up to two weeks in advance from inside Pinterest.
Manual pinning
Manual pinning on Pinterest is always an option, no matter how much you pin.
The benefits of the manual pinning strategy are that it requires less maintenance and it’s free.
Unlike on social media, the time of the day when you post on Pinterest does NOT matter.
Therefore you don’t have to worry about scheduling your pins for the “best time of the day”.
These days bloggers usually only pin a couple of pins per day, which is why manual pinning is becoming popular again.
Make your pins visually appealing
Pinterest is a visual platform. No wonder users like beautiful, eye-catching pins.
There are a few things you can do to improve the looks of your pins:
- Use unique, high-quality images (pay for good stock photos, or take your own pictures).
- User vertical pins with the size recommended by Pinterest (2:3 aspect ratio).
- Make sure the text on your pin is readable. For maximum visibility use bright colors, big fonts, and contrast.
- Find some popular Pinterest profiles and see what they are doing. Don’t copy, but get some inspiration for creating your own pin style.
- I recommend Canva Pro for pin creation – the template selection makes the whole process extremely easy.
- If you don’t trust your graphic design skills or simply don’t have the time – get yourself some gorgeous premade pin templates.
These rules are a great starting point to create beautiful pins…BUT
Every once in a while, break the rules a little bit. Try different colors than you normally use, different fonts, and compositions, make the pin longer.
Sometimes pins that do well on Pinterest are not the ones that WE find the most appealing.
Doing a/b testing with your pin designs can help you find what the USERS like.
Should I archive boards that are not working?
Yes! Pinterest wants you to provide value.
Don’t keep boards just to have more of them.
All your boards should be receiving love from you – you should be regularly adding content to them and they need to be related to your niche.
If you end up ignoring some of your boards as they are less relevant, OR your board is simply not doing as well compared to the rest – archive it.
You can always undo that if you change your mind, and it will make your profile more focused on well-performing boards.
Make your content shareable
Do you know you can add a “Pin it” button to all your blog images? All you need is to install a WordPress plugin.
This will make it easy for your readers to save your content to Pinterest directly from your blog.
Adding “Pin it” and “Follow me on Pinterest” buttons to your website encourages interaction and makes your content more shareable, thus helping you get more saves and follows.
Mix it up with infographics
Pinterest users like infographics, so pinning them can bring you far more views and engagement than pinning regular static pins.
You can create infographics pins in Canva, or any image editing tool of your choice.
Otherwise, you can outsource this on freelancer hubs such as Fiverr.
How long does it take to get Pinterest traffic?
The final step in your Pinterest strategy for 2022 is this:
Be patient.
I know it’s hard. We all like to see the results of our hard work as soon as possible.
But the Pinterest game is changed now, and to see success you will have to give your pins time to rank.
The good news is that if you stick with it, and apply the strategies listed in this guide, eventually you will see results.
It usually takes 6-9 months to start seeing some Pinterest traffic on a new pin.
Many bloggers see single-digit impressions in the first few months and quit Pinterest. But if they stick it out for about half a year, their pinning efforts start to bear fruit.
So stay patient, create good content, pin consistently and give Pinterest time to do the work.
Summary: Pinterest Strategy 2022
What does a successful Pinterest strategy look like in 2022? It’s not about sharing the same old content over and over.
Quality fresh content is key to success on this platform, which means that you need to be willing to put the time into creating engaging pins that add value for your target audience.
You also can’t expect instant results – even when pinning high-quality content – you have to give it time before seeing any real benefits.
For your blog posts pinned on Pinterest to drive traffic back, they must provide something of genuine use and interest while remaining true to what your brand stands for.
Are you following these steps in your current Pinterest content strategy? If not, try applying them and let us know how you are doing!
