One of the reasons we love Pinterest is because Pinterest followers are not a key metric, you can have a ton of success even if you don’t have a huge following. While followers can certainly play a role in expanding your reach, they’re not the ultimate measure of success. In fact, focusing solely on amassing followers might miss the bigger picture of what Pinterest can do for your business or brand. Unlike Instagram or X, where your follower count can make or break your visibility, Pinterest is a search engine and is focused more on the quality and relevance of your content for the user.
Why Followers Matter (But Not as Much)
Sure, having a big follower count on Pinterest can be a nice ego boost and can give your content an initial push, but it’s not the be-all and end-all on Pinterest. There are a few key benefits to gaining Pinterest followers though:
- Initial Engagement: More followers mean more people will see and engage with your Pins right away. This initial engagement can signal to Pinterest that your content is valuable, boosting its visibility.
- Brand Loyalty: Followers who regularly engage with your content can become your biggest advocates, sharing your Pins and helping you reach even more people.
- Customer Touch Points: A Pinterest follower is someone who has opted in to your content and will see more of it in their feed. This gives you more touch points with your engaged audience.
- Trust and Credibility: A decent follower count can make your profile look more credible, encouraging new visitors to follow you too.
How to Get More Pinterest Followers
Now that we understand why Pinterest followers matter, let’s chat about how you can gain Pinterest followers. Here are some strategies to help you grow your Pinterest followers:
1. Spruce Up Your Profile
Your Pinterest profile is the first thing a pinner sees and we all know that first impressions matter! So make sure your profile looks great:
- Complete Your Profile: Use a clear profile picture that represents your brand well, write a bio that tells people what you’re all about, and a call to action to follow. Organize your boards and make sure they use the keywords your audience is using to grab they attention.
- Claim Your Website: Verify your website with Pinterest to show you’re legit and to get access to more analytics.
- Become a Verified Merchant: Become a Verified Merchant on Pinterest to give your brand more credibility to the new follower.
2. Create Awesome Content
Your Pins should make people want to click that follow button. We always tell our clients that you want your pins to be so enticing and relevent that people can’t help but want to learn more.
- Pin Beautiful Images: Pinterest is a visual search engine. Use high-quality, vertical images that catch the eye and showcase your product well. Think about what would make you stop scrolling.
- Use Rich Pins: These Pins provide extra info right on the Pin, making them more useful and engaging.
- Use Video: Create video pins that show your product or service in action or answer a question for the pinner. Video is more and more important so be sure it’s in your content strategy.
3. Pin Regularly
Consistency is key to staying visible on Pinterest. You should have new and relevent pins going out consistently.
- Make Pinterest Part of Your Workflow: Create a content calendar and make sure all the content you create ends up on Pinterest in an optimized way. For example if you blog regularly, make sure you are creating pins for your blog posts.
- Stick to a Schedule: Regularly pin new content to keep your profile active. Use scheduling tools like TailWind to optimize your pins and make consistency easier.
4. Engage with Others
Just like all social networks, engagement is very important. You can build community around your brand by:
- Responding to Comments: Engage with people who comment on your Pins. It shows you’re active and approachable.
- Following Others: Follow influencers and brands in your niche. This can lead to mutual follows and expand your network.
- Pinning Relevent Content: You definitely don’t have to pin other people’s content on Pinterest (and we recommend you pin 95% your own content), but there are times where pinning a relevent piece of content from another creator can be beneficial for engagement and brand building.
5. Promote Your Pins
Get your Pins in front of more eyes by using the various Pinterest advertising features:
- Try Promoted Pins: Use Pinterest Ads to boost your visibility. Target your ads to reach people who are likely to be interested in your content. Do keyword research to make sure you know the terms they are using to search, then target those terms with ads.
6. Run Contests and Giveaways
Everyone loves free stuff and a giveaway is a great way to grow your audience and awareness:
- Host Giveaways: Run a contest where people have to follow you and engage with your Pins to enter. This is a great way to boost engagement and gain new followers.
- Offer Exclusive Content: Provide special content or discounts to your followers. This can make following you more appealing.
7. Collaborate with Others
Collaboration with others in your niche or industry can be a great way to grow your Pinterest followers.
- Partner Up: Collaborate with influencers or brands in your niche. This can introduce your profile to a whole new audience.
8. Use SEO to Your Advantage
Help people find your Pins through search:
- Use Keywords: Incorporate relevant keywords into your Pin descriptions, board titles, and bio. This makes it easier for people to find your content.
- Optimize Your Boards: Create boards with clear, keyword-rich titles and descriptions. This helps Pinterest understand what your content is about and show it to the right people.
- Use Trends: The Pinterest Trends tool is a great way to find the trending topics in your industry. Use trending topics to create content to attract new pinners.
9. Leverage Your Existing Platforms
Promote your Pinterest profile everywhere you can:
- Add Pinterest Links: Include links to your Pinterest profile on your website, in your email signature, and across your other social media accounts.
- Share Pins on Other Platforms: Share your Pins on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to drive more traffic to your Pinterest profile.
10. Add “Follow” Options to Your Website
Make sure it’s easy to follow you on Pinterest from your website.
- Add Pinterest to Social icons: Most sites have a list of their social icons in the header, footer or side bar, be sure Pinterest is one of them.
- Use Pop-Ups: If you really want to grow your followers, use a Pinterest pop up that asks people to follow you on Pinterest. They can just hit “follow” from the pop-up making it so easy!
Growing your Pinterest followers is about more than just the numbers. It’s about creating valuable content, engaging with your audience, and leveraging smart strategies to expand your reach. By optimizing your profile, pinning consistently, engaging with your audience, and promoting your content, you can build a loyal and engaged following. Remember, quality trumps quantity—focus on building a community that loves what you do, and the followers will come.
We are Pinterest experts, if you want help growing your Pinterest followers or developing an effective strategy for your business, we would love to help!
