This is the fourth post in our 10-part series about Pinterest Marketing, and today we’re looking at specific Pinterest strategies to increase engagement. Pinterest is less social than many other sites (and as we’ve already discussed, works as a search engine rather than a social media site) but engagement, such as RePins, clicks and comments, will show the algorithm your content is worth attention, so it’s well worth encouraging that engagement from your followers, and those who find you in search.

If you’ve missed the other posts in the series, you can find them here:

Is Pinterest the Right Platform for Your Business?

Why Pinterest is a Great Way to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

How to Create a Perfect Pin

Ready to dive in and learn to drive Pinterest engagement? Let’s take a look at some easy, free, low-effort strategies. (No time right now? You can always Pin this post for later.)

Disclosure: Links in this post (and anywhere on The Savvy Solopreneur) may be affiliate links. Find out what that means here.

Make Your Images Stand Out

You already know that a striking, attractive image is one of the components of a perfect Pin. The right Pin image can make browsers take a second look at your content and encourage them to click on it.

Be sure to take great product photos when you’re showcasing products, and create eye-catching Pins for your blog posts and articles. Pins that are taller tend to get more RePins than others. Many designers like to go for a size of 730px x 1102px or larger. Check out these pre-made, easy-to-edit Pinterest templates. Some of them come in that extra-long format.

Cut Pinterest graphic design time by about 90%, with ready-made, easy-to-edit templates. Click To Tweet

Use Rich Pins

Rich Pins are incredibly useful for businesses because they provide all the information about the content that the Pin links to, directly on the Pin. There are four types to choose from.

Product Pins are geared toward the shopper who wants to have a seamless buying experience. They have information on where to buy the product, its current availability, and real-time price.

Recipe Pins are a serious cook’s dream because they can find a list of ingredients, serving sizes and cook times directly on the pin in order to make a decision about a particular recipe’s usefulness.

Readers love article pins because there’s a headline with a description of the story all in one place, with no need to click over to an article only to find it’s not at all what was expected. These are probably the most useful type of Rich Pin for most bloggers.

Finally, app pins include an install button, increasing the likelihood that users will click to download your app directly from Pinterest.

There is a setup process involved in order to activate Rich Pins, but it’s fairly painless, and you only have to do it once to ensure that all future Pins from your site are Rich Pins.

RePin from Other Boards

Pinning your own content is important, but if you want engagement you need to interact with others on the site, and use it in a natural way. So be sure you’re RePinning valuable and relevant stuff from other users. To get started, just type a term related to your niche into the search bar.

Look for Pins that are attractive to the eye and come from active accounts. You want to associate yourself with other pinners who are consistent in their use of Pinterest, and who take time to produce quality content. Make sure you save other’s Pins to a highly relevant board.

Create More Than One Brand-Relevant Board

To make it easier for your followers to find what they’re interested in and to navigate your boards, you’ll want to arrange them in a clear, well-categorized manner. It’s fine to have a  board that contains all of your blog’s Pins, but you should also Pin them across multiple boards that focus on specific topics, to increase the chances of your content being seen.

You may find it works well to have a board for each category you cover on your blog, or each section of your online store. Remember to use clear, descriptive phrasing for your board titles and include keywords potential readers and customers will be searching for. You’ll also want to use Group Boards strategically (there’ll be more on that in a later post in this series – subscribe if you don’t want to miss it).

Consider making Pinterest boards for every category on your blog, or section in your online store. Click To Tweet

Give Thanks

It’s always good to recognize those who have interacted with your brand. For those who’ve pinned your posts, you can add a comment to the Pin along with their username to be sure they see your note.

You can also send a direct message. Be sure to do this in a way that is not spammy, but genuinely helpful or appreciative. Send a short message to thank customers for making a purchase or to offer pinners a unique discount code for something they’ve expressed an interest in through pinning it to their board.

Consider sending a unique discount code for something a follower expressed an interest in through pinning it to their board. Click To Tweet

Brand Your Boards

Your Pinterest boards can be customized just as other sites can. Use your brand’s color scheme whenever possible and choose pins that have a similar visual appeal to your overall brand image.

You may want to pull your boards together with a cohesive look by creating cover images for each board. You can use your colors, fonts or branded images in your board covers. Then go to the settings for your boards and add the newly created graphic as the cover of each relevant board.

These strategies will have you on your way toward increasing your Pinterest engagement in no time. There are a number of other tricks you can implement, but these are enough to make a difference without overwhelming you. Have fun with the process and enjoy the social interaction with your new followers.

I learned everything I needed to know about Pinterest from the self-paced online course, Pindepth Advanced. It includes four hours of video training, actionable workbooks, a private Facebook group, and a ton of bonuses (including two bonus courses, Content That Converts and The Subscriber Rush). Plus, you get lifetime access. Every time Pinterest rolls out new stuff, more information is added to the course, so you’re constantly updated. Check out the details here.

I’ve love for you to connect with me on Pinterest. And just click here if you’d like to get a free printable workbook and other goodies to help you run your online biz, along with updates on the other posts in the series.