How to Get Started on Pinterest: Marketing and Optimization Tips From Pinterest Expert Jeff Sieh

We’ve been excited recently to learn more and more about the best way to approach Pinterest marketing. And we’ve been inspired by tons of great Pinners who have shared their learnings already.

Jeff Sieh is one whom we greatly admire for his Pinterest presence. A social media consultant and speaker, Jeff has built a strong community on Pinterest and shared his best Pinterest tips and strategies with us at #bufferchat.

Highlights from the #bufferchat with Jeff Sieh are below, and you can catch the full recap here.

How did you first discover Pinterest?

From Jeff:

• I was coming back from a road trip and heard Cynthia Sanchez on Mike Stelzner‘s podcast and was intrigued.
• Started using Pinterest and noticed how much web traffic (and long-term traffic) it was driving.
• With the help of people like Peg Fitzpatrick and Rebekah Radice I learned how to cross promote across social channels.

From the community:

• “When my girlfriend made this freaking awesome squash casserole and I asked her where she got the recipe.” @KevinMLittleton
• “I discovered #Pinterest when I was interning for a fashion magazine, we used it to plan content mood boards each month” @byStephie
• “Found it via some early-adopting blog friends. Became instantly consumed!” @reinventingerin

Where does Pinterest fit in your social routine?

From Jeff:

• I always try to touch Pinterest at least twice a day. No set schedule but once in morning and once in the evening.
• I also pin things I find interesting as I run across them during the day.
• Sometime during the day (usually the evening) I try to make sure to respond to any comments that I might have received.

From the community:

• “Pinterest is my “crossover” social media site – it’s where I allow my personal interests to mesh with my business interests” @cathywebsavvypr
• “W/ Pinterest extension for Chrome (next to my awesome @Buffer extension!) so I pin fairly often as I work throughout the day” @AmandasAbroad
• “Also use Pinterest for SEO, with keywords filling pin descriptions. It’s awesome.” @carol_stephen

What would you advise someone just starting out in Pinterest marketing?

From Jeff:

• Try to have a “pinnable” image on your blog. As Pinterest continues to grow, this will become even more important.
• Pinterest has the longest “shelf life” of any of the social networks. So Pin your content!
• “50 percent of orders happen after 2.5 months of pinning.”
• Follow boards that you like, not entire accounts. That way your feed will be content you want to see.

From the community:

• “Like most platforms: keep to your key topics, add value for your audience, personalize captions where you can, have fun!” @themissnicolina
• “For starters, use it personally. Get familiar with the platform and take note of what others do that you feel is working.” @christinkardos
• “Create relevant boards with eye-catching names, follow competitors & their followers, fave & re-pin influencers’ pins.” @itsadianah

What sorts of pins grab your attention as you scroll through Pinterest?

From Jeff:

• I’m drawn to things that stand out. Ashley Faulkes does a great job with his pins.
• Having readable text and a clear call to action is also really important.
• Animated gifs – especially funny ones – really stand out and do well on Pinterest
• Don’t forget you can pin YouTube/Vimeo video that plays natively inside of Pinterest.

From the community:

• “Data-filled infographics. Design-driven images. A good quote. Pins that link to great content.” @oliveandco
• “A beautiful photograph or an interesting infographic on a topic I’m interested in.” @GlendaVee
• “Humorous quotes, inspiring stories & all things chocolate!” @shradha_poddar

What are some key optimization tips for your pins?

From Jeff:

• Pinterest loves tall images. I like 735×1102 for the size of my pins.
• Think “mobile first” 75% of all daily traffic is coming from native mobile applications on Pinterest
• Make sure your text overlays and infographics are readable on smartphones!
• If you’re using free sites, try cropping or adding filters in interesting ways so your image won’t look like everyone else
• Just to be clear…Pinterest does not like hashtags. They don’t work the same on their platform

From the community:

• “Simple images, SEO terminology, clear visual” @cgcalfee
• “Keywords are golden. I put a few tags at the begin for context. That at gives other pinners what they’re hoping to find.” @steven_paul
• “Don’t be afraid to have a sense of humor – it humanizes a company & your audience will relate to the brand” @lifeofaworkgirl

Outside of Pinterest, where do you find images and content for your pins?

From Jeff:

• I use Feedly, Triberr, and Google+ to find the best content to pin.

From the community:

1. Canva
2. Behance
3. Startup Stock Photos
4. Flickr Creative Commons
5. PicMonkey
6. Pic Jumbo
7. Fotor
8. Public Domain Pictures
9. 500px
10. Feedly
11. Unsplash
12. Gratiosgraphy

What is your all-time favorite board or personality to follow on Pinterest?

From Jeff:

• Art of Manliness
• Rebekah Radice
• Peg Fitzpatrick
• Cynthia Sanchez
• Alisa Meredith
• Kim Vij
• Vincent Ng
• Constant Contact does a great job and is a great example of a B2B using Pinterest successfully.

From the community:

• Miss Moss
• SF Girl by Bay
• HerNewTribe
• BleuBird
• A Beautiful Mess
• Danielle LePorte
• Social Media Marketing (board)
• Guy Kawasaki
• By Regina
• CN Traveler
• Dell Blue Agency
• Behance

Thank you so much for everyone who joined in on this great chat!

Catch #bufferchat each Wednesday at 9 am Pacific/noon Eastern and join our Google+ community for the latest news.

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash