5 Quick Changes to Instantly Boost Your Pinterest Account

Confession #1: I’m a Pinterest addict. And can you blame me? All of those beautiful images of flowers, Scandinavian-chic interiors, berry tarts, frothy cocktails and exotic destinations, all waiting to be pinned to my boards.

Confession #2: Pinterest is one of the biggest drivers of traffic to my blog. By being active and strategic in my approach to this social media platform, I’m able to draw readers to my site with the intention of retaining them as a long-term reader.

Below are my easy-to-follow tips to help you steadily grow your Pinterest account and get you more followers and re-pins. And don’t worry if your blog or business doesn’t create DIYs or recipes, Pinterest is just as relevant to your marketing strategy if you are a business coach, a marketing expert, a designer, a writer, a retail store… the list goes on!

1 // Pimp Your Profile

Yes, it’s time start with the foundations before we move onto the techy stuff. And firstly you need a lovely profile picture, whether it be your face or your logo. If you also use Twitter/Instagram/Facebook, keep these profile images consistent for easy recognition.  

This may seem like a no-brainer tip, however you want to appear reputable, professional and trustworthy, and using default profile image as your photo is not going to give you any cred (thought: have you ever followed a brand on twitter that had the default egg as their profile image? Thought not). 

2 // Add Keywords To Your Profile Name

Next up in the profile stakes, it’s time to add some industry-relevant keywords to your profile name. Think of it like SEO (search engine optimization) for Pinterest– you want to optimize your profile name so you appear in relevant searches.

Here’s some examples:

My Pinterest username is @TellMeTuesday, however my profile name is Tell Me Tuesday | DIY, Food, Travel & Lifestyle Blogger. 

Another example is Kerry from the blog Oh So Amelia. As you’ll see in the image below, Kerry’s profile name is Kerry | Parenting & Lifestyle. She also has a rocking bio, but we’ll get onto that a little later… 

There are 37 characters for you to work with, so start customizing your profile name to reflect the key products and/or services your organization offers. 

You can read more about how to edit your profile in Pinterest’s help section. 

3 // Write an Engaging Bio

Now it’s time to make your bio really work for you. In my opinion, a great Pinterest bio includes 2 elements:

1. Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) or Mission Statement which tells your audience quickly and succinctly how your organization solves your customers' problems
2. A link to a particular course, product, email list, Facebook group, or series you’re trying to promote (use a link shortner such as Bit.ly for this). 

My homegirl Melyssa from The Nectar Collective nails this. 

4 // Verify Your Web Address

Just like your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts, you want your Pinterest profile to feature your website’s url (remember, you want to drive traffic to your site). In order to include your web address in your bio you need to verify it. Here’s step-by-step instructions.

 5 // Apply for Rich Pins

Rich Pins add more information to pins from your site (for example a summary of your post, the ingredients to your recipe, or the price of your product). They also add your site’s favicon to the pin and your website’s name. In a nutshell, they add authority to your pins.

The easiest way to enable rich pins from your WordPress site is to use the Yoast SEO plugin. To do this, navigate to Plugins in your WordPress sidebar menu, then click Add New. In the search bar in the top right of the screen search for “Yoast SEO” then click Install Now. Follow the prompts to activate the plugin. 

Now click on the Yoast plugin that appears as “SEO” in your WordPress menu, then navigate to Social. Under the Facebook tab ensure the box is ticked next to “Add Open Graph meta data”, then click save changes.

Now it’s time to head to Pinterest’s Rich Pin Validator, copy-and-paste a link from one of your post (hint: it doesn’t matter which post you choose), then click validate.

Once your pins have been validated click apply now, then select HTML tags from the 3 options that appear, then click apply now again. Now all you need to do is sit back and wait for Pinterest to approve your application (it only takes a couple of days). 

And just like that you’re on your way to having a more successful Pinterest account! Go get ‘em!

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Kate, Tell Me Tuesday's Editor, has a knack for creating amazing content for busy creatives. From recipes to life hacks, she's all about helping you lead a beautiful and creative life! 

Kate and I met on Instagram... yes, you can make solid connections on social media! She's a rockstar. Visit her blog >>

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Link Love // 2

1 // 30 Days of Instagram Ads – Live Blogging Case Study

This article is packed full of everything you'd ever need to know about running Instagram ads. From implementation to optimization to analysis, it's all here. Read now >>

2 // What the Hashflag? 

If, like me, you were scrolling through Twitter during the Super Bowl this year wondering how people had access to golden footballs and Pepsi icons, look no further. Creative Market gives the lowdown on "Hashflags" and how brands can use them during campaigns. Read now >>

3 // Pinfinite Growth

If you want to learn how to up your Pinterest game, the Pinfinite Growth Course by Melyssa Griffin at The Nectar Collective is for you. With the learnings from this amazing course, I grew my impressions from 61 TO 93,405. Crazy, right?! Sign up now >>*

4 // Journal It Up

Get creative with Brit & Co to create your own 2016 journal with this tutorial video and a free template download. Get it here >>

5 // Blog Headling Magic Tool

Blogging up a storm? If so, start using CoSchedule's headline analyzer STAT. You'll be writing witty and impactful headlines in no time. Write a headline now >>

6 // Fill Your Social Media Calendar

The fine folks over at Buffer* created a list of ways to find amazing content to fill your social media calendar and save you a ton of time. Read it now >>

7 // A Web Launch

I launched a Squarespace website for an awesome Creative Writer this month. Check it out >> 

8 // For Your Gif Searching Needs

Did you hear? Twitter launched a gif search! Read about it here >> 

9 // Lunch & Learn

The lovely creative, Jamie at Spruce Road, host a Lunch & Learn series that shouldn't be missed. But if you do, her recaps and video replays are all on her blog! Learn some easy CSS tricks for Squarespace >>

10 // Have you Netflixed (that's a word, right?) lately?

Get over there and watch Fuller House (Yes, I binged this in one weekend. It's worth it and you will cry.) and prepare for the next season of House of Cards in a few days. Get watching >>

*This post includes affiliate links. That doesn't sway my opinion in any way. If I didn't absolutely love and recommend this product, I wouldn't be sharing it with you. :)

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Squarespace is Right For You If...

You Want Low Maintenance.

Plain and simple. The awesome Squarespace features that I outline in this post all come back to this point. Squarespace is right for you if you want a website that looks good and is easy to update. It's also right for you if you don't want to worry about all of the backend stuff.

I switched this website to Squarespace last year and I've been so very pleased with it. It's right for me, and here are a bunch of reasons why.

Set Up / Maintenance

Squarespace takes care of hosting (and domains, if you want) forever. No need to purchase server space or handle maintenance. 

You don't need an app for that. E-commerce, blogs, newsletter sign-up etc. Squarespace comes with with many features out of the box, so no need to search for plug-ins. No updating plug-ins or searching the web for help if something goes buggy. And, because it's built in, there is a consistent look and feel on all pages.

There is a dedicated support team. While they won't help to adjust HTML coding, they will look at your website and try to provide a solution to the problem. On other platforms, you'll spend hours searching help forums to find someone with a similar problem or a developer to answer your question. 

The content management system is web-based and very easy to use. You'll be able to access it anywhere and easily make updates.

The price is right. For around $100 (with a domain and the lowest Squarespace package), you are all set for a year. P.S. If you're ready to start on Squarespace now, use discount code GIMME10 at checkout for 10% off. Thanks, Squarespace :) 

Design

Th templates are all very well made and designed for specific functions. You gain access to the full library and can switch easily at any time. When they add new themes, you get them. Plus, It's very easy to test drive a new theme, edit the style guide and preview before pushing anything live. 

All Squarespace templates come out of the box with a responsive design that works well on desktop, tablet and mobile devices. As you add content, the system works automatically to resize and manage multiple sizes for a flawless experience. As users continue to trend towards mobile and tablet, this is huge. Having a mobile friendly website also helps your relationship with good ol' Google.

On top of simple and beautiful themes, you're going to love cover pages. These sleek designs work well as landing pages for product launches, newsletter signups and more. 

Programming level: 1

If you know some basic HTML and CSS, it's easy to add custom code injections on pages and within your styling guide.  

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The Pinterest Course that will Rock Your World

A Case Study from 61 to 93,405 Viewers.

Last year, I started a journey to learn new skills and find my passion. My plan was to find inspiring Girl Bosses to follow and connect with, take a variety of classes on web design, branding and social media, rebrand myself and start to freelance on the side.

I wanted to put things into practice for myself before sharing and doing the work for others. So, I rebuilt my website and started to implement strategies on Twitter, Pinterest and as of late, Instagram.  

Today, I want to share with you an awesome course by The Nectar Collective that helped me take my Pinterest profile to the next level. Full disclosure, this post includes affiliate links. That doesn't sway my opinion in any way. If I didn't absolutely love and recommend this product, I wouldn't be sharing it with you. :)

It's no surprise that Melyssa at The Nectar Collective was one of the first inspiring Girl Bosses that I found. She started with brand and web design (something I'd like to dive into soon) and now hosts a blog full of amazing resources and has an amazing following. Plus, she teaches others how to be successful by employing tried and true strategies that have worked to grow her own business. 

In September, I signed up for a Social Media Super Hero webinar that Melyssa was hosting. In it, she teased about a new course that she was about to launch, Pinfinite Growth. I was an early adaptor of Pinterest, but I used it for personal reasons. I would pin a ton of things in one sitting... because it's hard to stop scrolling... and then I'd step away for a long time. This course came at the perfect time because I wanted to start using it as a tool for business, but I didn't know where to start. 

I'm not going to giveaway the goodies of the course, because it's truly worth the time to go through the lessons on your own. But, because nothing shows it better than the numbers, here is my own case study.

When I started this, I went all in. I took the class in a few hours and right after, I switched my personal account to a business account. I really made an effort to grow my presence. I won't tell you how long I spent grooming and updating my boards. I'd really be curious to find out Pinterest's average time on site! Anyway, here is a quick snapshot of how I took the learnings from Pinfinite Growth and increased my own stats. 

All data and screenshots are from September 6, 2015 through February 5, 2016. 

Average Monthly Viewers / Engaged

By creating a consistent presence, I increased my average monthly viewers and engagement by, well... a lot! When you think about Pinterest activity, people are on at various times of the day. And, if they have a big list of followers, your pins from an AM pin session will be long gone if they are checking into their feed around lunchtime. I went from 61 viewers and 1 engaged user on September 6, 2015 to 93,405 viewers and 2,387 engaged users on February 5, 2016.

Average Daily Repins / Repinners

Not only were people noticing my profile, they started engaging with the content that I shared. I went from 0 repins and repinners on September 6, 2016 to 110 repins and 24 repinners on February 5, 2016. The number is steady every day when I check my notifications. Some days are a bit higher, some are a bit lower. The point, it's fairly consistent and it's growing. 

And, they like me... 

Follower Growth

My follower growth is also consistently climbing. I hit 1K this month and I'm excited to see it continue to grow.

So, what does all of this activity mean, exactly? Well, a few things. 

1. It helps me to grow my online presence and authority.
2. It sends consistent visitors to my website and blog. (42% in January!)
3. It serves as a great, live example that I can share with clients.

I encourage you to check out Pinfinite Growth. The lessons and the community support are so worth it! And, head over to Pinterest and give me a follow. 

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How to Add Alt Text to Images in Squarespace + Why it Matters

So, what is alt image text anyway? 

Alt image text, or alternative image text is the copy that describes what the image is all about.

Why is alt text important?

1 // It helps with SEO, or search engine optimization.

Search engines have a hard time "reading" images because they are what they are. When a search engine crawls your website, it is reviewing all of the copy content to decide if your site is relevant and authoritative.

But you want images to make your site pretty, right?

Go on and add images but make sure that they all have alt text. The alt text is written in the code and is readable to search engines.

So, I can insert a photo of a cute dog yawning and make the alt text "cute dog yawning, bored with your choice of Netflix movie" so that search engines know what the image is depicting.

See...

2 // It is captured when visitors share your content on social media. 

It's all about sharable content these days. When someone shares your article, they will probably use the share buttons or hover over the image and use the pin it button. With this awesome hidden alt text, the title pre-populates with what you've already written! Sure, people can change the copy when they finalize their share, but it gives them a guide. Plus, if they don't change it, you're guaranteeing that the item has a clear description. When it's out in the social universe, people will know what your content is about. 

How to Add Alt Text to Images in Squarespace

All web platforms are a little bit different, but here is a step by step guide to add alt text to images in Squarespace. I launched this site on Squarespace last year and I've been on cloud nine with the platform. More on that later. 

Use the content block to add an image. 

Upload your file.

Make sure "caption below" is selected, for now. 

Type your caption under the image.

Note: sometimes it shows as all caps. I recommend typing it into a document or notepad and for easy copy / paste formatting. I don't recommend any captions with ALL CAPS! (Unless that's your typical style, of course.)

Change your caption settings back to "do not display caption"

Then click "apply" and you're done! 

When someone shares your content, say on Pinterest, the hidden caption shows up in the description box, like this:

That's it. Follow these quick steps and every image that you add to your Squarespace website will have alt image text that tells search engines what you're posting and shows up as a description when someone shares. 

This is the first of many tutorials that I'll be sharing on the blog. Stay tuned!

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