Pinterest is a powerful marketing tool for small businesses, especially in Houston, with over 1.5 million monthly active users. It can help you showcase your products or services, drive traffic to your website, and connect with your target audience.
However, many Houston small businesses are making common Pinterest mistakes that can negatively affect their marketing results. In this post, we’ll share the top five Pinterest mistakes that Houston small businesses make and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Not having a Pinterest business account
If you’re using Pinterest for your business, you must have a Pinterest business account. A business account gives you access to features that a personal account doesn’t, such as analytics, ads, rich pins, and more. A business account also lets you verify your website, which helps you boost your credibility and SEO.
To avoid this mistake, make sure you create a Pinterest business account or convert your existing personal account to a business account. You can do this for free by following the steps here.
Mistake #2: Not optimizing your profile and boards
Your Pinterest profile and boards are the first things that potential customers see when they visit your page. They should reflect your brand identity, value proposition, and niche. If your profile and boards are not optimized, you may miss out on attracting and engaging your ideal audience.
To avoid this mistake, make sure you optimize your profile and boards by:
- Using a clear and professional profile picture that represents your brand
- Writing a catchy and informative bio that tells people who you are, what you do, and how you can help them
- Including relevant keywords and hashtags in your bio and board names and descriptions
- Creating boards that are relevant to your niche and your audience’s interests and needs
- Organizing your boards by categories and using cover images that match your brand aesthetic
Mistake #3: Not creating and pinning high-quality content
Pinterest is a visual platform, so the quality of your content matters a lot. If your pins are low-quality, blurry, or irrelevant, they won’t stand out in the feed and they won’t get clicks or saves. This can hurt your reach, traffic, and conversions.
To avoid this mistake, make sure you create and pin high-quality content that:
- Has a vertical aspect ratio of 2:3 or 1:2.8
- Uses bright and appealing colors and images
- Has clear and readable text overlays that convey your message and value
- Has a compelling and keyword-rich title and description
- Has a call-to-action that encourages people to click or save your pin
- Links to a relevant and optimized landing page on your website
Mistake #4: Not using Pinterest SEO best practices
Pinterest is not just a social network, it’s also a search engine. That means you need to use SEO best practices to help your pins rank higher and get more exposure. If you ignore Pinterest SEO, you may lose out on a lot of organic traffic and leads.
To avoid this mistake, make sure you use Pinterest SEO best practices by:
- Doing keyword research to find out what your audience is searching for on Pinterest
- Using keywords and hashtags in your pin titles, descriptions, and image file names
- Applying for rich pins, which add extra information and features to your pins
- Pinning consistently and frequently to show Pinterest that you’re active and relevant
- Pinning to relevant and popular group boards to increase your reach and authority
Mistake #5: Not measuring and analyzing your results
One of the biggest Pinterest mistakes that Houston small businesses make is not measuring and analyzing their results. Without tracking your Pinterest performance, you won’t know what’s working and what’s not, and you won’t be able to optimize your strategy and improve your outcomes.
To avoid this mistake, make sure you measure and analyze your results by:
- Using Pinterest analytics, which shows you metrics such as impressions, clicks, saves, and more
- Using Google analytics, which shows you metrics such as traffic, bounce rate, conversions, and more
- Setting SMART goals and KPIs for your Pinterest marketing strategy
- Testing different variables, such as images, headlines, keywords, and hashtags
- Adjusting your strategy based on your data and insights
Pinterest is a great marketing platform for Houston small businesses, but only if you use it correctly. By avoiding these common Pinterest mistakes and following the tips we shared, you can use Pinterest effectively to grow your brand and reach new customers.
If you need help with your Pinterest marketing strategy, contact Tara Lynn Media today. We are a Houston-based social media management and marketing agency that specializes in helping small businesses succeed on Pinterest and other platforms. We can help you create and optimize your Pinterest account, design and pin high-quality content, and measure and analyze your results.