Because I spend a lot of my time helping people build their businesses and brands online on Pinterest, both because we can never stop learning, and out of personal curiosity I therefore spend a lot of time reading other people's advice on the topic.
And do you know what? The single biggest piece of bad advice I read over and over again is to stick to your niche. By itself, in general, I don't have a problem with this. However, it is at this point most guides go on to elaborate that this means only posting content that is directly applicable to what you do. Take this advice too literally, and you've got your whole Pinterest strategy wrong.
I've always understood this concept, but it was not until it came up at the Pinterest influencer conference I was speaking at in London a few years ago was I able to put it into words: Pinterest is a cross section of your creative brain.
Let us unpack this for a moment. You may design beautiful ceramics, but you yourself are a bowl. You don't just want to create boards that show ceramics, but with recipe ideas that could be served in your bowls, table settings your bowls would look beautiful in. You're a fashion blogger who has a classic, sophisticated style. You are not just the clothes you wear; you have a certain aesthetic that extends to the makeup and hair styles you favour, the places you want to go on holiday, and again the recipes you'd like to make. Pinterest is about building a whole picture around your brand, not just promoting your products.
Glendon Studios does not have a Pinterest page; we use a board on mine instead sharing online business tips. However, if it did, it would be a mistake to give just those tips. We would not be giving a sense of our brand, just information which is a finite resource. We'd also include lifestyle boards, with food, travel and fashion, which would give an idea of the sort of people we are, and will help potential clients know if we'd be a good fit for their brand. If a brand or an influencer I'm working with is rooted in a certain location, I always suggest a board to highlight that. A stationary shop based in Venice Beach would be missing a step in showing who they are without a Southern California location board; I have English Countryside, London, France and California boards on my personal page as they're all places that make up my personal and stylistic identity.
Obviously there are a few exceptions to this. If you run a website that shares healthy vegan recipes your boards should always be vegan friendly; try branding out a little, into vegan fashion, beauty and travel, if those are also things you are interested in. They'll help your followers get an idea of who you are, and these are most likely things they will be interested in too.
Pinterest is a place to really let people know who you are and what you represent, as well as to promote your products and content. You're not just defined by what you're trying to promote, so why should your boards be?
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