Are you close to quitting Pinterest because it feels like you’re wasting your time without getting anything (or very little) in return? Or maybe you’re only getting started with Pinterest & want to avoid common pitfalls.
Either way, here are five common reasons service providers like you struggle to Pinterest (yes, we’re using it as a verb now) and attract their ideal clients!
5 Pinterest Mistakes Stopping Your From Attracting Your Target Clients
1. You started without a Pinterest strategy
If you don’t think your Pinterest marketing through, you focus on the wrong things and move in the wrong direction.
In very broad terms, your strategy explains what your long-term Pinterest goal is and how you’re going to get there. Then you’ll be able to reverse engineer your way to that goal using actionable tactics.
Here’s an example.
Getting clients from Pinterest (which you undoubtedly want) is a strategy.
Researching niche keywords, plugging these keywords into your board titles, creating five new pins every week, rotating your own pins with Tailwind SmartLoop, optimizing your website’s visitor journey, etc. are all tactics that get you closer to that goal.
Strategy and tactics are intertwined, they depend on each other. One without the other slows down your progress. That said, the common mistake is to start with tactics and dismiss strategy altogether.
A sign you don’t have a strategy is feeling overwhelmed, confused, and not knowing the best course of action. Without a strategy, you lack clarity.
You’ll show up best if you have clarity in your purpose, goals, message, and audience. Pinning without a strategy leads to mixed messages, attracting the wrong audience, wasting time on things that don’t move the needle, and no results.
The way you set up your Pinterest business account and the methods you use to grow your business with Pinterest need to be rooted in strategy.
- Why are you using Pinterest?
- What specific goals do you want to achieve? When do I want to achieve them?
- Who is your ideal client and how is she using Pinterest?
- What search phrases is she using?
- How can I help my ideal clients on Pinterest?
Creating a strategy gives you clarity, so you know what to do next and how to stay on track.
2. Not using keywords
If you’re not using keywords with intention, you’re likely leaving a lot of reach, engagement, traffic, and conversions on the table.
Keywords are essential to getting visible on Pinterest.
You can have the most binge-worthy content in the industry, but unless you have invested some thought into using keywords, you’re going to have trouble getting Pinterest to work for you because your people simply can’t find you.
Pinterest uses keywords to categorize and pull up relevant content as search results.
Write keywords on your board and pin titles and descriptions to help Pinterest make your content visible and findable.
The good news is that your ideal client is already on Pinterest looking for a solution to her problem – all you need to do is to keyword your content correctly on Pinterest so the two of you can finally meet!
Using keywords gets better results if you deeply understand your audience and research your keywords using the search bar.
And hey, sometimes you have to take off your expert goggles and put on the glasses that let you see the world through your client’s eyes!
3. Not creating original content
If you don’t create content for your business and struggle to make Pinterest work for you, content (or lack thereof) is one of your culprits.
Growing your Pinterest presence without original content is very difficult and time-consuming, and I never recommend it to service-based businesses. There’s no point.
Content is a pillar of your service-based business: it educates, inspires, and draws the audience in.
No matter where you market your business, content is always part of the equation.
Here’s your mantra for Pinterest marketing in 2022 and beyond: Less curation, more creation. It’s all about what you have to share with your audience!
Regular pins, Idea Pins, Video Pins – the choice is yours.
If you think about it, focusing on your content makes all the sense because you’re sending traffic to your website (which I hope is the hub of your business).
4. Being inconsistent
Hopping from one thing to another, getting distracted by shiny objects (e.g., a new strategy for tripling your traffic), expecting results yesterday – these are all symptoms of inconsistency and the fact that you haven’t thought things out before jumping into action.
This is a common error among service providers who spend most of their time keeping up with Instagram, and Pinterest is simply not a priority.
If you want your target clients to find you on Pinterest, you need to find the time to put yourself out there with your best content.
Recommended reading: How to Schedule Pins to Pinterest for Free
Inconsistency is considered a common Pinterest mistake for a good reason: the fruits of the work you put into Pinterest today show up days, weeks, or months down the line. Pinterest is a search engine, so approach it like you would with Google.
Know what you want to achieve, have an action plan, and stick to it. Pinterest growth comes from strategic and consistent action.
But what does it mean to be consistent with Pinterest?
- Your strategy and marketing plan dictate how and when you show up on Pinterest, and you follow it.
- You have done the research and know which keywords to use where.
- You add fresh pins regularly.
- You use a scheduling tool such as Tailwind to automate your Pinterest schedule so you can show up regularly.
- You create images using custom-designed and branded templates, so they look like an extension of your brand and cultivate brand recognition.
Most importantly, you don’t wing your Pinterest marketing. You know what you’re on Pinterest for, and you’re taking thoughtful action to reach your clients and your goals.
5. You don’t capture traffic
You’ve worked so hard to attract your ideal client and she finally clicked through to your website, only to drop off soon without taking any action.
Want your ideal clients to sign up on your website or book your services?
Before you wish for more traffic, optimize to convert the traffic you already have.
Pinterest doesn’t sell your services, you do. Even better, a properly optimized website will do half of the work for you.
If you get traffic from Pinterest, and it’s not translating into business, think about how you can better capture the traffic in light of your goals.
At the very least, review your website with the following questions in mind.
- Does every page on your website serve a specific goal?
- Is the visitor guided through your website with appropriate call-to-actions?
- Do you have a system for capturing visitors’ email addresses?
- Have you installed opt-in forms in different places?
- Are you making it easy for your audience to book your services?
- What happens when visitors scroll to the bottom of the page – is it a dead-end or an invitation to spend more time on your website?
When it comes to traffic, it takes a lot less than you think to grow your business.
You don’t need 10K page views to grow your list with ideal clients who find value in what you have to say.
Don’t let traffic become a big blur. Zoom out a bit to see the bigger picture! Even if Pinterest currently sends 5 people to your website every day, you can do your best to optimize your website for conversions and still get regular signups.
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