Jump to Frequently-Asked Questions
If you had a nickel for every time you’ve heard that “Content is King,” you would probably be sitting on a beach right now sipping on a drink with an umbrella in it. I get it.
And while the real story of success in marketing (and even what constitutes success) is obviously much more complicated than an overused 3-word statement, nowhere is the King of marketing (Queen of Marketing?) more powerful than on Pinterest.
Yes, your content has the power to bring in meaningful, targeted traffic from Pinterest, where over 300 million people search and discover new ideas and products every month.
The One Thing You Can Do To Increase Pinterest Traffic in 2020 is…
Create more fresh, high-quality content.
That’s it.
No tricks, no gimmicks. Just create new blog posts, new pages, new products listings, and especially, create new images for existing relevant and new posts that will inspire Pinners to engage with, save, and click on your Pins.
Fresh content works on @pinterest ! Users respond to new Pins and the algorithm loves them, so get ahead of the rest by adapting to these changes now. @tailwindapp can help. Introducing – SmartGuide! #pinterestmarketing – – Tweet this!
And while fresh content is already favored in the Pinterest algorithm, you’ll see it becoming more and more important as the year progresses. Start adapting your strategy with the advice below and we’ll be with you all the way with new resources, webinars, tools, and more!
Ideally, you’ll create at least a few new pieces of content to save to Pinterest every single week. Pinterest wants to keep the platform fresh and exciting for users, and to that end, they’re favoring content Creators who regularly contribute great, fresh content.
Over the course of developing updated recommendations, we’ve had the pleasure of working with several key players at Pinterest, including Lucy Matthews, Programs Partnership Manager. She joined me and Tailwind CEO Daniel Maloney to talk about the official Pinterest recommendations for optimal content distribution on Pinterest. Have a watch, or keep reading for the highlights
What is Fresh Content on Pinterest?
The easiest way to think about it is that new images count as fresh Pins. The Pin can link to a blog post, product listing, or a page on your website that already has Pins linking to that url; as long as it’s a new image it will count as fresh content.
What if I just rewrite the Pin description or title – or use different hashtags? Is that “fresh”?
It’s ok to test new approaches to copywriting this way, but that alone would not qualify as “fresh.”
How different does an image have to be in order to be “fresh”?
Is a filter or different text overlay sufficient? What about just moving the background image a few pixels?
The threshold will change over time, but making minor tweaks (i.e. moving a background image a few pixels) is NOT the spirit of this. A/B testing different background images or text overlays seems like a valid strategy.
Focus on creating unique images that are helpful and inspiring to Pinners. Give them a new focus, a new angle, or a new story. The better you are at that, the more future-proof your process and strategy will be.
One great way to generate several Fresh Pins would be by trying to create many versions of a Pin for your content by recreating it in meaningful ways. For example, if you had written a blog post about how to “create a DIY Towel Ladder in 4 steps”, each of the images below would be great alternatives to create more Fresh Pins. Notice the different angles, text on image, and focus on the items in the room:
Remember: the key is that the image must be new and fresh to Pinners! So use your best judgment and don’t try to make minor imperceptible changes to try to “fool” Pinterest into thinking that it’s a Fresh Pin. If you have to look really hard to see what’s different about one Image from another, that’s probably a good sign that you need to make some more meaningful changes.
What is FRESH content on @pinterest? Simple: An image that’s new! A new angle, a different zoom, meaningful changes will drive more distribution and traffic. Get the official scoop and see how @tailwindapp SmartGuide can help you Pin smarter. #pinterestmarketing – Tweet this!
No time to blog every day? Create a new image (or two) for a still-relevant post and share it to Pinterest to give your content new life!
What are the benefits of sharing more fresh content? Is fresh content performing better?
The Pinterest algorithm values recency (freshness) and relevance as key factors.
That means that more recent, more relevant content will be distributed more (and reach larger audiences) in places like the Home Feed and Search results in comparison to less relevant or stale content.
Is there a disadvantage to sharing the same Pin image again?
Duplicate content will be distributed less or be seen by smaller audiences compared to fresher content, assuming equal relevance. However, there are legitimate and natural cases where it makes sense to reshare a Pin – for example, relevant seasonal content or periodic evergreen content.
Accounts that share far too much duplicate content could see suspension or penalties, although many factors impact those spam fighting algorithms.
How much duplicate content is “too much”?
Pinterest hasn’t and likely will not publish exact guidelines.
That said, Pinterest works with Partners like us to help make sure that the products you rely on guide you toward best practices and away from outdated or poor practices. SmartGuide is a good example of how we’ll be able to help you stay in line with good practices
SmartGuide was developed using the latest recommendations from Pinterest. As an approved partner tool, we have been working on communicating these new best practices directly with Pinterest and are baking them into a new free feature called SmartGuide.
SmartGuide (in your dashboard now!) has already begun monitoring your Pinning volume, alerting you where action is needed, and helping you adjust your Pinterest marketing for optimal distribution. Over time, you’ll start to notice more and more guidance in your Tailwind dashboard, including additional best practices and recommendations to increase your reach.
SmartGuide will be rolling out in waves in the coming weeks. The vast majority of Tailwind members who have SmartGuide enabled and are publishing a healthy volume of Pins will see our SmartGuide “All Clear” badge, like this:
What if I have been sharing duplicate Pins and am still seeing success (although maybe not as much as before)?
Isn’t any incremental traffic better than nothing?
Some duplication is natural, but in the long run, you’ll best maximize reach by focusing your time and energy on generating more relevant and fresh content for Pinners.
Will my older content no longer surface on Pinterest?
I’ve gotten used to my content living longer on Pinterest than anywhere else!
Not to fear! Pins are still evergreen on Pinterest. Invest in fresh content and be thoughtful about their creation strategy, only repinning content that is truly valuable and relevant to users. Pins will still live on as evergreen content on the platform, nothing is changing there. As we work to ensure the best Pinner experience, you and your followers will ALSO notice a variety of fresh content to engage with.
Can we use the same Pin description and Pin title for the piece of content but just refresh the image? Or do I need a new title and description as well?
Try different titles and descriptions to see what works best and then use analytics to verify this. Look into trends and think more carefully about how you want to position your content to capitalize on search behaviors or seasonal moments.
As you are making new images, it’s likely that you’ll emphasize certain aspects of your product or service more in some images than in others, so naturally you’ll want to change the title and description. However the “fresh” part of the content is the new image itself.
Keep in mind that titles and descriptions that don’t accurately reflect an image or landing page experience are less valuable to Pinners and will not perform as well on the platform.
Here’s how you could use SEO and a different image with different title, description and Board to get the most out of your content:
First Pin:
Title: 4-Step Copper Towel Ladder – Easy Decorating Project
Description: A swoon-worthy copper ladder in 4 easy steps? Yes, please! Beautiful and functional for displaying towels and blankets, you’ll save a bundle by making it yourself. We’ll walk you through the whole thing and even tell you where to get the best deals on the simple supplies needed. Decorating is way more fun (and affordable) when you can do it yourself! #towelladder #easydecoratingproject
Board: Easy Decorating Projects
Second Pin:
Title: Make a Copper Towel Ladder! DIY Decor
Description: If you’ve had your eye on a pricey copper towel and blanket ladder (THE home decor trend of the season), but couldn’t justify the spend, why not just DIY!? It’s easier than you thought – and we’ll walk you through it step by step. We made this one for under $40! #diyblanketladder #diyhomedecor
Board: DIY Home Decor
Is a new blog post, page, or product with a fresh image going to give me more distribution than making fresh images for older, equally relevant content?
While Pinterest does not necessarily give preference to newer links; newer Pins likely feature content that is more timely and relevant and hence more likely to be useful for users.
What is Tailwind doing to help people implement these best practices?
Introducing SmartGuide!
Smartguide is now available for all Tailwind Plus members! It helps members evolve their own marketing to take advantage of the latest Pinning practices for best results – not only now, but in the future as well.
Best practices will continue to evolve and change, but SmartGuide will be there to clearly and proactively bring awareness and actionable insights to you as things change.
We’re already monitoring all accounts and you might notice in-app messages to alert you to possible risky behavior and easy fixes to maintain a healthy queue. SmartLoop, which has from the start incorporated best practices from Pinterest to make sure Pins aren’t repeated too frequently, also now includes updated guidelines.
Over time, SmartGuide will continue to keep you up to date with the latest best practices on Pinterest (we’ll continue working closely with them as Partners!). We’ll keep on providing updated, easy, actionable recommendations on how to improve your strategy, maintain healthy Pinning habits, and make the most out of your Pinterest activity.
Assistance with Pinterest Content Creation
We’re working on ways to help people to create more fresh and relevant content. Early changes there will begin rolling out as soon as next month, but it’s a significant area of investment for us that will be continuing throughout 2020 and beyond. Stay tuned!
Frequently-Asked Questions
- What is a Fresh Pin? Is a new image enough to make a Pin “Fresh” – or do I need a new URL, title, and description?
- Can I ever share the same Pin image to the same Board more than once?
- Can I still save one Pin image to multiple relevant Boards?
- Is SmartLoop still relevant?
- Is it impossible for me to Pin more than 25 or 50 times in one day?
- Should I still use Tailwind Communities?
- Help! Every Time I’ve Pinned less, my results have suffered!
- More Best Practices FAQ here.
- Do I need to worry about sharing two Pins to the same content too close together?
- If I save a Pin for the first time to a SECRET Board, when I save it to a public Board after that, is that a Fresh Pin?
- How can I make a video Pin “Fresh”? Can I update the cover image and have it be seen as new?
What is a “Fresh” Pin? Is a new image enough to make a Pin “fresh” – or do I need a new URL, title, and description, too?
A new image makes a fresh Pin. Period.
When you create a new image, the focus of the image may change, so you may WANT to change the title and description, but it is not a requirement.
New URLs (posts, pages, and products) are great, but are not prioritized over new images on the platform. So, go ahead and make new images for older, still-relevant content!
Does this mean I can never share the same Pin to the same Board more than once?
No. There is definitely a natural rate of duplication of Pins and some very legitimate cases for resharing. For example, you can share timely, seasonal Pins once or twice a year, surfacing content when it’s most relevant, meaning more engagement and traffic for you! SmartLoop always has been and always will be built to enable this kind of healthy resharing, with recommendations being updated as needed.
As often as possible, and for best distribution and traffic generation, create new images to support resharing a link.
Can I still save Pins to all relevant Boards?
Saving a Pin to the most relevant Boards (usually no more than 10) is more important today than ever. Doing so gives Pinterest a lot of helpful signals to let us know what the Pin is about and who it might be most relevant to.
If saving to many Boards, it would be most impactful to use as many unique images as possible across those Boards.
What does this mean for Tailwind SmartLoop?
Tailwind SmartLoop is an effective tool for resharing your content without relying on tedious spreadsheets or randomly resharing when it comes to mind – both of which methods could have you resharing too often. When might you benefit from resharing content to Pinterest?
The best use cases for resharing the same Pin to the same Board are:
- Sharing timely seasonal Pins once or twice a year. This can surface seasonal content when it’s most relevant, meaning more engagement and distribution for the content people are ready to act on now.
- To engage new followers. Once or twice a year, you can save the same Pin to the same Board to surface it in the following tab of your newer audience members.
If you’ve altered the overall duration in the Advanced Loop Settings, we encourage you to revert to the recommended settings which are designed to reshare at healthy intervals and update with best practices as they change. Here’s how to edit those settings.
Monitor your loops regularly and create fresh content for your best performing Pins.
SmartLoop is designed to help you get the most from the content you’ve worked hard to create as well as identify the best opportunities to refresh your Pins.
Instead of resurfacing the exact same pins, it would be even better to update the Pins in some way to make them more seasonally relevant, or try a slightly different spin. This will lead to better distribution and more engagement!
SmartLoop makes it easy to spot these opportunities to improve your account:
- Remove Pins that are past their shelf life or no longer relevant
- Experiment with new images for Pins that haven’t performed well
- Refresh images for Pins that are your best performers
Using SmartLoop as intended will not cause you to be suspended. We are constantly updating the Loop recommendations in partnership with Pinterest. To update your existing Loops to incorporate the newest best practices, edit a Loop, and when you get to the set schedule step, select either YOUR CORE CONTENT or NICHE TOPIC. If you had previously selected one of these options, you’ll be able to refresh your settings here.
The focus of upcoming SmartLoop enhancements will be to enable Creators to make the most of their content library with new insights into content opportunities.
When in doubt, think about and emulate the way a regular Pinterest user Pins. They may incidentally Pin the same content to the same Board more than once, but it’s not usually in quick succession – and there are usually other Pins saved in between. Though you’re marketing a business on Pinterest, make it a matter of personal policy to always Pin like a Pinterest user.
Is it impossible for me to Pin more than 25 or 50 times in one day?
Not at all! We’ve stated in various places that many of our successful members Pin around 15-25 times per day. However, the optimal number is different for everyone and you should adjust your schedule as is appropriate for YOU.
For some Pinners, scheduling 15 times per day might be more than needed and for others with a large volume of content or many images to share, 40 might not be enough! What works best is as unique as you are.
If you still want to Pin at substantially higher levels than recommended, and you’re comfortable with the risks and potential for decreased distribution, you’ll be able to relax SmartGuide’s Spam Safeguard when it makes sense to Pin more than 50 times per day, and continue to have full control of your Pinning strategy.
With the emphasis on “fresh” content, can I still use Tailwind Communities?
Yes! Communities remains a great way to connect with peers who share your interests! Just remember to use it judiciously by authentically sharing content you’d want to save.
Like your own audience, Community Members will most appreciate when you share your latest, fresh content rather than Pins they’ve seen in the past.
Many people enjoy sharing other people’s content because:
- Their audience may enjoy it.
- They want to support another business owner by sharing content.
- They want to save it to read it later themselves!
Just keep your sharing natural – Pin like a regular Pinner would!
Help! Any time I’ve Pinned less, my results have suffered!
Pinterest is directly calling out that this is a change from the past. We understand their skepticism based on what has worked historically, but Pinterest is giving us all a heads up that what works has changed and is changing.
Do I need to worry about sharing two Pins to the same content too close together?
Example: I have 5 images for one article, can I share them out (to the same Board even) on the same day, or should I spread them out?
As long as the images are distinct (meaning they look noticeably different), it’s fine to share them out the same day, but be mindful of how this might look to your followers in the following tab.
If I save a Pin for the first time to a SECRET Board, when I save it to a public Board after that, is that a Fresh Pin?
No. That Pin would no longer be considered fresh. If this was part of your workflow previously, you might want to instead upload all your images to Drafts in Tailwind.
Return to FAQ
How can I make a video Pin “Fresh”? Can I update the cover image and have it be seen as new?
You would need to upload an entirely new video. A new cover image would not make it fresh. Remember that video content is harder for most creators to make than static images, so there is less competition amongst quality video Pins.
Return to FAQ
Didn’t find your question answered here? Please contact us through the dashboard or email help(at)tailwindapp.com. We’re happy to help.
In Conclusion: What’s the ONE Thing You Can Do to Increase Pinterest Traffic in 2020?
Give your audience on Pinterest plenty of fresh, inspiring content. Whether that means creating a new page, post, or product – or just making a new image (or two!) to give your existing content new life – when paired with a keyword-rich title and description and saved to a relevant Board gives Pinterest a reason to reward you with more and more traffic to your site.
It’s not often we get a heads up on upcoming algorithm changes. Getting ahead of upcoming changes gives us all an early-adopter advantage. Let’s not squander this one! 🙂
Schedule something new today – get a free trial of Tailwind for Pinterest.
Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you! You can also check out our Pinterest best practices FAQ.
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