As Pinterest changes, we keep hearing from bloggers that Pinterest doesn’t care about them. This also coincides with all the changes across digital marketing in general, which includes more time keeping users on the platform.
Is it that Pinterest doesn’t care about bloggers or more that they are trying to remain relevant to the digital marketing environment and what Gen Z is looking for as the emerging digital generation?
Does pinterest still work for bloggers?
What are we seeing bloggers say?
- They are frustrated with not being considered eCommerce since they don’t sell stuff
- The “new” Pinterest is making their traffic drop because they’re prioritizing Idea Pins that don’t link
- They want to quit Pinterest because it’s much harder. What are they supposed to do?
- Does Pinterest even care about bloggers?
- They’re no longer going to create free content for Pinterest.
So why did we want to record this to address this episode?
Pinterest implemented a lot of changes last year. Yes, it does seem more difficult for bloggers, however Pinterest wants this “new” Pinterest to work. We’ve seen creators work with Pinterest in these changes (who are bloggers, not eCommerce) and see reward!
Times are changing – we have to be everywhere. Marketing is harder and more exhausting than it used to be. Pinterest was a place that felt easier and now it feels harder.
Pinterest is keeping up with the flow of change. They see the writing on the wall of short form video and consumer habit.
There’s no way around this change. We understand and see it but…. this is how we see it changing and how it can be an advantage to your business.
tips for using pinterest marketing as a blogger
Diversify your income stream. No longer can we, as pure bloggers, expect to generate income solely from our websites.
Think Gen Z. Where are they? How are they learning? As teens and young adults, we searched Pinterest for a “how-to” and then clicked on the pin for more. Have you been on Tik Tok? We’re literally learning from the app. We’ve heard young ones say many times, “I learned this ____ on Tik Tok.
Think about income into your business in a new way – We need to start seeing these platforms as another way to “get paid”. (see: Pinterest Creator Rewards)
We also need to see (and use) the platform for brand awareness, authority building, AND traffic driver… yes, “regular” pins still work. Don’t give up on regular pins, or on your audience who is still over there.
Last, really think about why you want to use Pinterest. How is it important to your brand awareness, income stream, and business growth.
In reality, we should do this with all the platforms we choose to use. Then we know why we’re using it.
Pinterest isn’t going back to the way it was before. There isn’t a platform out there that will ever stay the same. They are going to make changes and adjust based on where they see the industry going. That’s the same thing you have to do for your business.
We’d love to hear from you! What are your thoughts here? Leave a comment on this post or DM us on Instagram.
For Further Listening/Reading:
- Is Pinterest social media?
- Organic Kickstart Package – One-on-one personalized strategy for bloggers using Pinterest
- Is Pinterest still relevant?
- How to evaluate your Pinterest marketing strategy
- Simple Pin Live Workshops – Grab your spot in our next training!
Facebook and Instagram both give you the option to link to your content. Idea pins really needs to give the possibly to link to bloggers content. I have heard of many that feel like Pinterest isn’t what it was and it’s harder to save content for the end user. I have seen that they do not understand how to get back to the recipe and therefore refuse to use idea pins. I can’t see how this would be helpful to a blogger and with the idea pins I have done they don’t bring in clicks to my website at all. They get high views but those view don’t translate to my website. Why would I put all that work into an idea pin for zero results? I have been blogging 12 years. Bloggers put a lot of time and effort into Pinterest and it helped them grow their platform to where it is today. Changes are good but they need to make sure your not leaving the people that put you on the map behind. I don’t do Instagram reels so I see no relevance between reels and idea pins. I see more relevance between stories on Instagram and Facebook of which have a way to link out for the blogger.
This was a very helpful discussion. I have been feeling exactly this way.
I think one contributing reason that bloggers like me are more willing to try new things on Instagram is because it’s inherently a more truly “social” platform than Pinterest …it feels more like real people than Pinterest because it allows long, often personal editorial stories that people include with static images and videos. Pinterest descriptions, in contrast, are purely functional and heavily keyworded.
And the usability of making Idea Pins is terrible, especially compare with user-friendly creation tools like Canva. I mean, if Pinterest emulated the ease-of-use of Canva then sure, I’ll enjoy making Idea Pins. But right now, it’s a slog. My day job is user experience so it’s extra disappointing to me that Pinterest expects bloggers to embrace Idea Pins when their user interface is sub-par.
Thanks for sharing your perspective Kathy. Here’s hoping that Pinterest will continue to make improvements to the design tools it provides for idea pin creation
Thanks for this interesting Podcast!
As a blogger in a niche market (mid century vintage topics), I have thrived on Pinterest in the days before all the changes. So yes just like many I was hit HARD by the new updates. But I do marketing for a living so I knew just like you said to adapt with the times. So I have been running with the Idea Pins (a couple of them just hit 10,000 impressions which Pinterest applauded me for). I have encouraged users to visit my blog as my call to action at the end of the idea pins. I have gained new followers (I’m sitting at over 10,000 and growing and inching up to 1 million monthly views) and my pin engagements are up.
Now the click thru’s are not there from the Idea Pins as we already know but I love that it will remain on the platform for years to come and someone might just type in my web address or click on a static pin. Plus that brand awareness and of course the authority building (also mentioned in the podcast) is very important.
Yes I wish idea Pins went to my website, but I’m making due with what I’m given.
I also utilize Pinterest trends (their report and their trend website) if the can be changed to have a vintage twist and I have seen a pickup in click thru’s & saves to my content doing this. So I guess the takeaway on this strategy is “how can you take something like a trend and make it work for your brand?” Not a guarantee to work but it has helped for my blog.
My static pins new and old (especially older) are still making the rounds and be seen, saved and clicked thru so while I’m working harder then I did before, I still 100% believe that this is where I need to be.
Once again thanks for this helpful podcast today.
Bravo for embracing the change and figuring out how to adapt in ways that work for your business. I love your savvy use of Pinterest trends!