This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Since Pinterest has introduced the new versions of story pins and video pins, and with the recent algorithm updates, you might be left wondering whether there still value in growing a Pinterest following. In this episode with Jillian Tohber Leslie of MiloTree and Catch My Party. we’re getting the lowdown on why you still focus on growing your followers.

MiloTree is a plugin that I started using back in 2016 to help me grow my followers. This plugin is so easy to use that I managed to add it to my website while being sick in bed with the flu. In the last four years, I have grown from 4,000 to 41,000 followers on Pinterest by using MiloTree.

In this conversation with Jillian, we discuss how things are changing on Pinterest and how you can strategically weave these changes into your business. 

If you’re interested in learning more about growing your business, we’re spending this entire month talking all about strategy in The Simple Pin Collective. You can join the Collective today to take part in Pinterest marketing coaching, in real-time. 

Pinterest Followers DO Matter – Use MiloTree to Grow Yours

Building MiloTree 

Jillian has been on the podcast three times before, chatting with me about

* seasonality on Pinterest

* how to create the best Pinterest boards

* ways to get more followers on Pinterest. 

Jillian and her husband Dave depend on large volumes of site traffic to monetize their main website. Like so many bloggers, they had been using Facebook to send traffic to their site until Facebook changed its algorithm a few years back. They realized that Pinterest was driving traffic to their site without them even knowing it. 

Related: The Transition from Facebook Marketing to Pinterest Marketing

According to Jillian, follower number does matter on Pinterest because it’s a signal to the Pinterest algorithm that your page is high quality. When they realized this, Jillian’s tech-savvy husband built a simple plugin for Catch My Party the creates a pop up with a call to action for readers to follow them on Pinterest.

After installing the plugin (MiloTree), they watched their follower number grow on Pinterest. This follower growth was accompanied by an increase in traffic from Pinterest. They soon rolled out additional functionality in the MiloTree plugin to grow followings on Facebook, Youtube, email lists, etc.

Jillian and Dave have continued to improve the plugin based on the feedback they receive from their customers. For example, you can now turn off the plugin on a sales page so that nothing distracts from the call to action on the page. 

A Major Shift in Focus for the Pinterest Platform

Our creative director, Tina, attended the creators’ seminar that Pinterest recently h...