Pinterest is my favorite social media platform. Well. My favorite for TRAFFIC. As an introvert, it's also my favorite because I DON'T HAVE TO TALK TO PEOPLE THERE. Pinterest is actually more search engine than social platform. Surprised? This interview with Alex Evjen from AVE Styles is going to give you Pinterest best practices so you can use the platform like a pro to drive traffic. 

 Connect with Alex!

Find her on her blog, Pinterest, or Instagram. If you gel with her style, she also has some fabulous (and affordable) classes! I'm an affiliate for them (and you KNOW I'm only an affiliate if I love things, right?) if you want to dive deeper with Alex after this interview! Browse her Pinterest classes to see if one suits your current needs. 

Pinterest Best Practices

Alex was an early adopter, using the platform for her personal stylist business. She was able to replace bulky binders of magazine clippings with a simple, easy-to-use digital format of Pinterest. As an avid user, she gained the attention of Pinterest's founder and has actually been invited TO Pinterest headquarters where she has received training on Pinterest best practices. Who better to share with us today? 

Tips for Using Pinterest

• Be a great content curator. Share content from other people that lines up with your overall brand. Pin what you love and are genuinely interested in. 
• Being a curator establishes you as an expert. 
• Be an early adopter! Pinterest isn't new, but it is rolling out new things like VIDEO. When you get on board with a platform's new direction, that platform often gives back to you. 
• Even though there are some great tools and schedulers, you should log into the Pinterest platform daily and interact. 
• Alex repins 90% from other people and 10% from her own site. (That 10% includes repinning her pins that are from her site, not just pinning from her site directly.)
• Use rich pins. This means that Pinterest has approved your site and knows it's legit. It helps your pins show up higher in search. 

Interaction on Pinterest looks like: repinning content mostly. Likes and comments can actually help, but most people don't do them. 

Tip: Power Pins are made up of comments, clicks, and repins. They are pins with a lot of engagement. What's Working Right NOW on Pinterest

• Don't hate the algorithm! It helps bring up the best content and doesn't favor the power pinners like Alex with millions of followers. 
• Older pins have years or months of engagement, so those pins may surface higher. Don't delete your old pins! Give them time to grow. 
• Create evergreen content that won't become obsolete in years to come. 
• Seasonal content does do well, but 
• The half-life of a pin is 30 days, but the full life of a pin is well over a year. This means you won't see the full potential for over a year and that you should be pinning time-relative content 30 or more days out. 
• You want content that's attainable and actually will help someone. 
• Your descriptions should contain keywords and robust descriptions. Think of what people will search for. Describe what's in the photo and maybe add how someone could use the thing or a context in which it might be used. 
• Board covers now show your latest activity, so you need to make sure you are pinning great images so that your board covers will show the things that are the aesthetic of your brand. 
• Every pin should be a quality pin that is an extension of your brand. 

An Argument for Fewer Boards

• People are more likely to follow ALL of your Pinterest board if you have fewer. 
• If Pinterest sees that your boards are active, Pinterest is more likely to recommend them and have them show up in the algorithm. 
• The algorithm scores your profile. Dead, inactive boards hurt you. 
• Don't delete boards because that could get rid of followers. Repin those pins to other boards. Check analytics to see how many people follow those boards. (Tailwind is an approved third-party app that can help with that.) 
• You CAN move a board to secret, but that will take away the followers. 

"No more short term strategy on Pinterest. You have to think long term." -Alex Evjen Alex's Pinning Workflow

She logs in daily and uses Pinterest itself, not a scheduling tool.

Her perfect number of pins/repins is around 25 a day. 

She shares 90% of other people's content and 10% her own.

A Note about Group Boards

If you are on boards that are just made up of bloggers pinning their own and each other's content, Pinterest KNOWS. These kinds of boards are having their content pushed down. It can hurt you to be on these boards and the boards can even be shut down. 

Group boards are supposed to be collaborative and share great content, not a way for bloggers to game the system. Consider your group boards and how people behave. If your traffic is dependent on this traffic, then beware because this is not going to last.

About Alex's Classes

She has four classes (or a package of all) that are affordable and deal with creating the perfect pin, how to create a strong business profile, driving traffic to your blog, and how to grow your following. Find her classes through my affiliate link HERE.