Quick tip 7: Pinterest: How to inject your brand into your boards and get noticed!

​First up, if you haven’t already checked out Part One (The Writer's Best Friend) and Part Two (Do it once, do it right) of this series, click the links! There are some fantastic tips there for new or existing Pinterest users.
​I am also not being paid by anyone to write this post, I’m doing it purely because I value Pinterest as a tool for writers – they have not approached me for endorsement.

​Beyond your profile, how can you inject personality into your Pinterest account? What strategies can you use to make your account and pins instantly recognisable, and why is that important. In this Quick Tip post I’ll give you some simple, but effective ideas to make your mark as a Pinterest user.

I make no secret of my love for Pinterest, and before I say anything more, I need to be clear that I have not been approached by anyone from Pinterest, and I’m not being paid for writing about it; I’m doing my bit to help other writers (or creatives), it’s as simple as that.

​As an author or business person on Pinterest, the one thing you want above all else is to be recognisable – to STAND OUT. In my last Quick Tip post I discussed setting up your profile, specifically your bio, username, and image, and I briefly mentioned board cover images and descriptions. This post relates directly to them.
What learning is how to inject the ‘flavour’ of you and your writing (or business) into your account and become immediately recognisable as YOU. If you haven’t considered it yet, I strongly urge you to create a brand for your business (you can see mine all over this website AND my Pinterest account). I suggest you do this early, as this is one of the most striking ways to make yourself visible and identifiable – think colour, font, a logo, or consistent imaging. DO YOUR RESEARCH – there’s more to branding than simply popping your name on something – it’s a chance to create a striking, instantly appealing signature that is yours alone (for more on this, try my Promotion Board on Pinterest).
The basic anatomy of your Pinterest account is: your bio, your boards (very much like a folder), sections (like dividers in your folder), and pins (the items you place under each divided section). You can also make an image from each board the ‘board cover image,’ this is the highlighted image that stays at the front no matter how many pins you add to the board. You give each board a title, and you’re given a limited number of characters to describe each board.
So, how in this limited space, can you show your brand and personality? The key is to be consistent, concise, and clever.

You can check out my account for examples here!

As I discussed last Quick Tip, I group my boards by type: About me, Business boards, Reading boards, and Writing boards. My first strategy here is alphabetisation (Pinterest organises boards and sections alphabetically by default, and I’ve tried to safeguard my organisation by running with that (so it won’t matter too much if Pinterest, for whatever reason, lists differently on different devices). My second strategy is COVER IMAGE. This is potentially the bigger attention grabber because this is where you can showcase your brand on each image and employ colour to clearly define the group your boards belong to. You can add text to these images to further explain what they’re about without having to click to get board description.
When you’re entering the description for these boards, write a concise essence of what the board is about, then add hashtags that will lead potential viewers right to your boards (viewers can search hashtags and all the boards with those hashtags included will come up – you want your board to be on that list!). I always include my specific hashtags #emilylarkins and #emilylarkinsauthor, as well as #amwriting on writing boards #amreading on reading boards and #businesstools on my business boards. Do some research, and try to anticipate what your potential viewers might search for, like #shortstorytools on a board for short story writing. I aim for a 50:50 balance of description and hashtags in the allowed character limit.
Once your board is cleverly named and described, use your cover images to your advantage. Sticking with the default is fine, but risks your account looking generic. Board covers are a massive opportunity to make your account stand out. It’s where you can get clever: using Canva (this is the site I use) or a similar image creation site, design your own cover images that include: the name of the board, a one sentence description of what it’s about, always include your website address, and/or your name, AND use your brand colours and logo if you have one. I also include my profile image. Cover images can be a real asset to your Pinterest account, and you can set the pin address to redirect straight to that board so when a viewer clicks on the image, it takes them to that board. Viewers can then save your board cover image right to their own boards, and when they click on that image it takes them straight to your board! Alternately, whatever pin you create can link directly to any web address you like, so it can link to your website, book purchase pages, and so on, so lead your viewers to YOU.

To go a step further, create multiple pins of your own and place them in your boards – use your branding, include your website or logo on every pin you create, or create your own hashtags (just check they’re not already in use by someone else by searching first) - I use #promptsbyemily for the writing prompts I have created. Wherever possible, lead people straight to YOU with original content!
Happy creating!

Do you have more ideas on how to inject your brand into your Pinterest boards? If so, please share them in the comments!