Ever wondered what the Pinterest algorithm prioritizes? Or maybe you’re curious about what it’s like to be a Pinterest manager. Or what it’s like to hire a Pinterest manager. If curious about any of that — or about Pinterest in general — you’re in the right place!

After interviewing SEO expert Lily Rancatore last year, I decided that it would be cool to continue the fun and begin a new series over here on the BTL blog, Expert Interview. Once a month (ish), I’ll be interviewing a different expert from somewhere around the Marketing world to provide you guys with as much knowledge as possible. We’re kicking this year off strong with a good one: Sarah Burk, Pinterest Princess!

Just kidding, she’d never call herself that. I was trying to include an alliteration and it didnt’ really work. She is worthy of the title, though. Sarah is a tripple-whammy, falling under three different categories as a resident expert: Pinterest, SEO, and blogging. Today, though, she’ll be gracing us with her knowledge of all things PINTEREST. As my Pinterest manager (yes, full credit to her for 99% of the beauty that lives on my Pinterest), I knew I wanted to invite her over to BTL to answer all of your (your meaning my Instagram followers and members of the Facebook groups I’m in) questions about how to succeed on our generation’s favorite social-media-turned-search-engine.

First things first, a little background. I first met Sarah the way all that I’ve met all of my favorite business friends: Instagram DM. I don’t remember who followed who first, but I definitely remember being immediately impressed upon first glance at her account. Talk about packing value into every. single. post. (I give you full permission to pause reading this post to go follow her on the ‘gram.) I stalked her website, because I was in the market for some cute new Pinterest pin templates and blog post covers, and then convinced myself I needed a Pinterest manager and she’s been in charge of my Pinterest content ever since! (Side note: if you’re reading this post and you came from Pinterest, Sarah’s the reason you’re here.)

Now, let’s talk about how she began managing Pinterest accounts full-time. When she graduated college (UNC Chapel Hill, my old dream school, might I add — go, Tarheels!), she knew that she wanted to work remotely. This was interesting to hear, because I feel like most people usually suffer through the 9-5 life for a few years before they come to that realization. In Sarah’s case, though, she always knew she wanted a more flexible schedule. Plus, her girlfriend’s job requires them to live in an area without many job opportunities, so working remotely was a no-brainer. After blogging for an influencer who had her own Marketing agency, Sarah realized just how powerful Pinterest can be, and decided to learn more about it. Fast forward a little bit, and now she’s a Pinterest guru managing all sorts of clients’ accounts.

And speaking of managing Pinterest accounts… let’s get into the interview to talk more about that!

Q: What does a Pinterest Manager do for you?

A: Essentially, they take your Pinterest off your hands and out of your brain completely. They optimize your profile, make sure you have all the techy stuff done (like claiming your website and enabling rich pins), they do keyword research so you can get found on search engines, they create pin templates for you, they research your industry so you can create the best content possible for your audience, they upload pins for you… the list goes on and on.

Q: Why is Pinterest important for your business?

Short answer: because Pinterest is a search engine, not a social media platform.

Long answer: Pinterest is a great way to drive your visibility and reach, because it has an enormous and active user base (hi, 400+ million monthly users)! Also, word on the street is that Pinterest users are more ready to buy and willing to engage with branded / sponsored content than any other platform. Pinterest is the second largest driver of traffic to websites, and any of your pins have the potential to show up in a search result. Every new piece of content you upload has the chance to perform well. Pinterest also offers a huge SEO benefit because of all of the backlinks to your website, and the images with text on them (because Pinterest’s algorithm can read text on photos). And lastly, Pinterest is much more hands-off than any other social platform, because once you put your pin out into the world, you don’t really need to do much else (whereas on Instagram, you’ll need to engage with your audience and respond to comments, etc).

BTL Note: I love Pinterest because it feels like an even playing field! When you search for something, you’re willing to trust any pin that comes up in your search if it looks professional and is aesthetically pleasing, and you don’t care about someone’s follower count when you save their pin. Anyone has the opportunity to be found, and anyone has the ability to educate. Also, if you want to learn more about “backlinks,” click here.

Q: What’s more important: high quality content, or consistency?

A: Of course, the ideal would be both. But when it gets down to it, consistency matters a heck of a lot more. When I switched over from a personal account to a business account, I posted some random pins (aka not that high-quality, just to get something up) and they have no right to be doing as well as they are. But because I’m an avid pinner, Pinterest prioritizes my content. At the end of the day, the algorithm cares much more about me being active than my pins being amazing. If you have one super gorgeous pin go viral, but then you aren’t consistently pinning and posting more, you don’t really have a shot at succeeding because Pinterest wants you to use the website to its full potential.

Q: How often should you be posting original content vs. repinning?

A: While there’s no set ratio, I recommend posting at least one piece of fresh, original content per day. Make sure the fresh pins have different URLs, different pin graphics, and different descriptions to avoid being spammy. No one wants to see the same pin 10 times on your profile. Anything beyond 1 fresh pin per day is cherries on top.

In terms of repinning, I recommend 5-10 pins per day, but the more you can do, the better. As a general rule, more frequently you post, the better results you’ll see. However, that being said, I have noticed a rise in the importance of fresh pins, whereas the old standard used to be “do your due diligence and repin and you’ll be good.”

Q: What improves link clicks?

A: Calls to action. Ask people to click the link, and they’ll be more likely to click it. Don’t sleep on a simple CTA! Make your titles and descriptions engaging, and entice your audience to want to know more. Promising, value-rooted lead magnets (like a simple freebie checklist or guide) are a great way to get drive clicks, because you’re focusing on the benefits you want to provide your readers.

BTL Note: If you want an example of a lead magnet to advertise on Pinterest, head over to my Resources page to download mine!

Q: What’s the deal with Pinterest Stories and video pins?

A: Like any other social media platform, when Pinterest rolls out a new feature, they want you to use it — so they prioritize your account (in terms of pushing your content to more viewers) if you utilize all that they have to offer. Early adoption of these features is a great thing to jump on because less people are using it (which gives you a greater chance to stand out).

One of the best parts about Pinterest’s new story feature is that it’s the first thing you see when you open the app. Similar to Instagram, Pinterest’s stories are right at the top, making them hard to miss. They’ll also be displayed at the top of your “Created” page on your profile, before any of your other pins.

Story pins aren’t fully rolled out yet, so they aren’t present on everyone’s account. For this reason, the Pinterest Manager community jury is still out on best practices. I’ve heard some people say that putting links on each frame of your story is necessary, and some say that simple stories perform better. It feels like a trial-and-error situation to me.

While I haven’t experimented too much with video, I can give you a few quick tips. When it comes to video, I’ve found that shorter is better, and audio doesn’t matter much because people aren’t expecting to listen to anything while they’re scrolling on Pinterest. People don’t care as much about audio here as they do on an app like TikTok, where they’re expecting to watch & listen, as opposed to silently scroll. As always, don’t forget to include your call-to-action!

Q: Do you have recommendations for implementing video into your pins as a service-based business?

A: If you’re already posting TikToks or Reels, repost them on Pinterest with a keyword-rich title and description. Repurposing your content is the easiest way take advantage of video pins and jump in on the Pinterest video action. Time lapses and process videos (e.g. a sticker creator showing how they draw on Procreate, or a cookbook author showing how to make on of their meals) always do well. If you’re not comfortable recording yourself or your process, try animating something you’d normally post a simple pin graphic of in Canva and upload it as a video pin.

Q: Do you think that people look for possible freelancers to work with on Pinterest?

A: Not directly. They probably go on Pinterest to look for inspiration or to learn. Pinterest describes itself as a “bookmarking tool,” which I think is a perfect explanation of what most people utilize it for. However, when you pin something from someone, the algorithm takes that as you enjoying their content, and it will then show you more of what they post. This raises brand awareness, and will likely more traffic to your site. It’s your website’s job to then capitalize on that and convert those views into paying clients.

In summary: Pinterest provides you with the leads, even if those leads aren’t specifically searching for you on Pinterest.

BTL Note: if you want to know whether or not your website is set up for conversion, send me an email to book a website copy audit or strategy call with me and I’d be more than happy to teach you exactly how to speak directly to your ideal client and make sure your website makes them want to work with you.

Q: Should you put your keywords in the description as well as in the pin graphic?

A: Yes. Absofreakinglutely. As long as it sounds natural, put your keywords anywhere that Pinterest prompts you to do so: title, description, alt text, on the actual pin itself… but make sure all of those things read like a normal sentence (and not like a random jumble of keywords).

Q: Are there “best” times to post?

A: Kind of. The general recommendation for when the user base is most active is at night between 8pm and 11pm, and sometimes 2pm to 4pm. It’s not that deep. If you schedule your pins with Tailwind, their smart schedule tool automatically picks the best times for you.

Q: Speaking of Tailwind… what’s that?

A: I’m a huge Tailwind fan. Essentially, it’s a website that allows you to schedule your pins. It helps you post consistently, because you don’t have to manually create your pins on Pinterest daily. Instead, you’re able to schedule your pins out in one batch day and your Pinterest responsibilities are done until the next one.

Q: How does Tailwind help specifically?

A: There are several ways that Tailwind can help you, beyond the obvious scheduling function. Here are a few of my favorite Tailwind perks:

• Smart Schedule. This tool allows you to schedule your pins, and it will choose the best time to post them based on when viewers are online.

• It’s a Pinterest Partner. Because Tailwind is affiliated with Pinterest, you never have to worry about posting something that would break a Pinterest rule or that doesn’t align with their best practices. Tailwind will warn you if you’re posting something that isn’t the right format, and will give you tips to guide you to creating pins with the most potential to perform well.

• Smart Loops. Even though re-pinning and duplicating your own content shouldn’t be your main strategy, it’s something you can do to keep up with consistency. The first time you post a pin, it won’t be seen by everyone, so it’s okay to put it back out into the world every so often. Smart loops help you do that without being spammy.

Q: Wait. Tell me more about smart loops…

A: Here’s how it works. You can build your smart loops however you want to, but I usually put loops in place for a client’s best-performing content. You first choose whether you want it to be evergreen (aka always relevant) or seasonal (only relevant during a certain season or holiday). Then, you choose which boards you want to pin it to — it can be one board, or multiple. Next, you can sort by ‘most popular pins’ or search for the pins you want to add to the loop. Once you add a pin, Tailwind will go through all of your published pins and suggest similar ones to add. It’s completely customizable, and it’s a great tool to drive traffic to your pins!

Q: What’s the difference between scheduling on Tailwind vs. Canva?

A: Both give you the ability to schedule your pins. Tailwind offers more Pinterest-related features (like the ones we just talked about), but Canva is perfectly fine if all you want to do is simply schedule a pin. Canva is also a trusted Pinterest Partner, and if you already have a Pro account, it’s a great tool to take advantage of, without having to add the additional expense of Tailwind.

One important thing Tailwind offers that Canva doesn’t, though, is Communities. Tailwind’s Communities are essentially giant groups of people in your industry that agree to re-pin or share your content on a 1:1 ratio. It’s basically a “I’ll share yours if you share mine” deal, and it brings a great amount of traffic that your pins may not have received otherwise.

Q: What are rich pins?

A: Rich pins are basically pins with extra details attached. Have you ever clicked on a recipe, and noticed that all of the ingredients and the entire method for baking it are all present in the actual pin description? That’s a rich pin. This information is pulled from the meta data on your website.

There are 4 types of rich pins: article, app, recipe, and product. The most common types of rich pins that you’ve probably noticed are recipe and product.

Article rich pins look like any other pin on the site, except maybe they’ll have a bold title, an author description, or a publish date (if applicable). Recipe and product rich pins include things like serving sizes, prices, whether an item is in stock, etc.

Enabling rich pins is extremely important for recipe developers and product-based businesses, because it allows more information to be automatically given to your viewers.

Q: Is Pinterest still worth it for my business if I don’t have a website?

A: It could be. Pinterest works best and is most worth putting effort into if you have a website, and are consistently publishing new content to that site. If you’re not ready to make a full website for yourself, make a simple landing page that leads to an email funnel. I don’t recommend relying on Instagram because it doesn’t get much traction as a next step.

If you don’t have a website, I still recommend getting on Pinterest, optimizing your account, and starting to pin consistently, because when you are ready for a website, Pinterest will recognize you as an already-active user and your pins will hopefully perform well once you begin to publish your original content.

BTL Note: It’s better to direct your leads to a domain that you own because you can track the metrics. If you direct someone to Instagram, you may be able to see in your Pinterest analytics that you clicked on your IG, but then you have no idea what happened after that. If they click on your website, though, you’re able to track their activity a lot better and analyze the data to help you better tailor your marketing and advertising efforts to appropriately serve your audience.

Q: How often should you be posting new content on your website?

A: The ideal would be once a week on your blog. If you can’t post once a week, you’ll have to stretch your creativity a bit and make the posts that you do have last a little bit longer. As a Pinterest manager, when my clients don’t upload as frequently, I have to really think outside of the box to create consistent content by making infographics, story pins, etc (as opposed to making regular pin graphics for their posts). I completely understand that weekly blogging can be a stretch for a busy business owner, though, so do the best you can — something is better than nothing!

Q: Are Pinterest Ads worth it?

A: Maybe, but like with all paid ads, they don’t hold a candle to successful organic traffic.

Generally, I focus on organic traffic and reach. My research however has told me that Pinterest ads are a low-cost option in the paid ad world. They work the same as with any other paid social media marketing campaign. You need to know who you’re targeting, and your pin needs to be extremely enticing & engaging — the goal is to get people to click on it. I’d assume that Pinterest ads would be best for product-based businesses.

Pinterest ads are a bit more affordable and beneficial than other platforms because you pay per click, rather than per impression, and if someone re-pins your promoted pin, you get those impressions and clicks for free. Your pin lives on after your campaign is over, meaning you continue to advertise even after you’ve stopped paying for it. Promoted pins also blend in perfectly, because they look just like a regular pin. And lastly, as we discussed earlier, Pinterest users are more open to promoted content on the app than on any other platform, and are also more willing to buy.

So, yeah, I’d say it’s worth it, but I can’t give you my official stamp of approval because I focus more on organic growth.

Q: What are your 5 Pinterest golden rules?

1. Fresh pins are king. Vary your titles, descriptions, and images to be consistently publishing new content on Pinterest.

2. Have a “brand board” that all of your original content can live on. But that being said…

3. Post your pins to your most relevant board first. Then, you can share them to your brand board later (after at least one week).

4. Optimize everything you can. This includes your title, descriptions (of pins and boards), plus your images! Clever is cute, but it doesn’t help your content get noticed.

5. Consistency and “being a good Pinterest user” are both essentials if you want to grow on this platform. Be active, and spend some time organically on the site (aka using it like a ‘personal’ user would).

Q: As a Pinterest manager, what do you wish your clients knew?

A: One of the most helpful things I could ask for from my clients is to be a good Pinterest user! I feel like Pinterest can tell if I’m the only one posting content. I like to tell my clients to use Pinterest from their phone and pin as they normally would. Having content for me to post is important.

I’d also love my clients to know that growing on Pinterest takes time.

Q: How long will it take for my business’s Pinterest account to grow?

A: If your account is already established (aka you’ve been a Pinterest user for a while but now you’ve added a business account), it will take about 3 months to see positive changes. It shouldn’t be stagnant after 3 months of consistency. If your account is brand new, expect it to take 6 months to grow.

Q: Do you have advice for anyone who may want to become a Pinterest manager?

A: Here are my advice nuggets for aspiring Pinterest managers:

• Learn by doing.

• Stay on top of trends (both on Pinterest and culturally).

• Get familiar with different types of scheduling software (Tailwind, Canva, Later, etc).

• Be confident! Be ready to advocate for Pinterest as a great platform for growth as you begin to market your services and why they’re important.

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I want to give Sarah a biiiig thank you for being this month’s Expert Interview! If you want to follow her, find her on Instagram or Pinterest, or visit her website. Hiring her was one of my best investments in my business yet, and I’m looking forward to continuing our working relationship!