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Pinterest is a great marketing tool for business, but to get the most out of it you need to know how to create custom pins that will catch people’s attention.
Creating beautiful visual content is one thing, but creating visually engaging pins can be tricky.
There are lots of different elements that go into making an eye-catching pin and if any one of them isn’t right your pin won’t perform as well as you’d like.
We’ve got 12 ways to customize your pins for maximum engagement so they’ll get more clicks and repins and drive traffic back to your site or blog.
1.Location, Location, Location
Choosing the right location for your pin is important.
You should always try to include an interesting or eye-catching background behind your pin so it stands out from all the other pins on the page.
Pinterest’s group boards are a great way to find cool backgrounds for your pins whether you’re looking for something natural-looking like a beach or forest scene or something more urban-inspired like an alleyway in New York.
The location also helps determine the type of image you want to include, with places like beaches and forests providing opportunities for nature shots while city scenes offer up different options.
Choosing the right location is important because it can set the tone for the rest of your pin.
If you’re choosing a city scene that’s full of bright lights and color it will affect the colors and vibrancy of the images you choose as well as how you crop them.
If a city scene works best for your pin try looking on group boards or on Pinterest Explore to find new backgrounds to use.
2. Fill Your Frame
Most pins are rectangular, but the pinning area can be adjusted to fit different shapes and sizes.
If you want to fill as much of the frame as possible with your image leaving it as a rectangle isn’t always the best option.
Adjusting the pinning area so it’s closer to square-shaped can make a big difference in how much space your image takes up.
You may need to experiment experimenting with different shapes and sizes to see what works best for your pin.
Doing this will take up more room on the screen, but it’s necessary if you want people to see everything that was included in your image or graphic.
3. Color and Contrast
Pinterest is filled with vibrant images and the last thing you want to do is clash with them.
Contrast, color and vibrancy all play a role in how well your pins will stand out so carefully consider each of them before you pin something.
To help make sure your pins fit right in with the Pinterest community keep in mind:
Use high contrast when you want to make an object stand out from its background.
Darker colors and stark contrasts will help your pin really pop on the screen so stick with blacks, whites and grays for backgrounds or darker colors if you’re using a lighter image.
If you’re pinning white text on a black background it’s important to use a thick font that stands out from the rest of your pin.
4. Images and Illustrations
Pinterest is filled with beautiful images, but sometimes those pictures are taken by professionals and you want something more custom.
There are lots of free stock photo sites online where you can download high-quality images for free.
You can also use images you’ve already found or created to create custom pins.
If you want to add an image to your pin just click on the “Add a Pin” button and upload it from your computer, but be aware that it will only appear when someone is logged into Pinterest so if they’re looking at your pin on their mobile device it will be small.
Adding an image to your pin allows you to include something custom with no additional costs so use it if you can!
If you don’t want to add an image, use the same rules for cropping that we talked about earlier on this list.
5. Text on Pinterest
Pinterest is a great place to share quotes, lyrics and text with your followers, but the size of them matters.
Make sure that you use a thick enough font that it stands out from the background without being too distracting.
6. Cropping Your Pins
Cropping your images can be difficult because you don’t have as much control as you do on other photo editing sites, but it’s still important.
The ideal size for your image is between 800-1200 pixels wide, if the image isn’t sized correctly some of the text won’t show up right or people may miss seeing certain parts of your pin.
7. Text Over Images
Adding text over images can be a great way to add interest and depth to your pins.
If you do choose to add text make sure the font is thick enough that it stands out from the background without being too distracting.
8. Long-form Copy
Pinterest is a great place to share quotes, lyrics, and text with your followers, but the size of them matters.
Make sure that you use a thick enough font that stands out from the background without being too distracting.
If you’re looking for inspiration on what to write your long-form copy can come from anywhere.
I like to use song lyrics, quotes, and my own personal experiences as the inspiration for my long-form copy.
9. Colorful Images
Colorful images can be a great way to catch people’s eye on Pinterest so if you have something colorful or vibrant in your image it may be worth saving it as a pin.
However, if your colorful images clash with the vibrant colors on Pinterest you may want to rethink it because not only will your pins stand out but they may also get flagged for removal.
10. Inspirational Quotes
Pinterest is a great place to share quotes, lyrics, and text with your followers, but the size of them matters.
Make sure that you use a thick enough font that stands out from the background without being too distracting.
11. Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t forget to pin and repin!
Adding value to your followers is one of the best ways to make people want to follow you and keeping things interesting by pinning new content is a great way to do that.
Have you noticed certain pins will start popping up on your feed more frequently?
That’s because people are pinning them, liking them, and commenting on them so Pinterest is beginning to recognize it as being relevant to your follower’s interests.
12. Photos of Yourself
Pinterest is a great place to share quotes, lyrics, and text with your followers, but the size of them matters.
Make sure that you use a thick enough font that stands out from the background without being too distracting.
When we’re telling people we’re on Pinterest we often get the response “why do you want pictures of my food” or “can you pin something of mine” and we can’t blame them for wondering because Pinterest is a place where people share recipes, photos, and DIY projects.
Those things aren’t us (we know that Pinterest isn’t the only social media site around) but sometimes they’re fun to include.
Conclusion
If you’re just starting out on Pinterest it’s a good idea to stick to the “I’m an expert in” approach as it will help you grow your followers faster.
However, if you have a blog or regularly post pictures of fun DIY projects feel free to branch out and become a “what’s new” pinner.
Just remember that no matter what type of pinner you are it’s a good idea to mix it up and try different types of pins to see what works best for you.
