Thursday Press #66: how to go (and stay) viral on Pinterest
[2 FEB 2023] Make sure your pins stay up-to-date with the 2023 algorithm!
Happy February, friend!
I'm guessing you've heard this before – once you go viral on Pinterest, you're golden.
Or maybe this one – “a viral pin on Pinterest can send traffic to your website for YEARS”
I've probably said that one exactly before.
And it's not not true… but there's some nuance to it, especially with Pinterest's latest ranking update.
In this post, I shared that the number one thing I've learned as a Pinterest manager is that sometimes all it takes is *one* viral pin to bring lasting reach and traffic to an account for YEARS.
But it probably won't be the first pin you post, and it doesn't mean you can sit back and coast forever.
So what do you do when a pin goes viral?
As your Pinterest manager, my goal isn't to have your pins go viral.
Obviously I'll celebrate like heck when they do, but I've worked with plenty of business owners whose Pinterest grows quite well without one standout pin.
At the end of the day, what enabled that one pin to take off is the months of consistent, strategic action.
If your account wasn't optimized and you weren't pinning consistently, that pin might never have reached its viral status.
And more importantly, if we stopped keeping up with your Pinterest as soon as that pin took off, it would likely die just as quickly.
Even if the rest of your pins don't hold a candle to that one's numbers, they're still vital to the overall health and optimization of your account.
If you're sitting here reading this, nodding along, maybe thinking “duh, Sarah, I'm not just going to stop as soon as it gets good” —
Awesome, I'm glad you're with me. Because there's an important update about 2023 Pinterest that I need you to know.
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR VIRAL PINS STAY VIRAL
Pinterest has been asking creators for “fresh content” for a few years now, but now the algorithm is really showing it.
Whenever Pinterest updates its algorithm, it looks to make sure that the pins that are showing up first in search results really belong there.
And based on some of the changes I've seen, it looks like the date of the pin is starting to have an impact.
Pinterest wants to show its users fresh content, not the same old Instagram marketing tips pin that shows up literally everywhere.
So if it scans pins and finds a more recent, more relevant pin to replace it…
Boom, there goes that viral pin's ranking. 😳
That could happen to you. It's happened to a few of my clients.
So what can you do to keep your pins in the top spots?
Create more fresh pin images for the same content. And not even totally different graphics.
I want you to republish nearly the same graphic that's already pulling in all the stats, but with a slight edit. Maybe you swap out the background image, switch a color, or even just change the crop/image size slightly.
It still counts as a fresh pin to Pinterest AND because it looks so visually similar to your already viral pin, when Pinterest wants to pull a newer image to put in that top spot, it's going to choose yours.
LET'S RECAP
Having a pin go viral doesn't mean you can stop posting on Pinterest altogether
Remaining consistent is the best way to make sure that pin continues performing well for your account
Because Pinterest prioritizes new, fresh content, keep creating and publishing pins for that same viral pin URL so that viral success doesn't vanish overnight
When it comes to Pinterest marketing, you should know I'm all about data-driven strategies like this one.
I nerd out over discovering exactly how and why the Pinterest algorithm works the way it does, and I'm constantly deep-diving into my client's analytics to help guide our efforts every month.
I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes, minus most of the troubling social skills 🥴
If you also consider yourself a data detective, or just want to learn concrete, up-to-date Pinterest strategies, you'll love this course.
It's the best Pinterest course I know, responsible for a lot of my clients' success, and the reason why I don't feel the need to create a course of my own. It's that good.