How to Ditch Instagram and Switch to Pinterest as a Creative Business Owner

Do I think that we creatives should be able to make Pinterest our primary marketing tool? Why yes, yes I do.

Now, there are two reasons why I like – nay, love – the idea of relying on Pinterest to market your business. 1) It’s different, and being different is cool. 2) It actually works, without making you go bald.

How to successfully use Pinterest for your business

If you're an online service provider or e-commerce business, there's absolutely no reason why Pinterest won’t work even better than Instagram when marketing your brand. Getting there just requires a shift in thought and strategy, that's all.

Today, I’m going to help you compare Pinterest to Instagram. Then, I’ll share insight as to why Pinterest is so great for creative service and product businesses, before teaching you how to make Pinterest work for your own brand. I’ll include step-by-step tips on how to set your Pinterest profile up for success, how to automate your Pins, and how to make more Pins for each piece of content you want to create, so that you can go viral and become very rich.

Very rich.

Pinterest vs. Instagram

While there's no comparison, I'll still compare them just to show you just how superior Pinterest is to Instagram. Ready?

Pinterest: No daily engagement or login requirements in order to succeed.
Instagram: Login daily and engage, or else your account can (will) get flagged as a bot the next time you login.
Pinterest: Evergreen content that lasts, circulates, and markets itself forever.
Instagram: Follow content trends or else.
Pinterest: Market blogs, freebies, products and services that live on eternally.
Instagram: Create captions and Reels that have a shelf life of 24-72 hours… or else.

That's a lot of “or elses," huh?

Pinterest for Creative Service and Product Businesses

At a glance, Pinterest will look like a foreign land. We're used to scrolling through endless posts and videos on Instagram, and consuming the content that Instagram decides we should consume. But with Pinterest, you get to control the content you create – because regardless of the topic, there will be interest, as long as SEO keywords are used – as well as the content you read and watch (the Pinterest algorithm figures out what you like based on what you interact with).

Pinterest is really just a pretty search engine. One that offers a treasure trove of creative inspiration from around the world. So, while creating Pins for your own audience, you'll inevitably be spending a bit of time learning from others via Pinterest, too. That's what happened to me, at least 😌

How to make Pinterest work for your Creative Brand

When I first gave Pinterest a try a few years ago, I pretty much tackled it with the force of the ocean. It was a bad idea, because I was immediately burnt out and overwhelmed.

Try to think of Pinterest as the long game - because the content you create and Pin to Pinterest will live forever, you don't need to get it all done right away. It's best to do things meticulously at first, so that you can lay the proper groundwork.

Step 1: Account Setup

If you haven't already, make your business account and update your bio. Make sure your website is claimed. Then, look up “how to add rich pins to (your website provider).” Rich pins will allow your website visitors to Pin images from your site and blog, at any time. Free marketing!

Step 2: Boards

More is more, my friend. Start making those branded, audience-engaging Pinterest boards. If it helps, try to think of your Pinterest boards the same way you would hashtags on Instagram. These boards are not just for you, they're for your ideal audience. In a perfect world, your dream client or customer will be on Pinterest, reading and searching for content that relates to one of your boards. They'll find the Pins you pinned in that board, and the rest will be history.

Start out with 15-20 boards, and make them specific! Use SEO keywords to title them (hint: you can figure out those keywords by seeing what's often searched for in the Pinterest search bar). When you're first building those boards, I want you to Pin dump 20 repins (aka, pins and content from other people) per board. This'll get the ball rolling!

Step 3: Content Creation

I am hoping that you have a few blogs (at least) to Pin, as well as a few freebies. If you do, great news: all you need to do is start creating Pins! If you don't, start writing those blogs, and make sure to create Pins for them, too.

If you're a photographer or designer with portfolio work to share, you can easily create Pins that simply link to your website, products or applicable blogs. Inspo content (moodboards, how-tos, etc.) performs super well for photography and design brands!

Step 4: Make 30+ Pins for Each Piece of Content

I know, I know… that sounds overwhelming. But I need you to keep in mind that with Pinterest, you don't need to worry about rewriting Pin descriptions or titles. The only thing Pinterest cares about is that you use a fresh graphic or photo for each individual Pin.

So, what does that tell us? That means you could Pin your blog “5 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Designer” 1,000,000,000 times with the same SEO Pin description and title, and the algorithm would still like you… as long as each individual Pin offers a slightly different graphic or photo.

Create a suite of 10+ Pinterest graphics that you love and will be happy to use for every piece of content you create. Then, use those 10+ templates to create 30+ Pins per piece of content.

If the math isn't quite adding up, I have two things to share:

You can easily change out colors, photos, and brand patterns a couple of times per pin to create a slightly different Pin. Do that three times per Pin template, and you've got 30 Pins!
If you're Pinning a blog, your blog should have a main header, and subheaders or sections. Think of each subheader/section as its own piece of content that deserves its own Pin titles and templates. If you do so, you'll end up with way more than 30+ pins per blog, trust me.

Step 5: Don't Pin Manually

Seriously, don't. Use Tailwind*. I create my Pins and dump them into Tailwind, and set my Pins to be posted on an interval timer.

Click my referral link to get $15 off Tailwind!

Step 6: Pin Each Pin to Multiple Boards

You know how I said that each piece of content you Pin should have 30+ Pins? Weeeellllll by Pinning those 30+ Pins to multiple boards, you get… a lot more than just 30 Pins.

Many pieces of content are interchangeable when it comes to boards. You might have the following boards:

“Instagram Content Tips”

“Instagram for Designers”

“Content Creation Tips for Design Brands”

And all three of those boards can and should require the same kind of content and Pins. So, Pin them to as many boards as possible. (As long as they apply to that board's subject, of course)

Pinterest's algorithm does not get cranky if you Pin a single Pin [remember, when I say “Pin,” I really mean a specific graphic or photo] to multiple boards. They just want to make sure you don't dump that same Pin across all of your boards at the exact same time. Hence the interval timer via Tailwind. Lovely, lovely Tailwind.

So, allow me to provide you with an example: let's say that I wanted to use just one graphic to Pin this exact blog to multiple boards. Here’s what that would look like:

See? Suddenly, that one Pin graphic becomes 6 Pins. Imagine doing that for every single Pin you create, for every single blog, freebie, service, or product you’d like to share!

What About Repins?

Ahhh, another reason why Pinterest will always be superior to Instagram: Pinterest likes when you repin other people’s Pins. Unlike Instagram, you actually benefit from “sharing” (aka, repinning) Pins that fit your Pinterest buckets and audience or brand interests. So, make sure to include regular repinning in your Tailwind repertoire.

I’d recommend a balance of 80/20: 80% of your Pins should be fresh [your own] Pins, and 20% of your Pins should be repins. Repinning is ridiculously easy - just find content that fits your branded buckets, read through it to make sure it’s high quality, and add that content’s Pin graphic to your Tailwind queue. Tailwind will then schedule it in with your normal content.

What to do with Instagram Once You’ve Switched to Pinterest

I know that this blog is titled “how to ditch Instagram,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean I think you have to or should ditch Instagram… completely.

We live in an online world, which means that as a business owner, it’s important that you exist online. Many times, people will first go to Instagram to check out a brand, business, or person. The goal in switching to Pinterest shouldn’t be to delete your Instagram account and leave it for good, but merely to stop having to rely on Instagram’s frequently changing algorithm and content trends to keep your business afloat.

My advice: make it a point to post to Instagram a couple of times a month; maybe even just once. Share updates and availability, or work from your portfolio. That way, you’re still present, without having to be present.

And hey, you’ll want to make that time count, right? Grab my Engage to Grow guide to learn how to build an engaged IG audience in 30 minutes or less.