Everyone loves Pinterest and that’s probably because it’s the most fun social media site ever. (Maybe that’s based on opinion, but maybe not. I’ll let you decide.) It has quickly become one of the most popular social media outlets, both for personal and business use. In fact, there are over 70 million registered users, with about 20-30 million active monthly users. Pinterest has been reported to have grown web traffic referrals by 30%, so it’s obviously a great outlet to help generate traffic to your blog or website.

The main thing that makes Pinterest such a great referrer to blogs and websites is that the majority of everyone’s content has been curated. Sure, we all love to use Pinterest for a bit of self-promotion as well, but I can guarantee you that not even 3% of my 8000 pins are my own content. (And yes, I’m aware that that is an obnoxious number of pins–my Pinterest is in dire need of an audit. Also, I’m not doing the math, so I’m not quite sure what 3% of 8000 even is. Extra credit if you solve it in the comments.)

So Pinterest is a great place for you to share your own content (with the likelihood of it getting shared skyrocketing over that of Twitter or Facebook) as well as sharing others’ content. Plus, like I said, it’s freaking fun!

My favorite part of being a social media manager is the time of day when I get to play on Pinterest.

— Chloe West (@ChloeWest28) March 30, 2015

(Proof.) Although the likelihood of your own content getting shared by others is already much higher on Pinterest than other social media, it increases even more when you have an elevated number of followers. So, without further ado, here are a few actionable tips to help you gain more Pinterest followers.

1. Add a Pinterest widget to your sidebar

Make it big. Make it beautiful. Make it noticeable. A big trend I’ve noticed lately (and I’m obviously taking part in it myself–just take a quick scroll over my sidebar) is putting a full social media widget in your sidebar rather than just using follow buttons. If you ask me, this is pure genius. Small buttons can be easily overlooked unless something is purposefully trying to follow you. However, someone just scrolling down your page might catch a glimpse of your latest tweets or pins from one of your sidebar widgets then get lost in your feed, and wham, bam, thank you ma’am, you got yourself a new follower. This is seriously so easy. Go to your Pinterest profile, click the dropdown gear to view your settings, then click the option to “Make a widget.”

2. Join (or start) a collaborative board

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: collaborative boards are fan-freaking-tastic. What is a collaborative board, you ask? Two words: gigantic reach. A collaborative board consists of a group of pinners, all pinning to the same board. This means that your pins and your Pinterest are getting put in front of thousands of new pinners, resulting in even more traffic to your Pinterest and your website. It’s a no-lose situation, really. You make friends with bloggers (and you know what they say–friends who pin together, stay together…or something like that), you get your pins in front of twelve different bloggers’ followers, and you gain a ton of new followers. In fact, if you want to be a part of my own collaborative board on Creative Biz Tips, then leave your Pinterest name or email in the comments and I’ll invite you! (Please excuse how sparse the board currently is. I literally just had the idea to do this.)

Follow Chloe West’s board Creative Biz Tips on Pinterest.

3. Embed all of the boards

Regina from byRegina.com does a great job of this. Obviously, as she was the first blogger to stick out in my head when I was trying to find an example. I have seen a number of her blog posts that include an embedded Pinterest board and it’s a fantastic idea. You’ve already got a bunch of people coming to read your blog. If you show them another way to follow you where they can get just as awesome of content, your readers will be all over that like white on rice.

And just for good fun, here’s my own blogging board (definitely my most popular board of all of them).

Follow Chloe West’s board Blogging on Pinterest.

4. Follow other pinners

Following on Pinterest isn’t something that I do often. I don’t know why–I guess because I can just search to find all of the content I’m looking for, sometimes following just doesn’t occur to me.

But for the next few weeks, let’s all make it our mission to follow at least two handfuls of followers a day (and for those of you with an unconventional number of fingers, let’s just stick with 10). Just like on every other social media outlet, if someone sees you follow them, chances are, they’re going to check out your profile as well and, if they like what they see, follow you right back!

5. Pin, pin, pin!

Staying active is–in my opinion–the best way to get new followers. And the most fun, of course! Who wouldn’t love getting to spend a half hour here and there on Pinterest because it’s actually productive? On my own personal Pinterest, I notice a huge increase in followers every time I spend a regular amount of time pinning new things. Of course, my own Pinterest is my favorite because I get to pin whatever I want.

But if you’re pinning on a company Pinterest, it’s important to keep to what’s relevant to your product/service. For example, I also manage my company’s Pinterest, where we pin career business advice. Therefore, when I’m working on their Pinterest, I stick only to pins relevant to that niche. Luckily, I’m just as interested in those kinds of pins anyways, so it’s hardly work. ;)

6. Get fancy with your board covers.

Obviously I’m just a Pinterest snob, but I have hand-picked every single one of my board covers. Pinterest is all about visual appeal, and your profile page is no different. Make sure that your own board covers are pretty, aren’t cut off, and don’t make your Pinterest look cluttered.

You can even take it one step further by branding your Pinterest covers–something that I’ll touch in more depth at a later date.

Strategic pinners choose their board titles, board covers, and board placement with purpose. When pinners fall on your profile, you want your top boards to be your best boards with the most eye-catching board covers. That’s how you get followers!

P.S. Comment with the link to your Pinterest so that I can follow you!

P.P.S. You might like this similar post: How to Gain More Twitter Followers

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