Lots of "fun" in the Pinterest world today.
They're up to something, that's for sure.
Off and on ALL day today, account stats (ie, Monthly Views) were GONE from profile pages... and then back...and then gone again.
(that's on desktop - both FireFox and Chrome)
They weren't even showing on my OWN accounts when logged in...
and then POOF, they come back. Crazy.
There's also this weird scroll bar thing going on desktop pin pages - where the recipe ingredients and comments are found.
That also showed up today (hard to believe that will stick)
Another "fun" change I've noticed Pinterest rolling out...
On desktop, when you open a pin page, you no longer can see WHO pinned it and what BOARD they pinned it to.
(but you still CAN on the mobile app - at least for now).
As with ALL things in our online working world...
Everything is an Experiment.
No platform, no algo, no feed, no social site, no search engine, no strategy, no NOTHING stays the same.
Each platform is constantly experimenting with something new.
We are always trying something new (or at least we SHOULD be).
If you always remember that everything you do is an experiment, there is NO FAILURE.
It's just an experiment that didn't work - that's all =)
All that aside, Pinterest is going to update soon.
In years past, it's been sometime around Valentine's Day, but the weirdness I've experienced over the past days - and weeks - makes me FEEL as if it's coming sooner.
And it sure NEEDS to - so many pins made BEFORE Christmas are not getting their keywords as they should be.
It's like Pinterest has been in a bit of 'limbo' since mid-December
However, the Home Feed sure has been better - I'm actually SEEING pins from those I follow.
That's a very nice change.
However, I still see tons of MY OWN pins in MY Home Feed which is just weird lol!
AND I'm seeing pins I've made SO long ago that I barely remember making them.
So, hold on to your hats... sumthin's comin' haha!
LOTS of questions about "Stale Pins" from my email about Stale Pin Syndrome yesterday.
(just a note: links to previous Pinterest Tips emails will be at the bottom of this email)
If I find a Stale Pin and put a NEW image in my blog post, should I REMOVE the old pin image?
I would love to just answer Yes or No to that question - but I can't.
First, you have to be sure that post image is not bringing traffic from Google Image Search.
Second, does the new pin image ENHANCE your post - your just junk it up?
When *I* do this - I first make sure that image is NOT ranking well in Google images.
If it's NOT and I just KNOW the image is cr@p, I'll remove it or hide it.
If I feel I could do better with the keywords of that pin, I'll make a slightly unique version of that image and try again.
As you can see - it's NOT a "Yes / No" answer to that.
Only YOU know your blog - your stats - your readers - you simply have to trust your gut and make the best decision for your site.
If you DO remove that stale image, what's the WORST that could happen?
Here's a hint: not much - the image is gone from your post, that's all =)
If you want traffic from Pinterest, the WORST thing you can do is to NOT have ANY images in your posts.
The second worst thing is to have images that are not size-appropriate for Pinterest.
I can't tell you how many blogs I've visited FROM Pinterest only to find NOTHING on the post TO pin -
or itty-bitty images that no one would ever see on Pinterest.
When you are checking the "staleness" of a pin, you are pinning from the account associated with that site, correct?
Yes - you are pinning from YOUR blog to YOUR Pinterest board.
However, I can "Live Pin" YOUR pins to MY account and tell if they're stale or not.
You can do it too - just pin from someone else's blog and look at the stats =)
Stale Pins are something you need to stay aware of and know how to identify (and fix) -
but they are NOT something to obsess over, ok?
Just now, before sending this email, I 'Live Pinned' about 8 pins from my various posts.
I was trying to FORCE a 'Stale Pin' by pinning images I felt were stale.
7 pins were fine and only ONE was Stale.
(which means I need to go change out a post image as soon as we're done talking lol!)
Does it matter what BOARD I 'Live Pin' to when checking for SPS?
No, it doesn't really matter.
just don't go nuts pinning that post back to back to back on the same board haha!
If the pin IS stale, you can quickly delete the pin, change your post image and then try again.
You want not only your pins, but also your post images, to be as fresh and as effective as possible.
Yes, it's an on-going battle - it feels uphill BOTH ways most days.
I don't know any free traffic source that is even close to Pinterest these days.
Not just in volume of traffic but the QUALITY of traffic -
Pinterest traffic is GOOD ad money.
(check your display ad stats if you don't believe me)
Won't we end up with TONS of images in our posts?
But here's some things to keep in mind.
- people don't read - they scan...and they LIKE images a LOT.
- images in your posts 'stop the scroll' - readers pause to look at images...which is great for ad revenue.
- most blog readers are on their phone. Those images YOU think are too big or too many or too much, just might be an enjoyable experience for your readers as opposed to a giant wall of TEXT.
Just some things to think about.
I can't WAIT for you to explain your Hybrid Repinning Strategy - when will you teach THAT?
First off, it IS a great strategy that works SO well for me.
BUT, I'm not sure I should teach it - not even here in our email chats.
My Hybrid RePin Strategy could be abused and used inappropriately.
I am NOT saying YOU would do that.
But even private emails have a way of becoming public information...
and I don't want that info in the wrong hands.
So for now, I'll be keeping that secret strategy to myself.
If I change my mind, you will be the first to know.
Ok, that's it for today...
Tomorrow, let's talk about THIS question I keep getting:
What is the BEST way to pin?
Create on Pinterest and Upload?
I think that's a great topic for tomorrow...
and then, I do think we'll take the weekend off.
I'd like to hang out with my hubby and my son and my grandkids...
We've been putting food out for the deer and they have taken over my little backyard - it's GREAT!
I just sit on my back screened porch with my coffee and watch them.
(and watch the squirrels DRAIN my bird feeders grrrrrrrrr....)
If you struggle with Pinterest...
I love me some Pinterest and I would LOVE to pin for YOU!
Wouldn't it be nice to not WORRY about Pinterest?
But still get the traffic =)
and there's no one better to learn from!
|