Pinterest Marketing Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. Does It Matter When I Pin?

Answer :

Time of day doesn’t matter, but do think about the first several Pins that you’re saving each day. NOTE: See details below on when the “day” starts.

Because of the new following feed, we may start to see a trend towards specific time of day that people interact with your Pins.

In the following tab, your content is distributed in real time to those following you. Pinterest does not give preference to those who Pin at a certain time of day. Instead, it depends on when your target audience is online and interacting with your Pins that matters.

Question 2. How Many Times A Day Should I Pin? Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Pins Per Day?

Answer :

There’s definitely no such thing as Pinning too much. But we prefer consistency to volume.

It’s better to pin a similar number of times per day than to Pin a ton at once, and then nothing. Try to spread out your Pinning on daily basis.

The easiest way to accomplish this is with Tailwind. With Tailwind, you can schedule your Pins for the week (or longer), and they’ll be posted for you automatically.

Don’t inundate your followers with your own Pins. If they use the new following tab, your Pins will be seen in the order that you save them. If you add lots of duplicate content in succession, your followers may well take this as a cue to unfollow you.

Question 3. The First 5 Pins – What’s That About?

Answer :

In the following feed, Pinterest shows the first five Pins added by accounts that you follow. These “first five” are those Pinned after midnight UTC.

Click here to discover what time this is in your time zone.

• EDT = 8pm
• CDT = 7pm
• MDT = 6pm
• PDT = 5pm

The first five Pins are not the only Pins of yours that will be seen by your followers throughout the day. More will be shown after your followers have seen other people’s Pins.

Best practice is to make sure those “first five” are your own content, saved to your own boards.

Question 4. In The Smart Feed, Are Photos And Comments Left A Factor In Search?

Answer :

We’ve made the comments universal across all instances of a given Pin image. Pinterest is working to unify Pins to ensure that all comments show up on all instances of that Pin.

Pinterest believes that comments and “Tried it”s do increase engagement. The “tries” now require a photo, which gives the response credibility. I’m hoping this ends the plethora of automated comments!

Question 5. How Do I Get Pins To Show Up In Smart Feed?

Answer :

• When you save a Pin on Pinterest, we distribute it to your followers first. Distributing to followers first allows Pinterest to gauge your followers’ interaction and decide which Pins will be popular.
• The following tab allows us to get our content in front of our audience much sooner than before. This helps Pinterest rank our Pins for future distribution.
• So, ironically, the first step to SEO (search engine optimization) on Pinterest is to make sure your content will resonate with your followers, because they’ll see it first. Make sure it’s engaging.
• The next factor is using appropriate keywords so the Pin can be identified as relevant to others who would be interested in it.

Question 6. What Happens To Those Who Change Their Pinning Habits? For Example, They Originally Started With One Type Of Content But Now They Are Pinning Something Else?

Answer :

Lean into the content that’s really resonating with your audience. As long as it’s still in line with your business, it’ll ultimately lead to the right kind of followers.

Check your Pinterest analytics to discover your best content and best performing boards. This is the type of content that your audience wants to see more of.

It is not necessary or desirable to start a new Pinterest profile from scratch just because you started by pinning one type of content and now will pin a new type of content. Pinterest helps with content distribution to the right Pinners. In time, your content will get in front of the right audience.

Question 7. Should We Delete Under Performing Pins To Increase Your Profile’s Overall Engagement Rate?

Answer :

• No, we don’t recommend deleting Pins.
• Pins that aren’t performing well, or not receiving as much engagement, will not hurt the performance of your other Pins. One dud Pin might have a hard time itself, but it’s not going to bring the rest of your Pins down.
• Keep in mind that underperforming Pins could potentially become popular in the future, so deleting them also deletes the chance of this happening. It’s more important to spend your time reviewing your account’s analytics to discover what type of Pins is working well for your audience.
• I personally do not recommend ever deleting your own Pins – but I find taking the time to go back and assess Pin performance is time well spent. I also delete my saves of others’ Pins at this time. I won’t do this going forward..

Question 8. Do Back Link To Boards Or Pins Matter?

Answer :

They do not. Pinterest looks at the content of the Pin itself, where the Pin links to, what it looks like, and how rich the description is. We use that to gauge the value of your Pin. Outside backlinks to your Pins do not matter.

Question 9. Where Should We Use Our Keywords?

Answer :

The most important place to add keywords first and foremost is in your Pin descriptions.

Think about keywords from the winner's mindset when they’re looking for your type of content. Use keywords about the items in the Pin itself plus themes it goes with. For example, “grilled asparagus” and “weeknight dinner recipe”.

Question 10. Do The Keywords In Our Profile And Board Descriptions Help The Individual Pins Perform Better?

Answer :

• They do. They give more information about all the Pins on the board. Always save a new Pin first to the most relevant board. That data travels with your Pins across Pinterest. Give your Pin all the advantages you can!
• The description of the first board your Pin a new Pin to helps categorize your Pin on all of Pinterest.
• Also, Pinterest has warned that saves your Pin to irrelevant boards may hurt its distribution.

Question 11. Does It Matter What You Name Your Image That’s On The Site That You’re Going To Pin?

Answer :

• It does not. But your Pin description should include the same keywords as your landing page.
• Pinterest is working to ensure that the content of the Pin matches the content of its landing page. Keyword matching is crucial for Pin performance.
• I personally still recommend saving images with keywords as it helps with Google search. There’s more out there than Pinterest traffic!

Question 12. Why Should We Be Adding Our Content When It’s Fresh?

Answer :

We know that Pinners love fresh content. This is the concept behind our adding hashtags.

Hashtags filter content by most recent. Pinterest is testing and finding that Pinners love to see new, fresh content in this area. The following tab also allows us to quickly get our content in front of our readers.

Question 13. What Is “fresh”? Is It Fresh Because I Just Saved The Pin, Created The Blog Post, Or It’s A New Image I’ve Made For An Old Blog Post?

Answer :

Our favorite type of fresh content is brand new content in the world… so it’s a blog post that you just wrote. But those other categories count as well.

Question 14. Make Sure Your Pin Image Is On The Landing Page It Links To – Why?

Answer :

It doesn't have to be the exact image. The Pin does not need to be a mirror image of anything on your landing page.

It’s less about the image itself – it’s about the relevance and context of the image. The most important thing to remember is that the Pin description matches the title or content of the page it links to. The keywords should match.

Question 15. Is There A Smart Feed Advantage To Pinning “live” Exclusively, Or Even Just A Little, During The Week Versus Using An Approved Scheduler?

Answer :

• No. We don’t penalize Pinners who pin via scheduler or any kind of third party tool.
• But we recommend logging into your account periodically to keep up-to-date with your audience and with new Pinterest features. There is NO distribution priority given to Pins that are saved natively in Pinterest versus through a third party tool.
• To be eligible to be recommended by Pinterest as someone to follow, you need to be a consistent Pinner, have a business account, and claim your website. You’re considered active if you’re saving content regularly.
• Finally, the debate of manual vs. scheduled Pinning has been settled! Make your life easier – schedule content with Tailwind so you can keep active when you’re busy doing other stuff.

Question 16. Do Followers Matter? How Can We Get More Engaged Followers?

Answer :

• Followers still represent a small portion of the people you reach on Pinterest. We now feature the total number you’re reaching every month on the new profile. The vast majority of distribution is still going to happen beyond your followers. This is why SEO is important.
• Now there’s a dedicated space to find content from accounts you follow. Quality is more important than quantity. Better to have a small, engaged audience than a large unengaged one.
• Pinterest recommends you if you’re a consistent Pinner, have a business account, and claim your website.
• Next step is to add the Follow button to your website.
• Make sure your followers on other channels know you’re on Pinterest.
• Encourage your readers to use the “tried it” feature on your Pins. Embed the Pin on the blog and suggest they try it out and leave a comment. The natural step for them would be to follow you if they’re not already.

Question 17. How Much Engagement Takes Place On Our Profile?

Answer :

The majority of engagement takes place in the discovery areas of Pinterest. Board covers are nice, but spend more attention on optimizing your Pins.

Question 18. Is There Any Data On How Much The Use Of Hashtags Improves The Reach Of A Pin?

Answer :

Hash tagged Pins do get significantly more distribution the first day they’re saved. You can add up to 20, but quality over quantity. Focus on somatic tags. Pinners are both clicking and searching hashtags.

Question 19. What’s The Best Pinterest Pin Size?

Answer :

Optimal aspect ratio is 2:3. Taller may give less distribution and be cut off in certain parts of the app. Stick with 2:3 or lower. The restrictions differ across the app and mobile platforms. Squares work but 2:3 is best.

Question 20. Do Pins Without Faces Perform Better?

Answer :

Depends on the content category. See what works best for your brand or business.

Question 21. What About “lifestyle” Pins?

Answer :

• Lifestyle images, tasteful branding, and (limited) helpful text on image are still suggested.
• People need help envisioning the item in context. Tell them how they’d use it or style it. If you only have a product shot, add context in a creative description.
• Tasteful branding doesn’t hurt performance and helps develop trust with an audience and carry your brand association down the line of repins.

Question 22. Why Avoid Logo Placement In The Corners Of The Pin?

Answer :

Lens visual search icon will appear in a corner. We recommend top center or bottom center.

Question 23. What Kind Of Text Is Good On An Image?

Answer :

Text is helpful when it explains or contextualizes the image. The image may not tell the whole story of the content. The text can help set the expectation. Product images may benefit from added resonance and lifestyle relevance.

Question 24. What’s Happening With Pin Descriptions?

Answer :

Now descriptions should show in the feed for all users. Amount may vary as it’s being tested but full description will show when Pin is clicked. Longer, more helpful descriptions improve performance. Include a strong call to action to drive traffic. Tell them what more lies beyond.

Question 25. Is It Helpful To Add A Blast Of Keywords In The Pin Description?

Answer :

No. The description does double duty. The keywords help Pins surface in search. They also encourage Pinners to click through when they discover the Pin. Don’t make them expect to be greeted by mumbo jumbo on the blog. Make it sound natural, human, editorialized while containing the relevant keywords.

Question 26. How Often Can I Pin A Pin To A Board?

Answer :

As often as you want. I do recommend however that you don’t do it back to back. If someone looks at just that board, they might get turned off if they see that board covered with the same pin over and over.

Question 27. Should I Repin A Great Pin, Or Should I Go To The Related Blog Post And Pin From Their?

Answer :

Repin numbers used to matter a great deal, but with the new aggregate numbers, it doesn't make as much difference. So for now, I recommend doing what is getting the most clicks. Or you can try both ways and see which gives you better results.

Question 28. If I Pin The Same Pin To Different Boards, So They All Get The Same Number Of Repins?

Answer :

Again, because of the inconsistencies of the aggregate numbers, it is difficult to say for certain. But it should. To see your actual repin numbers though, you need to be using a product like Tailwind, which will allow you to see the number of repins on each of your published pins.

Question 29. Is It Necessary To Niche Down My Entire Pinterest Profile? Or Can I Just Pin Whatever I Want? Will Pinterest Only Show My Content In The Smart Feed If I Am Niched Down?

Answer :

The point of niching down is targeting your end user. The more niched down you are, the more likely it is that your pins will reach your intended audience. Keep your end user in mind.

Question 30. What Does Pinterest Consider An Active Board? How Many Times Should I Pin To Each Board Every Day? Do Active Boards Get Shown More?

Answer :

There are no hard and fast numbers here, but an active board is one which you are contributing to weekly. Seasonal boards are okay to have. That being said, having boards that are related to your topic and being active on those boards is important.

Question 31. How Long Does It Take To See Huge Amounts Of Traffic On Your Site?

Answer :

The first 6-8 months tend to be very slow growth, but then it starts to take off a little bit more. By the one year mark, your original pins really start to gain some traction. Audience engagement makes a big difference here too, so encourage them to share more of your content. Listen to this episode of the podcast to understand why Pinterest takes a bit longer to see results if you are curious about why you get such instant results on Facebook or Instagram but not on Pinterest.

Question 32. What Is Your Biggest Tip For Those Of Us Who Came To Pinterest Later And Are Trying To Catch Up?

Answer :

Stop trying to catch up. There are a lot of different factors that come into play as to how certain users grow accounts with several hundred thousand or even million followers. Algorithms change. Platforms change. Anyone who has had multiple years to grow their Pinterest account is going to seem far ahead of you.

But you shouldn’t be comparing yourself to them. You need to buckle down. Know your end user, what they are looking for, and how you can provide the content they want.

Question 33. What Strategies Should I Use On Group Boards That I Own? Should We All Be Using The Same Keywords?

Answer :

Using the same keywords is not absolutely necessary, but having a very specific board title will naturally lead to some of the same keywords being used. Kristie Hill has a group board that she takes applications to join, and the only rule is that the members have to be repinning from the board. And that helps build the collaborative feel.

Question 34. How Many Group Boards Should You Join? And How Often Should You Post Duplicate Pins To Your Own Board?

Answer :

There is no magic number here, but I will say that there are some parameters to keep in mind. I like to see a 70/30 split between personal boards and group boards. Duplicate pins are inevitable, so concentrate on pinning as often as you can and don’t worry so much about duplicates.

Question 35. What Is The Difference Between Tribes And Group Boards?

Answer :

You can learn all about Tribes in this podcast episode. Basically, Tribes is a feature of Tailwind; it is not a part of Pinterest itself. Tribes are a share group. You share your content, and the other members share your content out of the group onto their own boards.

Question 36. What Are Your Best Tips For New Accounts?

Answer :

My best tip for new accounts is to be sure that you are optimizing Pinterest in every area that you can. If you’re new, I suggest you sign up for the Pinterest Planner to help get you started off on the right foot.

Be sure that your boards align with the content you will be creating. Don’t go too wide; if you need to start with just a few boards, and then start with a few boards. Stay small for as long as you need to.

Question 37. For A Site That Is Still Building Content, How Soon Should You Start Pinning?

Answer :

You should start pinning right away! Obviously, it won’t all be your own content, but you should not only pin your own content anyway. So maybe you only have 10 evergreen posts on your site; pin one per day and then 4 other pins that are outside content. Just be active on the platform to build up your account and begin to get some notice.