Once you have your profile set up, it’s important to create a few boards that you can use to attract followers. It’s extremely important to set up these first few boards correctly if you want to get a lot of followers quickly, because these boards will represent you to potential followers, and some key algorithms kick in based on these boards.
Here are some tips for creating your first boards:
Cover Photo – Always set each board’s cover picture to the most attractive picture you have pinned in that board. Pinterest will automatically set the cover photo to the first one you pin, but you can change it by visiting the board, clicking “Edit Board” and then clicking the “Change” button beside Cover. Then use the arrows to navigate until you find the one you want to use.
Board Keywords – Be sure you use keywords in your board names, because this is one of the most powerful ways you can be found on Pinterest. Some people never follow entire profiles, only individual boards, so you want those boards to be easy to find! If you want to figure out what to name your board, just plug your main concept into Pinterest’s search to see what comes up. For example, if you’re creating a board with articles about blogging, put “blogging” into the search. This will come up with terms like “blogging for beginners” and “blogging tips”.
Killer Content – Your first boards should pin only the most interesting, re-pinnable content, because the Pinterest algorithm will present your profile to more people based on how many of your pins get re-pinned by other users. If you pin a whole bunch of content without taking into account how many people might re-pin it, you’re shooting yourself in the foot! Be sure you check each thing you pin initially to see how many users have already re-pinned it. This is a good indicator of whether they will re-pin it when you post it.
Check Before Pinning – Always check links before pinning content, as spammers will often take a popular image and change the URL to point to a spam page. If you pin this, not only are you going to alienate potential followers, but you’ll risk your account being associated with spam. Just click the picture to visit the link before you pin the image to be sure it leads to the right destination
Pin Others’ Content – Do NOT just pin your own content and nothing else. This will frustrate people and you’ll find it very difficult to get followers. They’ll think you’re a spammer. Instead, post about 10% to 20% your own content, and the rest should be other people’s content. Just keep in mind that your own content may not be re-pinned as often, so you might want to stick solely to other people’s content in the beginning.