The Best Strategy For Pinterest (2024 Update)

I shared the below over in my Facebook group a few weeks ago and the post was super popular. Many in my audience have already said it has helped them SO much when it comes to their Pinterest strategy. Below you will find the best strategy for Pinterest in 2024. Please note that each account is different and you must look at your data over a good amount of time when formulating a specific Pinterest strategy.

I have been a Pinterest strategist for 8 years and the below strategies are based on solid data, measurable results across hundreds of client accounts and my actual experience using these methods on client accounts.

Pinterest Strategies – this is going to be LONG so you may want to save this to read later. I have seen a ton of posts lately in other groups about XYZ working for Pinterest and some of it is great advice, other things I see can and will flat-out get your account suspended.

So, I’m sharing my thoughts/advice here in relation to new pins vs. repins, Tailwind and more.

Buckle in…I’m about to get on my soap box

If you’re new here: Welcome! I have been a full-time Pinterest strategist and digital marketing strategist for bloggers & small business owners for the last 8 years.

If you’ve been here awhile, you know I don’t just go where the wind blows when It comes to fads/trends or strategies.

I want good, solid data and I will never ever recommend something to clients or non-clients that I haven’t tested on a good number of accounts and over a good amount of time. I don’t believe In wasting people’s time or energy…we’re all in this together and with all of these recent updates from Google…it breaks my heart to see some of the crap advice out there that will hurt people’s accounts in the long run.

I will share our experiences testing things (specifically only new pins and Tailwind/schedulers) out over a good number of accounts over the last 3 years. You can see some of our results here.

I can share a ton of data but overall/general data/results:

• Pinning new pins only… at first, this can cause the account to see an increase in engagement (typically though that engagement was to older pins…not the new pins. I think the reason we see this strategy shared about so much is because it comes from those who maybe haven’t worked on their accounts strategically and consistently so this gives them a quick win in Pinterest terms and they are excited to share it with others. (this is a good thing, and super kind of them so I’m not saying anything negative about them sharing that).
• Over 6-9 months of this strategy (new pins only- video & static), we usually start to see dips and the new pins don’t gain much traction compared to an account that we are pinning a variety of content on (new, old, others’, video, static, etc.)
• With most of these new pin only accounts, we shifted to Tailwind (or scheduling a mix of repins and new pins on the Pinterest scheduler) in spring/early summer of 2023 and since then the accounts have skyrocketed (in Pinterest terms- an average of 20-50% increases in outbound clicks, impressions and engagements). Each of these accounts is still getting new pins but not every single pin is a new pin.

My thoughts are this in general when it comes to the best Pinterest strategies for bloggers in 2024:

• There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for Pinterest. I teach this in my course too but wanted to share it here, I will continue to say it until I’m blue in the face. You have to learn to listen to your data, follow the algorithm and learn from experts you trust. If that’s not me, that’s totally fine but please please find someone with data to back up their theories and not just someone who wants to sell you a course. I didn’t have a Pinterest course for 6+ YEARS, despite being asked many many times, because I wanted to methodically put one together and think through what I was putting In there so that it offered a doable strategy for the course students that wasn’t overwhelming and would grant them actual results.
• I have seen a lot of people say “Pinterest says they don’t want repins” and I have yet to actually see that from Pinterest (the two best and most reliable sources of information from Pinterest are these links: https://newsroom.pinterest.com/ & https://creators.pinterest.com/blog/). I personally have contacts at Pinterest and I speak to them often…they will not tell you a specific strategy or give you an update on specific algorithm changes so I always caution against any advice that “Pinterest says” if it’s not specifically outlined at one of the above two links.
• Also, the entire platform is built on and for repins. No, you can’t repin 15 of yours and 15 of others’ pins daily and go on like you could 5 years ago but again, this can & should be done strategically see next point:
• Pinterest’s algorithm is all about creating a good user experience. I teach this heavily and have relied on this heavily to guide our strategy for the last 8 years over thousands of client accounts. If I am looking at an account as a user and all I see is a bunch of new pins day after day, no content from others’ and just a creator pushing their own pins…it’s not a good user experience.
• A few years ago Pinterest wanted to be Facebook…Instagram, etc. you name it- anything BUT Pinterest, and a lot of people left. Especially creators. It was a mess. We pushed through it and I said from day 1 of that mess “they NEED creators, they will realize that” and in the last year or so, they have. (For what it’s worth, in the last 6 months several large SEO experts that many of you follow have said the same thing, I’m glad they agree with me after 3+ years of me saying it ). Pinterest has realized without US putting out new content as creators, they don’t have a platform. Users don’t like a feed full of ads or junk. They want real-life content from real-life creators.
• Creating a ton of new pins daily (or heck even 5 new pins daily) can be a way to quickly burn yourself and your users out. In my opinion, (this is a theory not from Pinterest directly just FYI), the algorithm and Pinterest generally want content users trust…if a pin gets very few impressions, then the next one the same, and so on, the algorithm quickly thinks the profile isn’t putting out useful content. It simply can’t catch up. Instead, putting out some really great new pins weekly, mixed in with older pins with say new titles/new descriptions or just going to a new related board over time works much better and also allows you to work smarter not harder.
• This leads me to the next point about schedulers…I personally use and recommend Tailwind because it has been the most reliable and useful scheduler over the last 8+ years. I’ve tested many others. I’ve tested using the Pinterest scheduler (which worked really well 2 years ago but not so much for best results these days…still a great option if you’re only putting out 1-2 pins a day or have time to schedule more in there but if you are short on time, it’s not the best anymore unfortunately.). Tailwind has features such as communities (we see huge results from these and when done properly and strategically they can help growth a ton). Their pricing increases and some of the practices I have heard about lately are just crap to be blunt. I have been speaking to them directly about both and I will say they have been open, kind, honest, and willing to listen to our feedback. I have personally not experienced some of the issues a few others have said but I do believe they have happened… Businesses have hiccups and unfortunately, one bad apple can ruin the entire bunch. So, I’m not saying you have to use Tailwind, I’m just here to share my experiences across a broad amount of accounts over the last 8+ years as a Pinterest expert. I want you to feel comfortable with your scheduler and if Tailwind isn’t it, that’s 100% fine! PS: I’m adding a “how to use the Pinterest scheduler” module to my course for anyone who prefers not to use Tailwind

Before I hop off my soap box: There is no shortcut when it comes to Pinterest. We often see quick results for clients and I share them here, but what you don’t see is the hours and hours of hard work, clean-ups, graphic template creation & research, keyword research, and pinning strategy. You don’t see the strategy shifts we make because we listen to and follow the data. You don’t see the hours drilling down into data if the numbers start to dip.

Please please don’t let any of this scare you away from Pinterest, it is so very useful to creators and a GREAT way to diversify traffic (plus the RPMS are ). I will also share that one of the biggest mistakes I see people make with Pinterest is shifting strategies too often…if a strategy Isn’t working over 6-9 months then it may be time to shift, but if your metrics dip over 30 days, or even 60, there may be another reason…you have to give the platform time to work Keep at it my friends, you’ve got this!

If you are interested in my Pinterest course, you can find it here. I also offer done for you services where I manage your account and continually adjust our strategy for your account specifically.