How to use hashtags on Pinterest to grow your reach!

You're familiar with hashtags... they seem to be everywhere! But did you know that hashtags have made their way to PINTEREST as well!? It's true! This much loved update to the popular "discovery engine" platform is making it easier than ever for your content to be discoverable. Here's the inside scoop on using hashtags on Pinterest... because they do work a little bit different. 

HOW HASHTAGS WORK ON PINTEREST

To understand how Pinterest hashtags work just a little different, first you need to understand a little bit about how Pinterest works! Pinterest uses "SEO" to analyze your written and visual content to show your content as the best result for someone's search. This means that when you create a pin about chocolate cake, words like "chocolate cake" "chocolate" "recipe", etc help Pinterest understand your content. Then, when Alice comes along and searches "chocolate cake recipe" on Pinterest, your content is more likely to come up as a result. If you are NOT giving this information to Pinterest, then your content will not show up. 

One perk of using hashtags on Pinterest is that it gives me keywords for Pinterest to read and understand your content! This then increases your odds of turning up as a result on someone's Pinterest search! TOTAL WIN! 

BUT Pinterest hashtags do MORE than just add keywords to your content! They are also clickable, taking you to an entirely different world of search results. One that shows results in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER! Surely you know THAT WORD! The most coveted old fashioned method once used by Instagram and Facebook to show you content in REAL TIME.... its alive and well on PINTEREST!

WHERE TO USE HASHTAGS ON PINTEREST

 But where can you place hashtags? Hashtags are most useful on Pinterest directly in the description of your pin. If you place hashtags into your bio, your board descriptions, etc, they will not be clickable but can still give a little extra bit of info to Pinterest.... but so can the regular word. So for now, stick to using hashtags within your Pinterest pin description. 

 HOW MANY HASHTAGS CAN I USE ON PINTEREST?

Pinterest themselves say to use no more than 20 hashtags within your pin descriptions. When deciding WHICH hashtags to include in your description, be sure to only use relevant hashtags that make sense with your content. Otherwise, you might end up being penalized by Pinterest and your content become LESS discoverable. No one wants to search for a custom artwork only to get results about laundry detergent. Just don't do it. 

So next time you load up your Pinterest pins, don't forget to include a variety of relevant hashtags to your pin description to help your content land in front of a wider audience! 

Ready to dive in and learn more about how to use Pinterest to grow your business? Check out Pinterest for Creative Businesses, our newest resource for learning how to use this powerful visual platform to serve and book your ideal client.