Pinterest: How to Create Group Boards

or…Who do you invite to the party?

How can group boards help your business?

If Pinners follow all of the group board contributors boards, then they will also be automatically added as followers to the group boards the contributor is part of. This increases your exposure and visibility dramatically, and will also increase your number of followers more quickly.
As a result of more followers, your pins will get more exposure, and more traffic to your website.
Getting your followers more engaged with your brand online through your group board improves your online reputation.
Contributors re-pinning your content are promoting and approving your content, and advertising it to their community.

How do you set up a group board?

Set your group board up as a “secret” board first. This has a number of advantages.
If you are re-pinning from across Pinterest, you aren’t going to clog up your followers newsfeeds with tons of images of the same thing! Which they could find really annoying, and potentially stop following you!
It gives you time to work on adding your own images.
Once it becomes public, it has already got loads of pins, and looks good, rather than looking like an inactive board.

To start a secret board, go to the bottom of your Pinterest page, and click on “Create a Secret Board”. You can then add the name, description, and category.

What do you call your board?

To enable your board to be found, you need to choose a name related to the topic. It is also important that you choose the correct category when setting up your board, for search optimisation in Pinterest.

What do you write in the description?

You need to add keywords in your board description to make it easier to find. Do not use hashtags, as these are not searchable by Google.

How can people get an invite?

You need to make it very clear and easy. The board description gives you the opportunity to give specific instructions on how potential contributors can contact you. They can either leave a message on a pin, although if your board gets busy, you may not see it! The best way is for them to send you an email with their Pinterest name.

Who do I invite to my group board?

Don’t invite random people! It can be very annoying to pinners, and could result in lots of spam!

Look for people who would be interested in contributing to the board. Check out their boards, see if they have boards on the same or related topics. Also look for influencers in your industry, and ask them. Also people who already have group boards, and especially group boards in a related area, are more likely to join, as they are more active on pinterest, and understand what group boards are all about.

How to add contributors

You need to click on “edit” on your Group Board. In the section “Who can pin” start typing the persons name. If you are following them, then their name should automatically appear. You then click “invite” Job done!

Remember you need to be following at least one of their boards to be able to invite them.

Engage with your community

You organised the party, you are responsible for it! Engage with people – this means like their pins, or even better, comment. This makes them feel appreciated, and they are more likely to pin again!
It’s all about making sure the party is enjoyable for everyone!

Rules

Make it very clear in the description how many images they can pin per day, to allow a cross-section of pins. Don’t allow “Etsy” items, unless you want the board to be flooded with things for sale. Make it clear that only you can invite other people, and that no spam is allowed. The majority of spam can be avoided by being selective about who you invite!
You don’t want the party to get trashed!

Last week: Pinterest: How to Join Group Boards. Get the info on how to find and join group boards in your niche.