Pinterest Strategy Resource Hub
The Modern Pinterest Strategy Guide: 5 Data-Backed Shifts for Creative Businesses
Introduction: The Rules Have Changed
I’ve been around the block with Pinterest. Things were simpler back when I started, when direct effort yielded direct results. These were the days in 2017 when I was gaining hundreds of new followers a day, receiving over 10 million monthly views, and thousands of website visitors a month. This success was too good to keep to myself, hence Red Pin Geek was born.
Then, like any tech startup that gains popularity, it went from a private to a publicly traded company. Commodifying a platform for investors inevitably reshapes it for creators and users. The replacement of the founders with new corporate leadership, shipping new features, and introducing ads to monetize it has come with a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You may be asking yourself right now, Andrea, why are you telling me this when you have been heralding Pinterest as an essential part of my marketing strategy? That’s a great question, and I hope to address it with some clarity. It’s true that achieving the kind of success I had in 2017 is not typical today. Let’s be honest, the same is true for every platform, including Instagram. Does that mean you should abandon them? Absolutely not.
The bottom line is that users still flock to Pinterest for inspiration. Pinterest stands out as the top social platform for people searching for keywords in the jewelry niche, such as gemstone jewelry. Pinterest is being used much more by this audience than by Americans in general, 16.8% more, according to the data.
This means shoppers interested in gemstone jewelry are much more likely to use Pinterest than the average social media user, making it a highly valuable marketing channel for creative jewelry businesses. By the way, I ran multiple keyword comparisons in the jewelry category, and Pinterest came out on top for all of them, surpassing Instagram and TikTok.
According to this graph, despite Pinterest being the 6th most popular platform, the percentage of people using it to search for specific queries like ‘gemstone jewelry’ far outpaces that of its more popular competitors. So, for jewelry brands, your audience is most engaged on Pinterest. That’s the reason it is still relevant. Go where your people are and have a presence so your brand has a chance to be discovered by them.
Despite Pinterest's messy evolution, one thing has remained constant: its core functionality—it’s still a search engine, with keywords at its heart for distributing your content. Vertical static image Pins still reign as king among all Pin formats and remain the recommended standard. [1]
But things are changing. If you’ve been feeling like your old Pinterest tricks, re-pinning to 20 boards, obsessing over "aesthetic" templates, or stuffing 20 keywords into a description, aren't moving the needle anymore, you aren’t crazy.
Recently, I dove into a massive study conducted by Tailwind, analyzing 1.2 million Pins across 17,000 accounts. The focus of the study was standard vertical static image Pins. The goal? To stop guessing and start following the data.
What I found completely reshaped how I approach content strategy for my clients. It turns out that successful marketing for creatives isn't about going viral overnight. It's about becoming a Strategic Content Architect, starting with your Pins.
This page is your roadmap. Below, I’ve broken down the 5 core pillars of a modern Pinterest strategy, with links to deep dives on each topic.
Pillar 1: Visual Strategy (Stop Over-Designing)
The "Ugly" Truth About Viral Images
For years, we thought the perfect Pin required a professional designer, three different fonts, and a complex layout. The data says otherwise.
In many creative niches, especially art, fashion, and decor, "Raw" images (simple photos without text overlays) are actually outperforming designed templates.
Why? Because users are tired of ads. A heavily designed Pin looks like a promotion. A raw, beautiful photo looks like inspiration.
Key Insight: You don't need Photoshop. You need better lighting.
👉 READ THE DEEP DIVE: Raw vs. Designed Pins – Why Your Approach to Design Might Be Wrong
Pillar 2: The Algorithm & Timing
Patience is a Metric
"Why didn't my Pin take off yet?"
If you posted it last week, you’re asking the wrong question. One of the most shocking stats from the study is that 40% of engagement comes from Pins over two years old.
Pinterest is a slow-burning lottery. Most Pins won't win, but the ones that do can drive traffic for years. This section of the strategy focuses on the "Fresh Pin" concept—how to signal to the algorithm that your content is new without reinventing the wheel every single day.
Key Insight: Pin today for success in a year.
👉 READ THE DEEP DIVE: Why Most of Your Pins Won't Go Viral (And the Hack to Create Fresh Pins)
Pillar 3: SEO & Text Optimization
The "Mixed Signals" Problem
Wait, don't leave this page just because I said "SEO." I promise to keep it human.
A common mistake creatives make is keyword stuffing. You know, writing a description like: "Blue earrings, earrings for mom, gift ideas, boho style, jewelry, gold..."
This confuses the Pinterest algorithm (and LLMs like ChatGPT). If you try to rank for everything, you rank for nothing.
What is Pinterest SEO?
Pinterest SEO is the practice of optimizing your Pin titles, descriptions, and board names to map your content to a specific node on Pinterest's interest graph. Clear, concise keywords help the AI categorize your content accurately.
We now know that shorter, focused descriptions (around 220 characters) perform better than long, rambling ones.
Key Insight: One Pin = One Core Keyword.
👉 READ THE DEEP DIVE: The Data-Backed Guide to Pinterest SEO & Keywords
Pillar 4: Psychology & Color
Why You Should Break Your Brand Guidelines
I know, I know. You spent money on your branding kit. You love your specific shade of "Millennial Pink."
But Pinterest users don't care about your brand consistency; they care about their mood board.
The study revealed that neutral tones (creams, teals, beiges) and high-contrast images perform best. Furthermore, seasonal relevance trumps brand colors every time. If it’s October, your audience wants warm, rusty, autumn tones—even if your brand colors are neon.
Key Insight: Design for the user's mindset, not your brand book.
👉 READ THE DEEP DIVE: Stop Using Your Brand Colors on Pinterest (Do This Instead)
Pillar 5: Conversion & Shopping
Don't Let Your Pin Be a Dead End
Here is the new reality: In an effort to become a shopping-first platform, Pinterest has trained AI to analyze images to detect objects, styles, colors, and textures, then uses this information to suggest similar shoppable items from its vast catalog of products from other merchants.
That’s right, Pinterest pits you against your competitors with shopping recommendations.
There are a few ways to run defense, one of which is “product Tagging”. Data shows that Pins with shopping tags get significantly higher engagement, even if the user isn't ready to buy right this second.
It’s about building a pathway. From the Pin, to the click, to the sale.
Key Insight: Protect your real estate. Tag your own products.
👉 READ THE DEEP DIVE: From Inspiration to Checkout – The Shoppable Pin Strategy
Conclusion: Becoming a Strategic Content Architect
Pinterest isn't dead; it just demands a smarter approach.
Thanks to the Tailwind study, we now have a modern blueprint for optimizing our Pins for the platform and its users. This should give you incredible confidence when creating your content, increasing the likelihood that it will be seen by your audience.
Optimizing your Pins for clicks is the best way to leverage Pinterest for what it does best: driving traffic. The user journey, however, doesn’t end with a Pin click; it continues on to your website.
And, it’s here where the actual conversion takes place (or doesn’t). Remember, Pinterest isn’t responsible for converting traffic, it’s job is solely to send traffic. Turning a click into a customer is purely up to you and your website. This is true for any social platform, including search engines like Google.
Most of the effort that turns your Pinterest marketing efforts into sales needs to be on what happens after the click. By shifting your focus from only "making pretty Pins" to building a search-optimized content ecosystem, you stop relying on vanity metrics like clicks to your website and start building a sustainable revenue-driving machine.
Ready to stop guessing?
I’ve created a resource to help you begin to understand how to turn that Pinterest traffic into customers where it matters most: your website. I touch on modern SEO strategies that retain traditional approaches, then add a layer for the new era of search, focusing on AI visibility.