896: Pinterest Myths That Are Sabotaging Your Strategy (And What to Do Instead)

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2:10If you've ever rolled your eyes or scratched your head when someone called Pinterest a business strategy, give me 30 minutes to change your mind. Today, I'm breaking down 10 myths that are holding creators and business owners back and showing you what actually works on Pinterest in 2025. I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Gold Digger podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a$300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks all from my house in small town Minnesota with my family. Here we value time as our currency.

2:49We mix the woo and the work and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practical, no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired, and empowered.

3:26This is the Gold Digger Podcast. There's kind of this joke for all the people that are really close to me, and it's honestly not really a joke. It's real. Is that like, I never leave my house. I could go an entire week without ever leaving my house and not feel constrained. Like I love where we live. I love our land. I love my garden. I love my chickens and my dogs. Like I never want to leave the house. And I have basically built an entire business from my laptop in my likings. And I just love being home and doing what I do with my people and with my work. But recently I did something rare. I actually left home and I spoke at a live event and somewhere between the whole like, welcome Jenna Kutcher to the stage and the Q &A, things got so interesting.

4:12So my friend that was hosting the event, he first introduced me as a social media expert. And before I could even stop myself, I interrupted and said, I'm so sorry, but I actually don't like social media. You could basically hear a pin drop, but that moment opened the door to one of the realist conversations I had on stage. And that ended up being basically myth busting everything people assume about Pinterest. The questions were rolling in like, isn't that for weddings and recipes? Does it work in 2025? Don't you need a massive following? And honestly, I welcomed in those hesitations because at one time or another, I probably believed them too.

4:51Like before I ever used Pinterest strategically to drive traffic, I was using it for my dream closet and future home. It hadn't even occurred to me that it could be a business tool until I sat down with my first ever virtual assistant and she asked me, how are you using Pinterest? And I realized she wasn't just asking me how pretty are your boards, but how are you using it to drive traffic to your work? That moment flipped the switch. And so today I am myth busting the most common Pinterest misconceptions so that we can finally unlock its true potential for both traffic and conversions. And I do have to note this episode is created in partnership with Pinterest.

5:30I am one of their featured educators, which is the biggest honor since I've been teaching this stuff for years. And so I am so excited to create this episode. Now, if you would like to go even deeper on how to use Pinterest to grow your business, head to teachmetopin.com. I have a totally free class, sometimes seeing is believing. And if you want to watch how I do what I'm teaching in today's episode and go way deeper on it, go to teachmetopin.com. You can watch my training on demand. and it's totally free. Now let's bust some Pinterest myths, shall we? Let's dive in. We're going to start off with a heavy hitting myth to bust from the get-go.

6:11If you only listen to this one, you will walk away smarter when it comes to Pinterest. The first myth is this, Pinterest is just another social media platform, right? Like Instagram or TikTok. This is what I hear the most. And I would argue this is the biggest misconception. People often assume that Pinterest is another social media app. One where you have to show up and show your face and post in real time and do all the trends and engage constantly, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Pinterest isn't a social platform. It's a search engine, which means Pinterest works more like Google than Instagram.

6:47You actually want to approach Pinterest with more search engine optimized tactics than you would with like trending topics on social media. Now, I don't really know why our brains love to group Pinterest in with the other platforms. I honestly blame on our websites where we have those little icons of like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. I feel like that has subconsciously set us up to believe that Pinterest is social media. But in reality, when you recognize and realize, hey, this is a search engine, I need to treat it like one, it not only changes the way you show up on the app, but it changes your entire approach.

7:26So it was so funny at this event, my friend who I love introduces me and says, you know, here's Jenna. She's a social media expert, all these things. And so I'm sitting in this chair on stage and I interrupt and I'm like, Hey, I really got to tell you, like, I don't love social media. I feel like social media keeps us on this treadmill. It creates so much guilt. It provokes anxiety. It creates shame. Like we can sit there and like doom scroll on these platforms, but we feel like we have to stay plugged into them. And this is why I love Pinterest. In fact, I often argue that like I have to be on social media to meet you where you already are and then to show you that there are ways to get off of it.

8:12And that is really like why I'm on social is to meet people where they are and to get them off of it. Now, Pinterest is amazing because it doesn't care how often I post selfies or I don't have to show up in stories. There are no DMs to manage there. It basically just wants your content, right? So if it's a search engine, a search engine's goal is to help connect a user's query with a solution and your content and what you create is the solution. And so Pinterest doesn't necessarily want to keep people on the platform like the social media platforms does. Pinterest wants to send people off and connect them to the resources that they are searching for.

8:55One thing that I think is so incredible about the platform is that Pinterest users perform over 6 billion with a B searches every single month. Now, unlike Instagram, these searches aren't for influencers. Therefore, for ideas, solutions, and inspiration. And so why you have a better shot at finding success on Pinterest than Instagram is because people are going on there and they're open, right? They are so open for ideas, solutions, inspiration. They're not necessarily typing in Jenna Kutcher. They're typing in marketing tips for photographers or leveraging Pinterest as a business owner, right?

9:3596 % of searches of these 6 billion searches on Pinterest are unbranded, meaning people are open for new creators, new businesses, new products, and new offers. This is like a gold mine for all of us. And so the first thing you need to understand is you have to think of Pinterest basically like a visual Google. Your job isn't to be visible, it's to be discoverable. Okay? Okay. Myth number two is this. People will say, well, Jenna, you know, I pinned something once and nothing really happened. So this probably just doesn't work for me. Right. Posting one pin is like printing one flyer and taping it to your fridge.

10:16Of course it is not going to move the needle. Pinterest thrives on volume and variety. The two V's volume and variety. So every piece of content that you create, whether it's an Instagram post, a blog post, a podcast episode, et cetera, every piece of content you create can turn into five or 10 or even 20, 30, 40, 50, an unlimited amount of pins using different headlines, different colors, and different images. Now, different pins are going to reach and appeal different audiences since you're using different keywords or maybe highlighting different parts of the source content. And so what you have to understand is that for every piece of content you create, you can create an unlimited amount of pins.

11:03And so if you have ever tried Pinterest and you have just posted one straight up pin from the content and you're like, well, nothing's happening. Yeah, no duh. And so one of the things that we do with Pinterest is we basically just created a system. So every single week in my business, for example, we have two podcast episodes and we have an additional blog post. So out of those three pieces of content alone, we are creating 30 different pins. Every podcast episode automatically turns into 10 pins using templates. And if you need to see this to believe it, go sign up for my free masterclass. You can literally watch it as soon as you're done listening to this episode at teachmetopin.com.

11:45I will literally show you how we take one single podcast episode and turn it into 10 pins in about 10 minutes. And so this is the way that we not only leverage our content and get more eyeballs on it, but we also collect super insightful data into what is converting. What are people clicking on? What headlines are working? What categories are working? What types of pins work? We even have posts that we created years and years and years ago that are still bringing traffic into my ecosystems using this strategy. So I have content that I created literally years ago and it is still generating traffic without having to touch it ever again, right?

12:26It's just amazing. The average pin can generate clicks and traffic for over 13 months. Okay. So think of it this way. When you post something on Instagram, it typically lives and dies within 24 to 48 hours, right? We're kind of used to this churn and burn mentality and you don't even know what's going to work on that platform, right? It feels so unpredictable. The average pin can generate clicks and traffic for over 13 months. So would you rather spend your time on something that is going to live and die within the next 48 hours or something that will literally still be working for you without any extra effort on your part a year from now?

13:04For me, I'm going to always look at the ROI with the return on investment on my time, my energy, and 13 months totally beats 48 hours. So if you've pinned something and it didn't happen, you were probably missing a key part of the strategy. Again, we're focusing on being searchable and we're also focusing on variety and volume when it comes to the platform. And let me tell you, don't let the volume thing freak you out because creating a graphic using a template is way faster than creating a brand new piece of content every single day. Can I get an amen? All right. Number three, the third myth that I want to bust is this.

13:41people will often say, I thought that fresh content meant that I had to constantly create new stuff. So Pinterest loves and prioritizes what is called fresh content. And when you are bringing fresh content onto the platform, even if you just brought one fresh pin onto the platform per day, you would start to see massive results. We're not talking about brand new content. We're many creators burn out thinking that they have to constantly be generating new blogs, new freebies, new podcast episodes, new Instagram posts every single week just to stay relevant. But what's amazing about Pinterest is that on Pinterest, fresh just means a new visual or new copy, not necessarily a new idea.

14:30A new pin design counts, even if it is linking to something old. So there is a very good chance that you who is listening to this episode right now, you are sitting on a gold mine of content that could absolutely crush it on Pinterest without you having to create new content. You could link to blog posts you wrote a year ago, two years ago. As long as that content is still relevant and makes sense, oh my gosh, go on with your bad self and get on the platform. And so one of the things that we do is we'll take one piece of content. So say one podcast episode, we'll create 10 different pins and we just tweak the design in little ways.

15:08So we'll split test. Does it work better with a headshot of me on it or a stock image? Does it work better with the title of the episode or a different type of headline? Does it work better with pink as a background color or blue? And it is amazing, again, because we're getting so much insight into what is the most clickable design. And it's also an awesome way to revive old content. Like we'll often go into our Google Analytics will see like, oh, this one blog post we wrote two years ago is still super relevant. We want to get more traffic there. How can we create fresh pin designs and send people to that piece of content?

15:44So you can literally raise your content from the dead using Pinterest just by creating quick pin graphics that are considered fresh. So to reiterate this point and to make it so crystal clear. A new image matched with an old URL is still considered fresh by Pinterest algorithm, meaning you can repin a five-year-old blog post using a new pin design and you can totally see it take off. And let me just chime in here and interrupt my own self with this brain wave of most people are just consuming content on Pinterest, but all of these things that I'm talking about today rely on you switching from being a consumer to a creator on the platform.

16:28Most people don't understand that you can be a creator of pins and every pin you create on the platform, you get to designate where it goes to. So when I say a new pin image to an old URL, you are the one setting all of that up. You can import in content and say, I want this pin to link to this post. And again, you can revive content that has lived and died on the vine and help it take off and generate the types of results you had in mind when you first created it in the first place. So the main takeaway from this myth of I thought fresh content means I have to constantly create new stuff. Good news here is that you're probably sitting on a ton of content that could perform well on Pinterest and you do not need to create more.

17:13You basically just need to take a tiny bit of strategy to optimize what you've already got and help it get you real results. All right, I'm going to hit pause for just a sec so we can thank our amazing sponsors who help keep the show running. But while we're on this quick break, I want for you to think of one friend or business bestie who's totally burning out because they're constantly creating new content. Trust me, you know the one. Send this episode to them because this next myth we're busting is one I really wish someone had told me sooner. You do not need to be on Pinterest all day in order to make it work.

17:46All right, we'll be right back. This podcast is brought to you by Mercury, banking that helps entrepreneurs do more with their money. Okay, I remember in the early days of my entrepreneurship journey, clients would literally mail me checks and then I would have to drive all the way to the bank to deposit them. It took me literal years to make things go digital. And I am ashamed to admit I still have a filing cabinet with paper contracts because I'm way too afraid to throw them away. But that's the beauty of growth, right? You learn what systems serve you and which ones hold you back. Mercury is one of those systems that just works.

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19:44Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger. Shopify.com slash gold digger. All right. Myth number four is this. Don't I need to pin like 25 times a day to stay relevant on Pinterest? No, no, absolutely not. Pinterest rewards consistency, not chaos. You do not need to pin dozens of times every single day in order to get results and be effective. What I recommend is if you were to become a contributor, a creator on the platform, and you could just pin one, to two fresh pins a day, you will get massively powerful results.

20:30Now, here's my favorite part about Pinterest. Unlike other platforms where you can get penalized for scheduling posts or you're not supposed to post and ghost, Pinterest is the exception. You can literally log into the platform once a week, schedule a few high quality pins to drop throughout the week and get massive results. so I have somebody on my team who will take all the content that we created in the last week generate pins from all that content using templates that we've created she'll sit down once a week log in schedule our pins for the rest of the week and then log off this doesn't have to be you doing it your assistant or a team member could absolutely steal this process I would argue that this would be the best hour of payroll you will spend throughout the week if you're paying somebody 25, even$50 a week to take what you've already created and help it get a way longer shelf life.

21:27We're talking about turning minutes into months. Oh my gosh, best ROI of your time. Now, what we found is that by simply bringing just one pin onto the platform every single day, you can absolutely get traction. So we have students who are sitting on a gold mine of content, but maybe that gold mine isn't hundreds and thousands of blog posts. Maybe they have like 10 blog posts. They have created this rhythm where they're pinning just one to two pins a day. And we have found that that can absolutely move the needle. And the best part is, again, you can jump in, schedule, and automate all of them.

22:00You can either do it natively inside of the platform or use a platform like Tailwind and log in and log out. You don't have to engage. You don't have to respond to DMs. It is literally the best hour that you can spend a week. This is literally about setting it and forgetting it. Pinterest wants your ideas. They are not over here like fighting for your time, especially as a creator. So I just think that that feels so much more in alignment of the type of life I want. And it also makes all of the work that I'm creating today feel worthy because I know it can still be generating results for me a year from now because of this simple process that we have in place.

22:39Okay. Myth number five is this. I get clicks from Pinterest, but those people don't buy anything. I would argue that this is one of the most damaging myths. So when you are leveraging a Pinterest strategy and you start to see traffic, awesome. Now, a lot of people that teach about Pinterest, they stop right at traffic. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, we've got to get to the gold. We want to turn traffic into treasure over here. Now, one thing to note about Pinterest users, and perhaps you are a user yourself, and you can probably attest to this, is that Pinterest users are planners. When they click, they click with purpose.

23:15And so if you're not seeing conversions yet, it's probably a funnel issue or the way that you've set up to optimize the place that they're landing, not necessarily a platform or a Pinterest issue. And so one of the things that we've gotten into practice is that we log into our Pinterest analytics and we are always looking at like, okay, where is the traffic going? and let's make sure that that blog post or that landing page or that webinar page or the sales page or the show notes, that it is optimized. You don't necessarily want to lead people just to information. You want to lead them to an invitation.

23:51The way that you turn traffic into treasure is by having the clear next step for them to take. And so we are constantly looking at, where is traffic going? And then making sure that wherever somebody is landing, there's a very clear next step. There's a very clear invitation and there are opportunities for them to really log into our ecosystem, right? We don't necessarily own Pinterest users, but once they are in playing in our own sandbox, so to speak, we have the opportunity to capture their information and stay in touch with them. So the best way that we use Pinterest is to collect leads for our email list where then we can serve people very well and then eventually sell to them.

24:29So while a lot of Pinterest users are there for the planning part of their process, there is a stat that you have to keep in mind. 83 % of Pinterest users have made a purchase based on content from the platform. And so while some people are on there for planning purposes, others are on there to purchase. This is not just window shopping. This is like wallet out behavior. I have personally been on Pinterest the other day. I was looking for a specific red dress. I wanted a red linen V-neck dress. like where else can you go? And this is proof that this is a search engine, right? So I'm just typing in all of the keywords that I can think of to describe what it is that's in my head.

25:07And I was discovering all these brands I never even heard of. I straight up just bought a dress straight off of the platform. And so you have to understand that there's both planning behaviors and purchasing behaviors. The goal here to turn that traffic into treasure is to make sure that the destination that you designate on those pins is built to convert the people who are curious into customers and just making sure that those things are optimized. Again, it's not necessarily a platform issue. It's probably a process issue. And that's where you have to get really clear. What is the next best step for somebody that lands here?

25:42Myth number six is I don't have a big audience. So Pinterest probably is not going to work for me. Now here's what I love. Screw popularity when it comes to Pinterest. What a freaking breath of fresh air for all of us who have been through all the different phases of social media, trying to get to 10 ,000 followers, all the different things. Unlike most platforms, Pinterest does not care how many followers you have. It doesn't prioritize popularity. It prioritizes quality and relevance. So what does that mean for you? That means that even a brand new creator can get massive visibility on Pinterest.