930: The Platform That Outlasted the Algorithm: Why Pinterest Still Wins

0:01This episode is supported by What Should I Do With My Money? From Morgan Stanley. Okay, can we just talk about how money is legitimately one of the hardest topics of money. up. Like even when you think you have your stuff together, there's always this really weird awkwardness around it. That's why I am obsessed with this podcast. It actually makes money conversations feel approachable. I recently listened to an episode about affording multiple big life things at once, like a wedding, a house, an IVF, if they were all happening at the same time. And honestly, it hit home. So many people are wondering, can we actually have it all without sacrificing our sanity or our savings.

0:42What I love is that they bring in real experts who help break down these massive costs into actual doable steps. It's like having a money mentor in your ear who gets it. Search for What Should I Do With My Money in your podcast player. We'll also include a link in the show notes. Many thanks to What Should I Do With My Money and Morgan Stanley for their support. I'm going to say something that might sound totally crazy in an era where everything is changing overnight. I spend less than an hour a week on one platform and that single platform drives over 20 ,000 visitors to my business every single month.

1:21I don't have to dance. I don't have to record anything on my camera. I don't have to look for trending audio. I don't have to throw up a post and hope that somebody sees it. In fact, I don't even have to do this strategy myself. It can be outsourced. And while everyone else is exhausted trying to outsmart the algorithm, I have been quietly winning with a platform where the algorithm actually works with you and not against you. This is the Gold Digger podcast. And today we're talking about the platform that has outlasted the algorithm and why Pinterest is still the smartest move that you're not making.

1:57Let's dive in. I'm Jenna Kutcher, and I help you trade hustle for purpose and build a business that gives you the life you actually want to live. From a$300 Craigslist camera to a seven-figure business I run from home, I've learned that success isn't just about what you do, it's about how you live. Here, you'll get strategies that work, systems that give you your time back, and steps that turn your effort into results and impact. If you're ready for clarity, confidence, and a business that feels as good as it looks, you're in the right place. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. Before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that this episode is brought to you in partnership with Pinterest.

2:42And I have the greatest honor of being a part of the Pinterest Educators Program. There are about six of us in total, which means that I get to share the strategies that have genuinely transformed my business and I get to help you do the same. And so everything I'm sharing today comes from years of real results and real strategy, not just theory. All right. So I want to talk about what 2025 feels like if you are trying to build a business online right now. The thing is, is that social media has transformed dramatically. We have what we are calling the TikTokification of Instagram, which is essentially meaning that regardless of where you're showing up on social media, you are likely working so hard to create content and yet only a fraction of your own audience might actually see it.

3:31And we're just talking about straight up seeing it. We're not talking about engaging with it. There have been stats that say around 3 % of your audience actually sees what you post. And so what has happened is, is that so many creators and founders and entrepreneurs have bought into this lie that we must focus on endless posting and chasing trends and going viral and suggested content. And when you start to believe that lie, it is the fast track to burnout. It is the fast track to getting on this hamster wheel that you can never get off of. Does that resonate with you? You're thinking about like, how do I just create content about what I want to do instead of actually working on what I want to do, right?

4:14And so what happens is, is that we start to second guess everything because the metrics keep shifting. Like the ruler that we are holding our success up to keeps moving and nothing, absolutely nothing about it feels reliable. And for me, what's happened is like deep down, whenever I start to get on the hamster wheel, I start to wonder like, is this really what it takes? Like, did I leave a nine to five just to trade it for 24 seven content creation that might not even get seen and might not work. What I know to be true is that so many entrepreneurs did not start a business to become full time content creators, right?

4:51You probably started it because you have something valuable to offer. You have a passion, you have skills, you have a story, you have a heart for serving people. But right now, if you are playing the game by those rules, you are probably stuck on a hamster wheel that never stop spinning. And if I had to guess, that only leaves you feeling exhausted. Now, I see it everywhere in the DMs, in the threads, in the conversations that I'm having with women just like you every single day. People are feeling so discouraged. Like we're walking around wondering if we're doing something wrong because our reach feels inconsistent because we're posting more than ever and we're seeing less results than ever because we're working so hard with so little to show for it.

5:34And here's the thing. It is not just you. It's not you. The truth is, is that social media platforms are designed for a few goals. And the main goal is to keep people scrolling. I'll never forget when I started to really reverse engineer, what are the metrics that social media platforms are looking for? Like how are they measuring their success? And the number one metric that they were looking at was how long are people staying on the apps? Now, what does this mean if we're a business owner and we're trying to send people to our freebies, our website, our sales pages, our lead magnets, right? When a social media platform's number one goal and objective is to keep people scrolling and to not get them distracted or sent off of the app, then we start to realize like, hey, that might work if we're in entertainment.

6:24but it's probably not going to align with what I need as a business owner, which is to build a sustainable business that actually pays me and gives me my time back, right? And the psychological toll of trying to play the game where you know their metric is keeping people on the app and your big goal that is actually tied to results and a return on investment is to get people off of the platform. The psychological toll of that, of creating and wondering if anyone is going to see it, of watching your hard effort not translate into real results, of thinking that you're always behind or you're not doing enough.

7:01That is real. And it's not a reflection of your capability or your worth. And so what if I told you today that the problem isn't actually your content? What if the problem isn't even you? What if it's just that social media is designed for a different purpose than what you're trying to accomplish. And what if there was a different kind of platform altogether? One, where the algorithm actually helps you get found instead of making visibility feel like a guessing game, like where your content doesn't just expire after a day, where you don't have to perform or trend chase or sacrifice your piece just to be seen, where your work from six months ago could still be bringing you clients today.

7:46Like, what if you could finally stop piecemealing a strategy together and give your business the foundation it deserves? The good news is that place exists and it has been hiding in plain sight this entire time. So what is that place? It's Pinterest. And I want to walk you through why Pinterest is the exception. There is a fundamental difference here. And here's what most people get wrong about Pinterest. They think it's social media and it's not. Pinterest is a visual search engine and that one distinction changes literally everything about how you show up and what kind of results you can expect from this platform.

8:29So on social media, people are there to scroll. They're there to be entertained, to be distracted, to kill time. They're not there specifically looking for you, right? You're competing for attention in this endless feed of content that is designed to keep them there. On Pinterest, people are there searching with intent. They're searching, they're planning, they're thinking through their project. They're looking for solutions to their real problems. They're literally going on and typing in things into the search bar, like how to start a podcast or content ideas for service providers or how to grow my email list.

9:06And beyond just people that serve other business owners, they're also looking for cute wardrobes and skincare solutions and craft projects for their kids. And the best part about this platform is you get to show up as the answer. So think about what that means for a quick second. You are not on this platform trying to interrupt someone's scroll, right? You're not trying to have the strongest hook or the catchiest dance or the best audio. You're not hoping that they just happen to be online at the exact moment that you post. And you're also not crossing your fingers that the algorithm feels generous today.

9:44You are there answering their question. You're solving a problem. They came looking and you are what they find. And here's the best part. So 96 % of searches on Pinterest are unbranded. What does this mean? That means that when people are going onto Pinterest, they're not typing in your name or your competitor's name. They're typing in what they need. Here's an example of this. So the other day I was looking for brown sneakers. Now, I was not typing in like brown Adidas sneakers or brown Nike sneakers. I just typed in brown sneakers. The same goes for the work that you're doing. You do not need to be a mogul or have your name be a household name on this.

10:26People are literally going there and they're typing in what they need. And if your content that you have pinned onto Pinterest is the right answer, guess what? You are the one showing up, not the massive business, not the fortune 500 company. You don't need to be known. Like think of how much of relief that is. You don't need 10 ,000 followers or a blue check mark. You just need to understand what your ideal client is searching for and create the type of content that answers those questions. Now, what does this mean? That levels the playing field in a way that is literally impossible elsewhere.

11:02And if you're listening to this, I hope you just let out a sigh of relief that this isn't another popularity contest. This is not another platform that you need to start from zero and grow to 10K. That is not how this works. There is a huge algorithm difference here. And let me be clear. Pinterest does have an algorithm, but here is what makes it different and why this matters so much for you and your business. So the Pinterest algorithm is a connector. It's not a separator. And so what's beautiful about this is it feels like a true partnership because your goals and Pinterest as a platform, their goals are actually aligned.

11:43Like you want to reach your ideal client. Well, Pinterest wants to give searchers the best possible answer. And so when you show up with good content and smart keywords, everybody wins. You're not fighting to get seen. You're literally being matched with people who are actively searching for what you offer. Are you starting to see how just this fact alone changes not only how you're creating, but how you're getting connected to the people who are searching for your creations? So this distinction, I think, is just so important because here's what it did for me. And here's what it can do for you.

12:17It fundamentally changes the type of work that you're doing. and it also changes where you're spending your energy. I want to separate creativity from strategy. And I can follow a strategy day in and day out. It doesn't matter if I'm feeling creative or not. It doesn't matter. Pinterest is strategic work. You are not there trying to entertain someone. You are trying to answer what it is that they're searching for. You're trying to be the solution. And so it opens up a completely different approach to creation. You get to focus your creative energy on the actual content, like the thing that you are trying to get people to.

12:58It could be a course, a service, a blog, an offer, a freebie. Like this is the work that actually matters, a work that actually leads people to results and to take action. And so essentially what happens is, is then Pinterest then becomes this bridge that connects that work to the people that are searching for it. Therefore, you shift the way that you're showing up from feeling like you have to perform to feeling like you just have to be found. And so this leads to a massive advantage, which is all about longevity. Okay, it is officially that time of year. And if you run a business, you know the holiday rush is no joke.

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15:40Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. Restrictions apply services not available in all areas. So let me tell you what happened last month. So just last month, a pin that I created over a year ago, drove 1200 clicks to my website. This is literally just one pin on Pinterest. I didn't reshare it. I didn't boost it. I didn't even think about this pin. It was literally just working for me because here's what makes Pinterest different. Pins don't disappear. They don't expire. They don't get buried immediately. What happens is they actually gain momentum over time.

16:24So the average half-life of a pin on Pinterest is 13 months. Okay, compare that to a social media post that lives and dies within 24 hours, maybe 48 hours if the algorithm is generous. What does that mean? It takes approximately 13 months for one single pin, I'm talking about a single graphic on Pinterest, to receive 50 % of its total lifetime engagement, such as clicks, saves, and impressions. So what does that mean? Some of my best performing pins are over a year old and still driving traffic every single week. In fact, I have pins that are five years old that are still driving traffic to my site, my blog, and my offers.

17:10So your content on Pinterest, think of it like this. It ages like wine, not milk. And in a world where so much content feels disposable, where it feels like you are creating it just to watch it literally vanish, that matters. Like that shifts my energy so much. It means that the work that you're doing today keeps working for you tomorrow and next month and six months from now and 13 months from now. And when I look at this style of work, that's not hustle. That's straight up leverage. It's exactly what you need if you want to build a business that actually serves your life instead of consuming it.

17:44Okay, let me just paint a picture for you that might help you understand how this works in my life. So this is a moment where I realized my actual business results are coming from something different than I thought, because I think you might relate to this. So I used to show up on social media constantly. Like I was on stories from the minute I woke up sharing what I ate for breakfast all the way down to my evening skincare routine. Like I was the poster child for show up and stay visible. That was just how I was operating. and I genuinely believed that if I wasn't constantly online, my business would suffer, my visibility would diminish.

18:22I thought that visibility required constant presence and if people couldn't see me, they'd forget about me, right? And this worked for a long time until I had a baby and suddenly I recognized like, wow, my desire to share my life in this way is not there any longer, right? It literally evaporated. And no one really wants to watch a sleep deprived mom who's obsessed with her baby all day anyway. Although I will admit that I kind of tried that for a little while. But I remember having this moment, I think I was sitting in bed, it was after a night that I'd been up all night, right? And I remember just thinking like, I cannot show up like I did before.

19:01And I definitely don't have the time to. Like when you think about those early days as a new mom. I'm nursing around the clock. I'm barely sleeping. I'm learning how to be a mom. My hormones are fluctuating. I'm starving, like all these different things. Like coupled that with this idea or this feeling of like, I need to create content too. That felt impossible. And so in my business, I had planned a maternity leave and I had planned to step away from all the aspects of my business, like email and the podcast and the blog. And I kind of left social media as like an open-ended thing. And I remember just thinking like, I want to do an experiment.

19:38Like I want to see what happens when I step away. And what was so interesting is, is I came back thinking, oh my gosh, my business is going to tank and I'm going to have to swoop in and save it. Like how am I going to do this? But you know what happened? Nothing. My sales were still consistent. We were still growing my email list at the same rate. My content was still being found. People were still signing up for my courses, downloading my freebies, listening to the podcast, sending me messages about how that content was changing their lives. Social media had ultimately been this dopamine hit.

20:11And I was addicted to the instant feedback. Like I am not ashamed to admit that the likes, the comments, the validation, it made me feel like I was doing something like it felt productive. But when I actually looked at where my revenue was coming from, it wasn't there. And Pinterest was this quiet engine running in the background the entire time. And that's when I realized I had been spending 80 % of my time on platforms that were giving me 20 % of my results while Pinterest, which maybe took me an hour a week, was really doing the heavy lifting. Like, if you have ever had this belief of like, I am going to build it and they are going to come, right?

20:52If you build it, they will come. If you've ever had that belief in your business where you have built out a new website, or you created an awesome lead magnet to grow your email list, or you have this incredible offer, or you spent a ton of time on this meaningful blog post, and you publish it, and you realize that was only a part of the work that you actually need to get people to the thing in order to get a result, then you know that feeling of like, wow, people don't just show up, you've got to guide them there. And when I recognized that Pinterest was doing the heavy lifting of guiding people to the work that I was doing and had already done, that changed everything for me.

21:33Because I realized I could have both. I could have a business that pays me well. And I could also have a life where I don't feel indebted to platforms that are not actually providing me results. That I don't feel guilt going to bed at night that I didn't quote show up on an app that isn't actually getting me closer to my goals. And so it really was just this wake up call. And I often think of this example, I was actually just watching the show last night. So I feel like it's very fresh in my mind. But imagine you're on Shark Tank. And you're walking down the hallway and that music is playing. And you walk in and you do your pitch and you just nail it, right?

22:15And then all of a sudden, Mark Cuban is like, all right, so like, how are you getting customers? And you're like, well, you know, I'm posting three times a day on Instagram. He's like, well, great. But what is the ROI on that? Like, what are you getting from that? Well, I get like 110 likes every time I post and my post yesterday got 23 comments. Okay, great. But how is that actually translating into sales of your product? Well, I mean, I think people will click the link in my bio, right? Okay, can you start to see how if we can't answer honestly to the results that we're driving with the efforts that we are spending, there's likely not a strong enough ROI that's compelling, right?

22:57A shark wouldn't take that as a response. But there's also probably a compelling reason for you to look at a different place to spend your time. So let me tell you real quick about Pinterest. If you haven't looked at Pinterest lately, you need to. And I'm not just talking about looking at it as a consumer, because I know a lot of us love to plan out our dream wardrobes or our vacation or our next haircut. But if you haven't looked at it from a strategic standpoint, let's talk about it because the platform has been making moves that make it even more powerful for businesses like yours. So Pinterest now supports direct links.

23:34What does that mean? That means that if you have video content, your video content can send people straight to your opt-in or your sales page, not just to your profile. So you're basically removing friction between discovery and conversion. Again, just making it a more seamless process for the user. They also have AI powered search, and I would argue it's better than ever. Pinterest now understands context. So because of tools like AI, it can really read into what is your pin about? What is it for? Which means that your pins can show up for searches that you didn't even specifically optimized for, meaning that platform is getting so much smarter at connecting the right content with the right searchers.

24:14On top of that, the analytics have been completely overhauled. So you get deeper audience insights. You can see traffic sources. So you can really track like, where's the traffic coming from? Where am I sending the traffic to? How do I optimize that? You also get deeper insights into what is actually converting. So what are people clicking through to and how is that leading to a result for you? Which means you're not guessing, right? You have data. What I love is that Pinterest is constantly evolving and it's evolving in ways that make it more powerful for people who actually want to grow a business, not just people who are obsessed with vanity metrics.

24:50And so I have been loving these updates because I feel like as a business owner who has been strategically on this platform for years, it is helping connect more dots and it is also helping to make the user experience so seamless where somebody can literally go from searching to shopping, from searching to solution with one or two clicks. Again, Pinterest is this bridge, right? And so when you think of the goal of a search engine, whatever people are typing in the search bar, the search engine's job is to connect them with the most helpful, relevant info, right? And so it makes sense that it is a way faster path to results than trying to hook somebody with a post, trying to get them to engage with that post, trying to get them to click to your profile, trying to get them to click the correct link in your profile and then take action, right?

25:40You can sense the friction there. And so when we think about traffic and we think about quality in terms of the different platforms, Pinterest traffic is there to convert. People are there with intent, not the intent to be distracted. They're not mindlessly scrolling at 11 p.m., though they might be. They're actively looking for solutions. They're planners, they're decision makers, and statistically speaking, they also have more money to spend. So let me just break it down for you. Globally, the audience on Pinterest is 70 % women, 30 % men, 42 % of the user base is Gen Z. And the main reason that they're using Pinterest is to find information about products, brands, and businesses.

26:23So again, they're coming in with buying intent. Pinterest reaches 40 % of US households with an annual income of over$150 ,000. These are essentially people who can afford to work with you to buy your product, to buy your course, to invest in your services, right? Like these are people who are building businesses and raising families and making decisions about what to invest in. And so when a pin of yours sends someone to your website, they're not just landing on it by accident. They're searching for what you have to offer. They clicked because they wanted it. Like they are already opting themselves in.