5 Secrets to Creating Viral Images on Pinterest

 

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Maureen Wilson, owner of MadeByMarzipan.com.

I’ve discovered a trick that’s tripled my website traffic and doubled my ad revenue in a single month. Nope, I’m not pitching an infomercial. I’m pitching infographics. Or rather, “Pinfographics” (information made into a graphic and optimized for Pinterest).

You’re familiar with infographics, appealing graphic designs that are created to share information. “Pinfographics” follow many of the same design principles, but are created with a different intent: to direct traffic to the host site, thereby increasing revenue through ad clicks and sales.
Here are some key tips to keep in mind when creating and posting Pinfographics:

1) Make Your Pinfographic Tall

Source: blog.djstormbrewer.com via Jackie on Pinterest

Pinterest is all about real estate. The biggest and boldest images draw the most attention– and the most repins. On a page full of squat boxes, you want a skyscraper!  Make your Pinfographic long enough to take up most of the screen, but not so long that users have to scroll to see the entire pin.

2) Make Your Pinfographic Easy to Read

Source: nsmbl.nl via Kenzie on Pinterest

Have you ever tried to drive by a billboard and not read it? While your eyes may skim over an unappealing photograph, your brain instinctively reads and processes simple text.  Select a large, easy-to-read font, and make sure the message is clear and concise, like on this DIY Wrap Skirt pin.

3) Brand your Pinfographic

Source: bing.com via Diana on Pinterest

You made it, claim it! Put your logo or brand name on every Pinfographic. This will familiarize pinners with your brand.  As they consistently see quality posts from you, they will begin to trust your content. Branding your graphic also ensures that pinners can find you. Occasionally pinners will come across your photo on a search engine, and pin it directly from there. Too bad, no backlink!  That’s exactly what happened with this swimsuit graphic, posted from Bing. Luckily, the brand name is clearly visible, so it’s still possible for users to find the product.

 

 

 

4) Make Them Want More (and click to get it)

Source: homedit.com via Emilialua on Pinterest

You’ve seen the “Pin Tips:” Hull a strawberry with a straw, how to wind your earphone cord.  But have you ever clicked on one of these tips to visit the original site? There’s really no point: they’ve already given you all the information you need. Draw them in with your pinfographic, but make them visit your site for details.
This post, for example, gives you the basics: pallets + cushions = couch. But you can see from the comments that it leaves people wanting more information: is it attached to the wall or just stacked? Where can they find pallets like this? Is there a tutorial for the cushions? Leave pinners wanting more, and they’ll come to your site to find it.

5) Case Study: Do Pinfographics Really Work?

Source: madebymarzipan.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Before:
Here’s an example from my own website: the original pin for this tutorial was just a photograph. At a glance, it’s unclear what the subject of the pin is.  The chair? The baby? Something the baby is wearing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: madebymarzipan.com via Theresa on Pinterest

After:
When I changed this to a Pinfographic format, it hit Pinterest’s “Popular” page and received thousands of pins & repins.