How to Create a Pinterest Board for a Business

Pinterest boards are far more than digital mood boards, for a business, they are organized, shoppable powerhouse collections that can drive traffic, build an audience, and generate sales. This guide will walk you through exactly how to plan, create, and optimize Pinterest boards that align with your business goals and capture your ideal customer’s attention.

Why Does Your Business Need Strategic Pinterest Boards?

Before you create your first board, it’s important to understand why they matter. Unlike other social platforms where content has a short lifespan, Pinterest content is evergreen. A Pin you create today can continue to drive traffic to your website for months, or even years, because Pinterest functions as a visual search engine. Users aren't there to see what their friends are up to, they are there to plan, discover, and purchase. Strategic boards are your brand’s best tool for getting found in those moments.

Well-organized boards position your brand as an authority in its niche. By curating a mix of your own content alongside helpful resources from others, you become a go-to source for inspiration and information. For example, a home decor brand's board "Small Apartment Living Ideas" helps users solve a problem while subtly showcasing its products as the solution. This builds trust and keeps your audience coming back. Each board acts as a curated storefront, guiding users from initial inspiration directly to a product page on your website.

Planning Your Pinterest Boards: The Foundation for Success

The most effective Pinterest profiles are built on a solid plan. Resist the urge to start creating boards randomly. Taking the time to strategize first will pay off immensely in discoverability and user engagement.

Step 1: Brainstorm Your Core Content Pillars

Think beyond just your product categories. What topics, problems, and inspirations surround your brand? These are your content pillars. Grab a notebook or open a document and start brainstorming ideas based on these prompts:

• Your Offerings: List all of your product or service categories. An online bakery might list "Wedding Cakes," "Birthday Cookies," and "Holiday Desserts."
• Customer Pain Points: What problems do your customers face that your business helps solve? A skincare brand might have boards like "Acne Prone Skincare Routines" or "Anti-Aging Tips."
• Niche and Shoulder Topics: What topics are related to your main niche? A company selling yoga mats could create boards for "At-Home Yoga Sequences," "Healthy Smoothie Recipes," and "Mindfulness Meditation."
• Brand Values and Lifestyle: What kind of lifestyle does your brand represent? A sustainable clothing brand might create boards around "Eco-Friendly Living" or "Upcycled Home Decor."

Aim for at least 10-15 board ideas that feel authentic to your brand and useful to your target audience. You will create more over time, but this provides a strong starting point.

Step 2: Hunt for High-Traffic Keywords

Remember, Pinterest is a search engine. To get found, you need to use the words your audience is searching for. Keyword research on Pinterest is straightforward and doesn't require any fancy tools.

Start by typing a broad term related to your business into the Pinterest search bar. For instance, if you sell handmade jewelry, type in "handmade jewelry."

Pinterest will immediately suggest a list of popular, related searches, like "handmade jewelry ideas," "handmade jewelry business," or "handmade jewelry displays." These are keyword gold. Take note of any relevant suggestions. After you hit enter, you'll also see a series of colored bubbles below the search bar with additional long-tail keywords. Add these to your list as well. These are the exact phrases you'll use in your board titles and descriptions to help users discover you.

Step 3: Map Boards to the Customer Journey

Think about how different customers might find you. Some are just looking for general inspiration, while others are ready to buy. Your boards should cater to both.

• Top-of-Funnel (Awareness): These boards are broad and inspirational. They solve problems and offer ideas without being overly promotional. For a wedding photographer, this could be "Wedding Planning Tips," "Engagement Photo Outfit Ideas," or "Unique Ceremony Backdrops."
• Middle-of-Funnel (Consideration): Here, you can get more specific about what you do. These boards showcase your expertise and style. Examples could be "Our Wedding Photography Portfolio," "Candid Reception Moments," or "Golden Hour Wedding Portraits."
• Bottom-of-Funnel (Decision): These boards lead directly to a purchase or inquiry. Think "Shop Our Products," "Book a Consultation," or boards dedicated to specific collections. Make it easy for people ready to take the next step.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Pinterest Board

Once you have your plan and your keywords, the technical process of creating a board is simple. Log into your Pinterest Business account and follow these steps.

1. Create the Board

From your profile page, click the plus sign (+) on the right side of the screen and select "Board" from the dropdown menu. This will open the creator window where you'll fill in the details about your new board.

2. Write a Keyword-Optimized Board Title

This is the most important part. Use the primary keyword you found during your research as the board title. Be clear and direct.

• Weak Title: Living Room Inspo
• Strong Title: Modern Living Room Decor Ideas

The strong title includes keywords like "modern," "living room decor," and "ideas," making it much more likely to show up in search results.

3. Fill Out the Board Description

Don't skip the description! This is your opportunity to tell Pinterest exactly what the board is about, using secondary keywords from your research. Write 2-3 natural-sounding sentences that describe the kind of content users will find on the board.

For the "Modern Living Room Decor Ideas" board, a good description would be:

"Find inspiration for your modern living room decor. This board is filled with ideas for minimalist furniture, neutral color palettes, cozy textiles, and contemporary lighting. Discover tips for creating a clean and inviting space you'll love."

Notice how it includes related keywords like "minimalist furniture," "neutral color palettes," and "contemporary lighting" without sounding robotic.

4. Set Your Board to Secret (For Now)

When you're first creating a board, it's a good practice to keep it secret. This allows you to populate it with 10-15 high-quality Pins before making it public. An empty board doesn't give a good first impression. Once it's populated, you can easily make it public from the board's settings.

Curating High-Quality Content for Your Board

A beautifully optimized but empty board won't do you any good. Your next step is to fill it with valuable content that inspires and helps your audience.

The 80/20 Rule: Your Content vs. Others'

A common strategy for success on Pinterest is the 80/20 rule. This means about 80% of what you Pin should be your own original content that links back to your website, blog, or product pages. This is how you drive traffic and sales.

The other 20% should be carefully curated content from other creators that aligns with your board's theme and your audience's interests. Pinning relevant, high-quality content from others helps position you as a valuable resource, encourages others to follow your boards, and provides Pinterest with more context about what your board is about. Just be sure to never Pin directly from your competitors!

Pin Creation Best Practices

When pinning your own content, follow these simple guidelines to maximize its reach:

• Create Vertical Images: Pinterest favors a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 x 1500 pixels). This format takes up more space on the screen and is more visually appealing on mobile.
• Write Keyword-Rich Pin Descriptions: Just like with board descriptions, use keywords in your Pin descriptions to describe what the Pin is about and why someone should click.
• Add a Clear URL: Always make sure your Pin links to a relevant and working page on your website.
• Use Text Overlays When Appropriate: Add a clear, concise title to your Pin image to grab attention in the feed. For example, "5 Ways to Style a Bookshelf" or "Easy Vegan Dinner Recipe."

Ongoing Board Management and Organization

Your work isn't done after the initial setup. Great Pinterest profiles are actively managed and organized to provide the best possible user experience.

Organize Your Profile

You can drag and drop your boards on your profile page to change their order. Place your most important, relevant, or seasonal boards at the very top so they are the first thing people see when they visit your profile.

Use Board Sections

For very broad boards, you can use Sections to further organize your Pins. For example, a board called "Home Organization" could be broken down into sections like "Kitchen," "Bathroom," "Closet," and "Office." This makes it much easier for users to find exactly what they're looking for without endless scrolling.

Archive Old Boards

If you have boards that are no longer relevant - like for a past promotion or a season that has passed - don't delete them. Deleting a board means you lose all of its followers. Instead, you can archive it. The board will no longer appear on your public profile, but you'll retain its followers and the data associated with it.

Final Thoughts

Creating a Pinterest board for your business is a strategic exercise in understanding your audience and using keywords to connect with them. By thoughtfully planning your content pillars, optimizing your board titles and descriptions for search, and consistently curating valuable content, you can turn your Pinterest profile into a powerful engine for brand awareness and traffic.

We know that staying consistent with a pinning schedule, especially when you’re balancing multiple social platforms, can be a heavy lift. That’s why we built Postbase with a clean visual calendar that helps you plan and schedule all your content - including Pinterest - in one organized place. Seeing everything at a glance makes it so much easier to stay on track and maintain a steady presence without spending all day jumping between apps.