How to Get Started on Pinterest

Think of Pinterest less as just another social media app and more as a massive, visual search engine where your next customers are actively looking for ideas, inspiration, and products to buy. This guide provides a complete roadmap for setting up your account, creating content that gets discovered, and building a foundation for serious traffic and growth.

Why Is Pinterest a Big Deal for Your Brand?

Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where content has a lifespan of hours, a Pin on Pinterest can drive traffic to your website for months, or even years, after you publish it. Users on Pinterest are future-focused planners, not just passive scrollers. They're looking for solutions, planning purchases, and actively saving ideas for later. This creates a unique opportunity for businesses and creators to get in front of an audience with high commercial intent.

In short, people don't go to Pinterest to see what their friends are doing, they go to plan what they are doing, buying, or making. For your brand, this means you’re not interrupting them - you’re providing the exact solution they’re searching for.

Step 1: Get Your Foundation Right with a Business Account

Before you do anything else, you need to create a Pinterest Business account. If you already have a personal account full of your own interior design ideas or recipes, you can convert it in settings. But for most brands starting from scratch, it’s best to create a new one from the ground up.

A business account is free and non-negotiable for a few reasons:

• Analytics: You get access to Pinterest Analytics, which shows you invaluable data like which Pins are getting the most clicks, saves, and impressions, as well as who your audience is.
• Website Claiming: You can "claim" your website, which adds your profile photo and a follow button to any Pins that come from your site, and provides you with more robust analytics.
• Advertising: It gives you the ability to run Promoted Pins (ads) to reach a wider audience.
• Rich Pins: This feature automatically syncs info from your website to your Pins. For example, a Product Pin can show real-time price and availability, and a Recipe Pin can show ingredients and cook time.

How to Set Up Your Business Account:

1. Go to pinterest.com/business/create/.
2. Fill in your business email, create a password, and enter your business name.
3. Follow the prompts to describe your business, link your website, and identify your brand's focus.

Once that’s done, you’re ready to build out your profile.

Step 2: Optimize Your Profile to Attract a Following

Your Pinterest profile is like your digital storefront. It needs to look professional, tell people exactly what you do at a glance, and be optimized with keywords so the right people can find you. Spend some time getting this right.

Profile Photo

Use a clean, high-resolution brand logo or a professional headshot. This isn't the place for a blurry selfie. Remember, this picture appears on every one of your Pins, so make it recognizable.

Cover Photo

The large banner at the top of your profile is prime real estate. Use a high-quality lifestyle image that reflects your brand, showcase your products, or even upload a short video to make your profile more dynamic. Avoid messy collages and instead opt for one striking, compelling visual.

Display Name

Don't just put your brand name here. Maximize this space by including a keyword that describes what you do. This helps your profile show up in search results.

• Good: Willow & Oak | Sustainable Home Decor
• Okay: Willow & Oak

Bio ("About Your Profile")

You have a small space to tell users who you are, who you help, and what they can expect from you. Write this with both humans and the search algorithm in mind. Weave in 2-3 of your most important keywords naturally. End with a clear call-to-action, like directing them to your website or a free resource.

Example Bio: "Helping you create a calm and productive home office. Find daily tips for minimalist design, organization hacks, and sustainable office decor. Shop our furniture collections today!"

Step 3: Uncover Your Brand’s Keywords with Pinterest SEO

This is where many people go wrong. Pinterest is a visual search engine. To succeed, you need to think like a user and treat your content like you’re doing SEO for Google. The goal is to figure out the exact terms your target audience is typing into the search bar and then use those terms everywhere.

Finding keywords on Pinterest is surprisingly simple:

1. Use the Search Bar: Type in a broad topic related to your niche (e.g., "healthy dinner"). Pinterest will automatically suggest more specific long-tail keywords underneath like "healthy dinner ideas," "healthy dinner recipes easy," or "healthy dinner for weight loss." These are gold because they’re what real people are searching for.
2. Look for the Bubbles: After you search for a term, Pinterest shows colored "bubbles" just below the search bar with related keywords. Click on these to narrow your results and get even more specific ideas.

Once you have a list of core keywords, it's time to put them to work. You'll use them in your bio (as we mentioned), and critically, in your boards and Pins.

Step 4: Create Keyword-Focused Boards

Your boards are how you organize your content. Think of them as the categories of your blog or the aisles in your store. You should start with 5-10 core boards that are directly related to your niche and optimized with the keywords you found.

How to Create Effective Boards:

• Give Your Board a Specific, Searchable Name. Don't use cute or clever names only you understand. Be clear and direct. Instead of a board named "Yummy Treats," call it "Easy Vegan Dessert Recipes." Instead of "Design Inspo," create a board called "Modern Farmhouse Living Room Ideas."
• Write a Detailed Board Description. Every board has a description section - use it! Write a sentence or two clearly describing what's on the board and sprinkle in a few of your secondary keywords naturally.
• Keep Boards Focused. A user interested in "Home Organization" probably doesn't want to sift through your "Summer Fashion" pins. Keeping each board tightly focused on one topic makes your profile easier to navigate and follow.

Step 5: How to Design a Pin That Stops the Scroll

The design of your Pin is what earns the click. While creativity is welcome, there are some proven best practices that consistently perform well on the platform.

Visuals & Format

• Go Vertical: Always use a vertical aspect ratio. The ideal Pin size is 1000 x 1500 pixels (a 2:3 ratio). This format takes up more space on the mobile screen and stands out. Horizontal images get lost in the feed.
• Use High-Quality Images & Video: Blurry, dark, or poorly composed images will get ignored. Use bright, crisp, and compelling visuals. Short videos (5-15 seconds) often perform exceptionally well, catching the eye with motion.
• Add a Text Overlay: Your image might be beautiful, but the text overlay tells the user exactly what your Pin is about. Use a bold, easy-to-read font and a hook-driven headline like "5 Mistakes to Avoid When Organizing Your Kitchen" or "How to Style a Bookshelf Like a Pro."
• Brand Everything Subtly: Add your website URL or logo to the bottom of every Pin you create. This builds brand recognition and helps protect your content if it gets repinned without credit. Free tools like Canva are perfect for creating branded templates.

Step 6: Publishing Your First Pins and Building Momentum

Now it’s time to fill your boards with brilliant content. A solid pinning strategy boils down to two things: consistency and fresh content.

Consistency is vital. Aim to Pin a few times every day rather than pinning 30 Pins in one day and then disappearing for a week. The algorithm favors accounts that consistently provide fresh value.

"Fresh Pins" are the engine of Pinterest growth. A Fresh Pin is defined by Pinterest as a new image/video that has never been seen on the platform before. You can link to an old blog post or product page, but the Pin creative itself - the image, the text overlay - must be new. This means you should create multiple Pin designs for every single piece of content you produce. For example, one blog post could have 5-10 different Pin designs pointing to it, each with a different image and headline.

Writing a Great Pin Description & Title

• Pin Title: This is a powerful SEO signal. Just like a blog post title, it should be clear, compelling, and include your primary keyword right at the beginning.
• Pin Description: You have up to 500 characters. Use this space wisely. Write 2-3 engaging sentences that describe what the Pin is about and encourage a click. Weave in 2-3 more relevant keywords, and don't be afraid to add a few relevant hashtags at the end for an extra boost in discoverability.

Getting started is about building a system. Create your boards, batch-design your Pins using templates, write your descriptions, and schedule them out to maintain a consistent presence on the platform.

Final Thoughts

Getting started on Pinterest is about building a strong foundation with an optimized profile and keyword-focused boards, and then consistently publishing high-quality, vertical content designed to solve a user’s problem. It's a long-term game that rewards methodical effort with sustainable traffic far beyond what typical social platforms can offer.

Once you’ve got the hang of creating content, consistently showing up on Pinterest and all your other social platforms is the next big challenge. Speaking from experience, our team built Postbase because we were tired of legacy tools that weren't built for the visual demands of Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. Having a clean, visual calendar to plan all our content - from Pins to Reels to Shorts - and scheduling everything from one place helps us stay consistent without losing hours every week jumping between platforms.