Today I want to talk to you about what a Pinterest Manager does or, rather, what they should be doing to help you grow your account.
I thought it would be interesting to write the post from the angle of being the business owner who is considering hiring a Pinterest manager because I’m willing to be bet there is some confusion about what your manager would do for your account.
I get it – the term Pinterest manager (or virtual assistant or strategist) is relatively new and you might be questioning why you need one in the first place.
Especially when the old thought process surrounding Pinterest was that it was a place to find your next dinner recipe or to help you DIY something for your home but the platform has evolved into so much more and now it’s imperative that you use it to grow your business.
As of the first quarter of 2019, Pinterest reports they have over 290 million active users which might seem like small potatoes for some entrepreneurs (Facebook has 2.23 billion users, Instagram around 1.5 billion) but Pinterest marketing offers so many unique ways to connect to new clients and customers, the platform really can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.
The problem is, Pinterest is a HUGE time suck.
A commodity most entrepreneurs are short on.
So, not only is Pinterest a must for your business these days, but it also helped create a whole new business model: Pinterest Management.
Put simply, if you’re wondering what your Pinterest manager is doing for you, they’re freeing up your time so that you can get back to doing what you love but still reap the benefits from a strong Pinterest account.
That’s really it in a nutshell but it would be pretty boring if this was the end of the post so let’s take a closer look at what exactly a Pinterest manager does.
A great place to start when figuring out what Pinterest managers do is to look at the long list of tasks they’re taking off your to-do list.
Here is a simple list of things that need to get done almost daily in order to grow a Pinterest account:
✽ Account set up (this can take hours if it’s done properly).
✽ Keyword profile so your business is found where it should be.
✽ Keyword research – always ongoing.
✽ Board creation (this is as needed but I’m going to lie – it’s ideal to create fresh boards).
✽ Pin Design (this never ends).
✽ Manual pinning.
✽ Tailwind setup.
✽ Tailwind scheduling.
✽ Joining group boards (a daunting task indeed).
✽ Joining Tailwind tribes.
✽ Monitor Pinterest analytics.
✽ Monitor Google analytics.
✽ Check on tribe performance.
✽ Check on group board performance.
✽ Keyword research pin descriptions.
✽ Hashtag research.
Oh, my goodness I’m tired just looking at this list and this isn’t even everything a Pinterest manager does.
We haven’t touched on strategy or keeping up with the ever-changing landscape that is Pinterest.
So, as you can see a Pinterest manager is doing all the things it takes to grow a successful account while you sit back and reap the rewards.
Pinterest Management Services
Now that we understand what a Pinterest manager does, it might be helpful to look at the different services offered by many managers.
My hope is that you now understand how much work goes into growing an account so then it will be easy for you to see why a lot of Pinterest managers break down the services into packages that fall into different categories depending on what your account looks like.
We have to.
It takes hours of commitment to grow a successful account and like any other business, no one is willing to work for next to free, you know what I mean?
So, let’s take a look at popular services packages as we continue to fully understand what a Pinterest manager does.
Pinterest Account Set Up
Account set up is exactly as it sounds.
The Pinterest manager goes in and works from the ground up, laying the foundation for your account’s success.
During set up most managers will:
✔ Start a business account.
✔ Claim your website.
✔ Install rich pins.
✔ Keyword research and fill out your account title and description areas.
✔ Keyword research and create several targeted boards.
✔ Manually pin to those boards.
✔ Find group boards to join.
✔ Set up your Tailwind account.
✔ Find tribes to join.
And, the list can go on.
Click here to find out more about Pinterest account set up.
Pinterest Account Audit
Perhaps you already have a Pinterest account but you set it up without truly knowing what you were doing.
You know it’s a mess.
A Pinterest manager can go in, take a look, and make recommendations to help.
Things like:
✔ Boards that don’t fit your business message.
✔ Advice on board names.
✔ Whether the group boards you’re apart of are worth your time.
✔ What keywords to include in your profile.
And, the list goes on…
Click here to learn more about Pinterest account audits.
Pinterest Account Cleanup
Another great service to get if you know your account isn’t set up properly.
Pinterest managers go in and clean up your account so that you can grow on the platform.
Tasks might mean:
Adding keywords to board descriptions.
Changing cutesy names of boards (we’ve all been there don’t worry).
Analyzing board names.
Creating new boards with better titles.
And, the list goes on…
Click here to learn more about Pinterest account cleanups.
Pinterest Account Growth and Maintenance
Sometimes it’s hard to identify the difference between growth and maintenance.
I mean, shouldn’t they stand for two entirely different things?
Not necessarily – or at least in my opinion.
It’s more about where your account is – you need to look at how established your account is and, of course, there are many answers to this because no two accounts are the same.
You could be brand new or newish so any maintenance work you do will help your account grow.
That could mean maintaining a Tailwind schedule for your pins or submitting your content consistently to group boards and tribes.
By pinning regularly your account grows and continues to do so.
Eventually, after a lot of growth happens most accounts kind of stay where they are which means you’ve entered full maintenance mode.
What growth and maintenance packages don’t get you is a strategy, pin design, keyword research, and keyworded pin descriptions – those services are typically reserved for full account management because the time invested by the Pinterest manager is extensive.
Some growth and maintenance packages might take into account any marketing plans you have for your business.
These can be discussed during a monthly meeting and are decided and relayed by you to the Pinterest manager.
The manager then does any tasks to incorporate these new marketing plans – that could mean new boards or help with pin design.
This will vary depending on what the Pinterest manager offers as part of the service.
Think of growth and maintenance packages as only taking certain tasks off your plate – not everything.
Click here to learn more about Pinterest account growth and maintenance.
Full Pinterest Account Management
The Cadillac of all Pinterest management services – the full account take over by your Pinterest manager.
These are my favorite for numerous reasons the most important being the freedom to grow the account the way it should be.
The freedom to create a strategy and employ it knowing you have the full trust of your client to work your magic.
You need full Pinterest management when you want to go for it and you want all the bells and whistles so to speak.
You know you need full Pinterest management when you’re done pinning randomly and hoping for results but don’t get them.
Your Pinterest manager will do it all at this service level.
Things like:
✔ Tailwind scheduling.
✔ Manual pinning.
✔ Repinning.
✔ Strategy (there is a lot that goes into strategy and like any good Pinterest manager, I’m not going to give away all the secrets).
✔ Keyword research – for boards and pin descriptions.
✔ Hashtag research – for pin descriptions.
✔ Finding group boards.
✔ Finding Tailwind tribes.
✔ Monthly progress reports.
And, the list goes on…
Click here to learn more about full Pinterest account management.
Pin Design
Not every Pinterest manager is going to offer pin design as a service and that’s understandable.
I used to offer pin design as part of my full management package but the time it takes to design several pins is cumbersome and can take away from other important work.
Especially if the client doesn’t like the design so you’re into revision after revision…after revision.
Pin design packages usually vary – the low end just being the initial design and maybe a revision or two – the high end being pins designed and the keyword description.
Entire businesses are built on offering pin design so I’m sure you can see why most Pinterest managers offer the service separately or as an add on.
Click here to learn more about Pin design packages.
I hope this clarifies exactly what a Pinterest manager does and helps you understand why they are so valuable to the growth of your business.
Pinterest is an important platform for every business to be found on but it’s a huge time suck for you as a business owner and for Pinterest managers.
That’s why they charge what they do for services.
The thing to keep in mind is that if you hire the right manager you will see growth in your business making the investment worth it.
But please remember – Pinterest results do not happen overnight.
Often, it can take several weeks and months to see results but once you do, they’ll blow you away!
Have you hired a Pinterest manager?
What has your experience been?
Let me know in the comments!