Show notes:

In today’s episode we’re going to chat about something super important for wedding businesses: Pinterest! We’ve got Gabby Pinkerton, a destination wedding planner, here to share her experience with using Pinterest to find clients and give us some tips for creating awesome content.

Now, we know some of you might be worried about other businesses stealing your ideas from Pinterest, but don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.

So, if you’re looking to up your marketing game for your wedding business, you definitely don’t want to miss this episode. Make sure to check out our resources below for even more tips on using Pinterest effectively.

Find out more about Gabby: https://gabbypinkerton.com/

Click to read more Pinterest tips from Becca

Speak to my team at the Wedding Pro Agency about managing your Pinterest:

http://weddingproagency.co.uk/

Time stamps:

Introduction [00:00:28] Introducing the podcast and guest speaker Gabby Pinton, a destination wedding planner who found success using Pinterest.

Why Pinterest is Underrated [00:01:38] Discussion on why Pinterest is often misunderstood and underrated in the wedding industry.

Pinterest as a Search Engine [00:02:01] Explanation of how Pinterest is a search engine and not just another social media platform.

Pinterest vs Other Social Media Platforms [00:03:33] Comparison of how Pinterest differs from other social media platforms and the type of content that works best on it.

Benefits of Pinterest [00:06:23] Discussion on the benefits of using Pinterest, including its evergreen nature and ease of use.

Pinterest Strategy [00:08:01] Gabby Pinton shares her strategy for using Pinterest to find clients for her destination wedding planning business.

The Power of Pinterest [00:08:45] The speakers discuss the benefits of Pinterest, how it differs from other social media platforms, and strategies for using it effectively.

Linking to Your Website [00:09:43] The importance of linking Pinterest images to a website, and how it differs from other social media platforms.

Using Pinterest to Find Clients [00:11:00] Gabby Pinton shares her experience with using Pinterest to find clients for her destination wedding planning business.

Landing Pages and Blog Posts [00:12:08] The importance of having landing pages and blog posts linked to Pinterest images, and how it can lead to more traffic and conversions.

Repurposing Content on Pinterest [00:13:28] The speakers discuss the strategy of repurposing content on Pinterest, and whether it’s better to add new pins or edit existing ones.

The Unpredictability of Pinterest [00:15:53] The unpredictability of Pinterest and how certain pins can become unexpectedly popular, even if they don’t necessarily align with a brand’s overall message.

Using Pinterest to drive traffic [00:16:57] Discussion on the benefits of Pinterest for wedding businesses and how to effectively use it to drive traffic to your website.

Strategies for converting Pinterest traffic [00:18:07] Tips for keeping visitors on your website, building trust, and converting traffic into leads.

Keeping visitors engaged [00:21:46] Importance of keeping visitors engaged with your content and using Pinterest to lead them down a rabbit hole of related content.

Addressing pushback on Pinterest [00:24:22] Tips for addressing common pushback on Pinterest, including how to increase clicks and conversions.

Photo worth clicking on [00:25:20] Importance of choosing photos that are relevant to potential clients and worth clicking on.

Direct call to action [00:26:44] Encouraging a direct call to action in the description to prompt clicks and engagement.

Protecting ideas [00:28:34] Discussion on how to protect ideas and prevent others from stealing them.

Trends on Pinterest [00:32:31] Discussion on trends that work well on Pinterest, including seasonal themes and venue names.

Using Pinterest for Marketing [00:33:22] The speakers discuss the benefits of using Pinterest for marketing wedding businesses, including pinning content about venues, beauty and attire categories, and hyper-nicheing with colors.

Importance of Venues on Pinterest [00:35:52] The speakers emphasize the importance of venues on Pinterest and encourage venues to create boards with different styles, color palettes, and seasonal types to attract potential clients.

Final Thoughts on Pinterest [00:37:24] Gabby shares her final pitch on why businesses should be on Pinterest, highlighting the low risk and potential high reward of having strategically keyworded content that can drive traffic to their website and bring in inquiries.

Niche Down for Business Success [00:38:52] Gabby shares her advice on the importance of niching down in business and focusing on a specific market to make more money.

Outro and Resources [00:39:35] Becca and Gabby wrap up the conversation and provide resources for those interested in learning more about using Pinterest for marketing or seeking professional help with Pinterest management.

Transcript:

Gabby: I’ve done some audits and stuff for venues, and I’m like, you guys have got to be the pioneers of the wedding industry getting on Pinterest because it’s unbelievable how much traffic could go to you and can be connected back to venues. If any venue is listening to this, please get on Pinterest, jump in.

Don’t be scared. Just type what you see for the photos and start adding all of your content.

Becca: I am Becca Pountney, wedding business marketing expert, speaker and blogger, and you are listening to The Wedding Pros who are Ready to Grow podcast. I’m here to share with you actionable tips, strategies, and real life examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.

If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you love, then you’re in the right place. Let’s get going with today’s episode. Today I’m chatting with Gabby Pinkerton about a subject you know that I love to shout about Pinterest.

Gabby is a destination wedding planner specializing in off the grid festival weddings, and guess where she’s booked Her biggest paying clients. Pinterest, of course. So we first met a few weeks ago back when we shared the virtual stage together on a wedding pro Pinterest panel, and I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to get Gabby onto the podcast so we could geek out about Pinterest together?

Gabby, welcome to the podcast.

Gabby: Oh, thank you so much, Becca. I listened the second you said, let’s nerd out together over pinterest. Sign me up, I’m ready to go. We can talk shop and we can ask all the nerdy questions that only US geeks would wanna talk about.

Becca: Absolutely. And hopefully by the end of this episode, all of my listeners will be of the same opinion as we are that Pinterest is a must have in their marketing strategy.

So before we get into some of that strategy, I would love to just have a bit of a chat with you about why you think it is that Pinterest is such an underrated platform in our wedding industry.

Gabby: You know, I think it’s something that people don’t. Or still find mysterious. I think a lot of our industry folks know that their clients are on there gathering information, gathering photos and inspiration, but as a business owner, they don’t know how it works and how to run a business using Pinterest.

So I think it’s still a mystery. It’s a search engine. I think a lot of people think it’s another social media platform that they have to be on, and while there is a social media part of it at the core, Pinterest is still very much a search engine, and it’s not as hard as I think. People think and they’re afraid to use it.

So I, I hope that, you know, throughout your podcast and just maybe our chat today that people understand it’s not that hard. It’s actually really helpful for your business and it works very long term without you even knowing that it’s still. Still working.

Becca: Yes. And that is what I love about it, because as a marketer, that hasn’t got a lot of time.

I love the evergreen nature of Pinterest, and we’ll definitely get into that in a little bit more detail later on. And I agree with you because often I describe Pinterest as a dark art because people just don’t understand it at all. And I find myself and I, I’m guessing you probably find something similar that people come to the platform.

Other social media platforms in mind, so thinking like they think about Facebook, thinking like they think about Instagram and then it just totally throws them when it doesn’t work like that. Is that something that you find yourself

Gabby: that, yeah. It’s so funny you say that because one of the examples that I tell my Pinterest clients or other wedding pros is I let them know that on Pinterest, nobody wants to see dance.

Like it’s not a place where you go and have to do those entertaining dances. While it’s been trendy on TikTok, it’s been trendy on Instagram reels and fun to watch. Pinterest is not really a place you go to be entertained. It’s a place that you go to search and find something. That you are really looking for, whether it’s inspiration or education, but it’s not a place where you’re gonna go and put your latest dance up.

Becca: In fact, please don’t do that because people will look at you strangely if you start dancing on interest. And I think as well, people aren’t so interested. In the person on Pinterest because people find you in the search. Right. So they don’t necessarily, like on Instagram, we’re showing the behind the scenes of our life.

If we were to share a, oh, I’m just out for a coffee on Pinterest, that would be out of place. Right, ?

Gabby: Well, okay. I love that you say this because it’s true and I think the blessing and the curse of Pinterest is it’s not in real time, right? So like on Instagram, You can see on real time in real time stories within 24 hours.

What’s happening in that person, but on Pinterest it, you are not showing up in a real time type of way, which is great. If you are somebody who put content on the platform eight months ago, and now your audience is searching for that topic, eight months later, your content’s still gonna show up. But on the flip side, to your point, Becca.

If you’re gonna go out for a coffee, nobody’s going to see it except eight months later when they realize that your, your coffee video was in the snow and now it’s the middle of summer and it does not make sense. So, yeah. I’m glad you brought that up. I haven’t really talked about that a lot. Yeah, it’s not in real time.

Becca: No, and that’s what I love about it. So let’s think for a moment about the things we love about Pinterest, because we know that we both love it, but those people listening may still need some convincing. So for me, exactly what you said is one of the things I love about Pinterest because it. Does keep working for you again and again and again.

So I’ve had clients who maybe post some content at Christmas about cakes that they make, and then every Christmas without fail, their content keeps getting views, keeps getting clicks, keeps getting people over to their website because every Christmas people are searching for Christmas cakes and for the same content over and over again.

So I do love that it’s not so instantaneous. As Instagram and Facebook where yes, you’re not in the moment, but actually the work you put in now keeps coming back to help you again and again and again. So what are the things that you love about Pinterest?

Gabby: I think the I, for me, I guess it’s the ease of using the platform.

And I know this is counterintuitive because we were saying at the beginning of the podcast, For some people it’s really mysterious and it feels very overwhelming. But when you think about it and you think about Pinterest being a search engine, it’s very simple. It’s all based on keywords and how you are quote unquote describing or captioning the photo or the pin that you add on.

So for example, To your point, if you are adding a photo of a Christmas cake, your description doesn’t have to be the story about the bride and groom and how they met and where they had their honeymoon. It is about the photo of the cake. So I would go and describe it how I see it, right? And so for me, And for anybody who feels like they’re not a good creative writer, this is really fun because all you need to do is look at the photo and describe what you see in the photo.

It’s not that, not that difficult, right? So when I started teaching people that and saying, guys, don’t overcomplicate it, and really just think about. The image and describing what you see in the image, people felt really, I think, relieved that, oh, I can do this. Like I know exactly how to describe this photo.

And in a way I tell them to dumb it down. You know, not to use crazy wedding lingo that the average person might not know. That what that means. But rather just think about an average person or your ideal client and what they would type in that search bar to try to find your photo.

Becca: Yes, it doesn’t have to be complicated, and this is why me and Gabby are on a mission, both sides of the sea, both sides of the world, to tell wedding pros that actually.

Pinterest, you think it’s a dark art, but actually it doesn’t need to be as complicated as you may think It is as simple as say what you see in those images a hundred percent. Now, I’d love to get in a little bit deeper into strategy because I think this is something we really wanna pull apart. Now, I mentioned in the intro how you ended up.

Being so in love with Pinterest through your destination wedding planning and through finding clients on the platform, I would love it if you could just break that down a little bit further to people and explain to people the strategy that you used and how that ended up in you getting clients.

Gabby: Yeah, so I, so it’s, it all started before I knew what I was doing on Pinterest, right?

It was, the year was 2015 or 2016. And I was just putting content on the platform willy-nilly. And what happened is I put some photos from a wedding that we had done in the Moab Desert here, in, well in Utah, here in the us and basically, I had captioned it in the way exactly like, like I was saying before.

I was just describing what I was seeing in the photo, without any prior training or background on Pinterest. And next thing you know, the photo really picked up steam. And year after year, I found this photo being my top saved pin. It was getting shared, it was getting, you know, just. Blasted all around the Pinterest universe.

And what that did is it was creating kind of that spider web. So anytime somebody shared it, they shared it to their audience and their audience saw my work. And so it kept coming back and I think. The good thing that I did that I didn’t know was so important at the time is that I linked that, those photos to my website, and Becca, you and I talked about this on that, you know, webinar that we did.

But that is the number one, I guess, mistake or good thing that people do or don’t do is linking it to their website is a must. And I think that was really the key to sending all of this traffic. Back to something that I owned that was outside of the platform. And it’s funny, I’m curious your thoughts on this because it, as far as I know, Pinterest is one of the only platforms that encourages out jumping off of the platform into.

Another to something they don’t own right? Which is so unlike all these other platforms because they wanna try to keep you on, like Instagram, TikTok, they wanna keep you on their platform, consuming their content for hours and hours. Whereas Pinterest is like, Hey guys, , we, love that you’re on our platform, but definitely click out to go see what this vendor.

Seller, whoever has to offer. So I’m curious your thoughts on that too.

Becca: Yeah, a hundred percent. That’s one of the things that I love to talk about when it comes to Pinterest, because we know that Instagram especially, is so hard with the links and we’re having to say link in bio. Even Facebook, if you put a link in your caption, it doesn’t do as well in the algorithm.

And it’s because of the advertisers. It’s because they wanna keep every. In their world. So yes, Pinterest is so counterintuitive in that way because I feel like how are Pinterest even benefiting from this? Because they keep sending people right off of Pinterest, and what you say is so true, and if you’re listening to this and you have a Pinterest account and you don’t understand what you’re doing, The basic thing that you need to make sure is that you have a link on every image because it’s so frustrating as a consumer when you find a picture you like and you click on it and it just gets bigger cuz it’s just a picture and you are missing out from a business owner perspective because people might love your work, but they can’t find out about you.

So yes, I’m a big fan of the links. So people were clicking on the picture that they liked of this wedding in the desert, and so where were they landing, and then how was that converting for.

Gabby: So a couple places that they were landing. So one thing that I did that I encourage people to do if they feel like they don’t have enough content on their own page is I had that wedding featured on a wet, on a big wedding blog.

It’s called Green Wedding Shoes. I’m sure Wedding Pros have heard of it. And I started pinning the photos. That blog post as well as my own images. So my own images were getting linked to my contact form at the time because I didn’t have an active blog on my own website. But the. Images from the green wedding shoes were getting linked back to the green wedding shoes article where they got to see a ton of more content and then we were tagged at the bottom as the planners.

So it was really interesting because it was two sources that eventually led to us, even though one was going to an outside. Blog, but the, the thing was they got to see the entire wedding images, I guess, in one blog post, even if it wasn’t on our website. And then they would see all of the vendors credited at the bottom.

So people would say, Hey, we found you, you know, on the Green Wedding shoes blog, or We saw your photo on Pinterest. Like very different ways all leading back I knew to those photos that we added on.

Becca: Yes. I love that. So that’s a really interesting idea as well, because by sharing from the big blog as well, you are kind of upping your authority as well as sending people directly to you down the line.

Would you then add in having that kind of image blogged on your website as well?

Gabby: Yes. So we eventually added that whole wedding on our blog. Actually I’m, here’s a question for you Becca, cuz we did add that blog post, I mean year, I think it was years down the line. And I just re-pinned those new, those images back to Pinterest now directing directly to our blog post rather than editing the link on the original images.

And that’s something that I get asked a lot and I’m always. I’m torn on the answer because I, I don’t like editing photos that are already in movement, and it’s not necessarily doing them a disservice. They’re still landing on our page and at the same time, I, you know, these are these duplicate photos that are getting put on Pinterest, but, almost doing a little bit of ab testing to see if one’s doing better than the other.

But yeah. I’m curious your thoughts on this scenario. What you think I should do.

Becca: So I am in agreement with your strategy because I find that, again, a bit like that whole dark arts conversation, we don’t wanna mess with the stuff that’s already working. And sometimes when we go in and edit pins or change things out, it can suddenly make them drop off the face of the earth, which we don’t wanna be doing.

And actually, Pinterest doesn’t mind us having the same images being pinned as long as it’s not all in one go. As long as it’s not too spammy and not all the time. And often, if that was me, I would just be shifting up the keywords, adding them onto different boards, changing it that way. But I would always much rather add the pins as new rather than go in and edit something.

But to your point, and for people listening, I definitely would be doing that strategy. So if you go into your analytics and see what’s working well for you, because often. There is one or two things that work incredibly well and so much better than everything else. And if you can replicate more of that, that will kind of help.

It’s kind of like the secret sauce inside of Pinterest, and I don’t know about you Gabby, but I find for myself, the things I think are gonna do well on Pinterest, sometimes bomb, and the things that I just don’t care about that much suddenly fly.

Gabby: It’s so true. I, yes, one of my biggest pins that I kind of regret doing now because it.

Really, it’s nonstop. This thing gets so much action. It has really nothing to do is I created a blog post a few years ago about wedding ring tattoos, right? Because it was a hot keyword on Google. I was like, you know what? I’m gonna create a blog post. I had put in a few affiliate links, like Amazon affiliate links in the blog post.

I was like, maybe this will be a big moneymaker blog post, and to this day, I can’t get rid of it. It’s still the biggest, the. Biggest photo from Pinterest and, and my most popular blog post, and the reason it drives me crazy is because on our blog, the way it’s structured is it puts the most popular posts at the at the top, and this one is constantly at the top, and it has really nothing to do with my brand.

So I’m just scratching my head, being like, how can I boot this blog post and replace it? Something more relevant.

Becca: That’s so funny. And you are right. And it’s also a reminder to us that we should only put content on that we’re happy to blow up and that’s on brand. Because often it is the things that we’re not expecting to get bigger, that suddenly get bigger.

One of my best performing posts on Pinterest is how to make a ribbon rose. And my wedding blog is not craft based at all. It’s wedding inspiration. But I just had one of my clients and she did some craft tutorials and she asked me, can I put one on your blog? And I was supporting her in her business. So I said, yeah, sure.

And it, every single month, it gets so many hits. I mean, it’s not off brand, but it is just so random and I, you couldn’t write it. And so for anyone listening, if you are putting stuff out there, just know that it might suddenly stick, and it’s much harder to undo that than it is to put it out there in the first place.

Now, on that, if people find that they have a post that is doing particularly well, is there anything you advise in terms of. What they should do on the page that people go to to try and convert that traffic, whether that’s adding in links or adding in downloads. Like is there anything that you think on that?

Gabby: Oh, 100%. So a couple things. One option is to just keep them as long as possible on your website by recommending another blog post they could go to. Right? So at the end of all of the blog posts, we typically try to say, Hey, did you like this Joshua Tree wedding? Then you might. This Joshua Tree wedding.

So we wanna just keep them getting inspired and obviously like I think one. And you’ll have to gimme your thoughts on this, but one thing I tell clients about Pinterest is they’re not ready to buy from you right away. They need to see your content. They need to see your work more than once because they’re coming in a little bit cold on the platform where they’ve just researched a keyword.

It so happens that you have an image that connects them to that keyword, but they don’t know anything else about you. And to your point about. Dances and showing your morning coffee. That’s not where we’re putting this content. So there’s no way for them to develop like that, like know, and trust factor about you or your brand.

And so I like to say once they’re on your blog post or a platform that you own of course, like your website, there should be ways for them to get to know you a little bit better. So, showing them more of your work, showing them more of your content. And then another thing, of course, is. The direct link to, Hey, do you wanna learn more about destination weddings or getting married in the desert?

Click this link to schedule a free consultation. Now, like I said, that doesn’t, I like having that there. I think it’s a super important call to action. However, if it is their first time on our page, they might not be ready to commit to that appointment yet, so give them the option. To connect with you right away.

Absolutely. But also give them maybe an option to see more of your work or take a look at your gallery. Or even even say, come, come find us on Instagram, where they can see more of that behind the scenes and your day-to-day. So I would say that, and then, One thing that I’ve done in the past is I’ve also, I, well I currently still have it, is I have a popup and it’s not super annoying.

It only, will trigger if it’s a first time viewer to our website, and it will, I think only pop up after 30 seconds. Like it’s not in your face right away. But it’s basically a free guide, a free budget guide where it’s been downloaded hundreds of times at this point, and it’s been a great resource for people.

So it’s more than. Sign up for our newsletter. It’s, here’s something I wanna give you for free. It’s a budget guide for specifically adventurous couples that wanna do a glamping wedding. Here’s some information that I know you probably want. So those are kind of the three things I would say. I, you know, I like to put on that landing page or on on hit them with that information once they get on the blog, at least.

Becca: I love so much about what you’re saying, because often clients will say to me, well, I’m getting traffic to my website and then they’re not booking a consultation, but you are so right, because it’s too early in the process for them to be taking that leap. And one of the examples I give often is about trying to get people to go down that rabbit hole and we’ve all done it.

So when I was booking to go to Disney World a couple of years ago, you know what happens? You start searching the internet for Disney World and then everything on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, everything. Popping up with information and I would come across a blog post that would maybe be like, the five restaurants you must visit are Magic Kingdom.

So I’d click on it and I would start reading this article, and I’d maybe get one paragraph in to the article, and then suddenly they’d be like, oh, have you seen the five shortest ride cues at epcot. I hadn’t even finished reading that article and then I’d be clicking on the next one and I’d start reading about the short ride cues at Epcot.

And then it’s like, this is the hotel you have to visit and all of a sudden you go down this rabbit hole and you suddenly find yourself landing on some page where they’re trying to sell you something and you don’t know how you got there. And that is really successful marketing, and that’s what we need to do on our wedding business sites.

We don’t even necessarily need to wait till the end of the blog post to start like peppering in these. But we wanna keep people engaged, engaged and engaged so that they get to know us, they read our content, and then that’s when they’re most likely to go ahead and click. And the other thing is, and I dunno if this is something you’ve experienced, Gabby, but sometimes people will come across our pins and they’ll click on our sites and then.

Pinterest will give them more of our pins and they’ll start seeing them everywhere. So my sister was getting married a couple of years ago and she specifically wanted a short length wedding dress. And so she kept searching Pinterest and she kept finding these images and saving them and going to the website.

And after a while she realized that they were all belonging to the same Pinterest user. They were all from the same boutique in London. At which point she realized, well, they must be the specialist because they keep on popping up and she booked her appointment and got her dress from there. So it wasn’t one visit to their website, but it was Pinterest feeding them the same account multiple times.

Is that your experience too?

Gabby: Oh, that’s really interesting. I, you know, I guess so because I didn’t even think about it. But you’re right, when I do look up something, whether it’s inspiration for a client, I, I will see like either very similar photos. Come up and realizing, oh, that’s the same photographer that keeps popping up, or brands, and I know Pinterest is definitely trying to push products on people a little bit more like the shopping feature, so, I do see

sometimes I’m like, oh, that’s, I don’t wanna click on it cuz it’s a shop

and it’s gonna send me to a purchase page.

But really I just need inspiration. But they do a good job at targeting us that way. ,

Becca: they definitely do and as do all of these different platforms. Now we’ve been talking about all the things we love about Pinterest and we would do that because it’s a platform we both talk about, but I get some pushback sometimes when I talk about.

Platform to people. And so I’d love to get some of your thoughts on some of the pushback that I get from people occasionally. So one pushback I get quite frequently when people go through my free challenges is I’m getting loads of views, but I’m not getting any clips. What am I doing wrong? Any thoughts on that?

Gabby: Yeah, I get, I hear that a lot too. A few things. I think one idea that I recommend people try is text overlay, so it’s a hit or miss. But a lot of the times if you just have a beautiful photo and you’re trying to send people to a freebie, Let’s say, right, because you wanna get them on your email list. Well, if it’s just a pretty photo, they might just save it because it’s inspirational or they, there’s no reason for them to click, or they might click and think it goes to a website.

But I guess the challenge here is that they’re not clicking. So I’m guessing they’re probably just thinking it’s inspirational, they’re saving it, and that’s that. But if you have a text on top of it and you are clearly saying, Hey, this is a free wedding. Timeline or free wedding budget guide, or five mistakes to avoid for planning your wedding, something like that, then they are most likely going to click if that is something that they’re looking for.

The other thing I was gonna say is I, I always like to see like, is the photo worth clicking on? And I, this sounds very vague, but so. My photographer clients, or even planners, they post this like very artsy photo of, let’s say a couple holding hands or just a closeup shot of couple’s faces. But the thing is, those are really hard for people to wanna click.

Out to, because it doesn’t concern them, it’s too much of a personal photo to that couple. They wanna see detailed photos of a wedding, right? Like decor items or wide shots of ceremony setups or reception spaces, tents, lighting, like that kind of stuff. So you have to think, just taking a step back. And is my photo worth clicking on?

Like for you, for the artist? Absolutely. Like you, you love this photo and I absolutely understand, but for the couple’s perspective, I do like to think, is this something that they’re like, Ooh, I wanna see more of this, or I wanna get a closer view of this photo. Or is it just, oh, that’s just another couple holding hands.

I, you know, the dress, I can’t even see the full length of the dress, or I can’t see detailed photos on this of their outfits. So just something to ask yourself. I would say those are probably my two biggest things that I check if that if clicks aren’t happening,

Becca: That’s so true as well, and I think that’s again, where people fall into this trap of feeling like it’s like Instagram, so they put their pictures that they think is the best thing for their portfolio on their account, but actually it just doesn’t quite work on the Pinterest platform.

The other thing I sometimes get people to do, and again, I don’t know if this is something you do, Gabby, is I get people sometimes to just put more of a direct call to action. In their description. So underneath their kind of keyword specific title, if it is from a bigger shoot or from a blog post, I’ll say like, click through to see more images from this shoot.

Click more to see more images from the desert or whatever it is. And try and, cause sometimes people just need to be told cuz they’re not necessarily thinking that way. Is that something you do?

Gabby: Oh, that’s a great point. Yes. Because to to your point, they don’t know where that link is gonna lead them.

Is it gonna lead them to. Your homepage, and we both know that’s not doing anybody a service. If you’re trying to promote a specific blog post, they wanna see more of the same thing. So if you’re telling them click through to see the full gallery, or Yeah, click through to learn more about this venue, like absolutely I, yeah, I would always do a call to action.

Tell them what they’re clicking on.

Becca: Amazing. So if that is you and you are thinking, I get the views, but not the clicks, there’s some really great advice for you to go in and implement on your Pinterest to try and convert some of those clicks. And again, I would start by looking at the things that are getting the most views, and then look at what you can do with those pins rather than focusing on the most recent pins as well.

Okay, my next pushback. People are just gonna steal my ideas and recreate them themselves. So I get this particularly from Flores, from Cake Makers. They put their cakes on there, and then they’re worried that, well, other people just take the idea and get another cake maker to make it. How can we be getting them more results rather than them just feeling like they’re giving their stuff away?

Gabby: Ooh, this is a tricky one. Okay. I guess the first thing I would. Reassure them with is Pinterest audience is coming from all over the world, right? So if you are a UK cake baker, but someone from the US is finding you realistically, they’re not gonna be your, your client at, you know, from the get-go. So just to be reassured that there are many other cake bakers that are probably capable of doing something similar.

But let’s see. Gosh, that’s a great question, Becca. I would probably say. I mean, on a business side of things, I would, if you’re saying other bakers are looking at certain images, I would encourage offering a consultation package. That’s probably just me thinking of a business strategy of like, Hey, did you love this cake?

And wanna learn how to create your own? Buy this, you know, $12 tutorial or reach out to me for, you know, a one-on-one consultation.

Becca: I do. I love that. I love that thinking .

Gabby: I know here I am always trying to find different passive income ways. Right. I, I, I’m curious. I mean, one of my thoughts, which I don’t, I don’t love, and this is more for photographers, but when they watermark their photos, I.

Love that. Aesthetically I don’t, that’s more though for photography if they are super concerned about them stealing the photos to use in some other non-authorized way. But I don’t love that aesthetically or visually from the platform, but I don’t know. What would you tell them?

Becca: Well, one thing I like to tell people is, You are always gonna be the original, so don’t worry about people copying you full stop in business.

And actually also all publicity is good publicity. So even if you get your, if your cake gets seen 5,000 times and 4,000 people recreate it, well, if it was your original idea, then you should take some kudos just in your own head for that. But also, there may be a thousand people that do come to you or do try and contact you directly because you are the original person.

The other thing. I like to get people, especially in the wedding industry, to hyper localize some of their keywords and some of their boards in terms of the county they’re in, the state, they’re in the venues that they like to work at. Because as you said, you know, if someone finds their cake from America and they’re based in London, well the chances are they’re not gonna use them as the baker unless they’re multimillionaires and can fly them in.

But if you are targeting people in London by using London venue names or London keywords, then you’re much more likely to get your cake in front of the right people. So, I kind of think, just don’t worry about it. There’s enough work to go out there for everyone. If you are the original, make the most of it.

I love what you said, Gabby, about thinking differently. And actually that’s what we did with my cake maker who has this Christmas cake that comes around again and again and again because she doesn’t wanna make Christmas cakes. She’s a wedding cake maker. She just happened to put this recipe up, but then she was like, well, I could just sell like a downloadable version of the recipe for a couple of pounds.

Because I’m getting all of. Traffic to my website. And so she just made a downloadable recipe for a couple of pounds and if she makes some extra money from it, then it’s a bonus. And if she doesn’t, it doesn’t matter. .

Gabby: Oh my God, that’s so good to hear. You’ll have to fill us in on how that goes for the next time.

And I know it’s sometimes it’s a slow role to to pick that up, but if she creates the content for it once, she just doesn’t need, even need to worry about it. And she makes money, you know, every year at the same time. That’s exciting. Ooh, you’ll have to definitely keep us posted.

Becca: Hundred percent. Okay. So I’d love to know what you think is working on Pinterest right now in terms of trends, in terms of colors.

I know we said that some of these random things pop up on Pinterest, but I do think there are themes that work better in the wedding industry. I’d love to know what you are saying at your end, and then I’ll share some of my thoughts too. Ooh, great question.

Gabby: I think, you know, kind of timeless stuff that I tell people they can post is anything seasonal.

So if you are going in with keywords about spring, fall, summer, winter, That those seasons will always come around year after year and people will always type in winter wedding ideas and stuff every year. So seasons, you can’t go wrong, venue names. That’s something that I also tell my clients, to be very strategic about because I think.

There is a lot to be said about widening your funnel and going broad with stuff like spring wedding bouquets and stuff like that. But also it’s very important, especially if you are a type of brick and mortar vendor or a cake baker that’s really hard for you to be a destination cake baker. I mean, those are, I’m sure those are big dreams and that’s awesome and go for it but to start, you are based out of a specific location.

You know, definitely pin content about some of your favorite venues. And I always say that because if you think about your ideal client, they’re most likely going in the Pinterest search bar to see other weddings that were done at that venue that they’re booking. Right? And so how awesome would it be for your content to pop up?

With the content, with the images of the venue and all the work that you’ve done there. And they can get inspired by that and hopefully hire you for, for that wedding. And so the other theme I think that will always work really well is a more of the beauty and attire category. So types of wedding dresses, like things on gowns or colors on suits, and even hair and makeup styles.

I. That is always just popular on Pinterest to begin, like the fashion part of it is always very popular on Pinterest. So yeah, I would say, you know, that kind of stuff. Obviously colors in general, rust is still a very popular color palette or part of a very popular color palette right now in the wedding industry.

In. Yeah, I would say those are pretty timeless.

Becca: Yeah, I agree with you blush as well. For me, my, any of my pins that have the word blush pink in still do really well, and I pinned them maybe three years ago from a blog post, and they are in my top 10 pins every single month because people seem to love.

Blush color with their wedding theme. I think for me, definitely seasons work really well on Pinterest and hyper nicheing with those colors because the couples, we know the couples are searching for whatever color scheme they are having. And so therefore, if they’re having a sage, green and white wedding, they’re gonna be searching for sage, green and white.

Everything. And so if you can hyper niche in that, going back to what Gabby said earlier about saying what you see in the image, if you can hyper niche in that way and add them to that board and call them sage, green and white, and then do another one on the other colors as well, then people will find it and they’re more likely to buy from you because they’re already.

Doing that color theme and yet, and I love the venue thing. The venue thing is probably one of the biggest strategies that I like to unlock for people because we’re kind of benefiting off of the fact that people don’t do marketing very well on Pinterest. And as I say to people, I don’t know what it’s like for you in the US but the venues here so often don’t know how to use Pinterest themselves or don’t use it.

So my clients end up turning up for the venues ahead of the venue.

Gabby: 100%. And I’ve had, I’ve done some audits and stuff for venues and I’m like, you guys have got to be the pioneers of the wedding industry getting on Pinterest because it’s unbelievable how much traffic could go to you and can be connected back to venues.

And they have all the galleries, I mean, they. All types of different styles and color palettes and seasonal types. They could have a million different boards of their venue hitting all of these categories. So yeah, I’m, if any venue is listening to this, please get on Pinterest. You know, jump in. Don’t be scared.

Just type what you see for the photos and start adding all of your content.

Becca: Yes, more people need to be on Pinterest, and me and Gabby are taking it one step at a time out there to let you know that it’s not that difficult and you should be on there because we know that couples are on there. And ultimately, as I often say, we know that lots of brides are on there planning their wedding before they even get engaged.

They have their dream wedding board. I have a friend, she’s got her dream wedding Pinterest board with sections on it. She’s not engaged, but she’s been planning her wedding on there for ages. So when people say to me, I wanna get to people at the start of the wedding planning process, like, come on, people, Pinterest is there before they’ve even.

Engaged people need to be on it. Okay. Your final thought, Gabby, your final pitch to the world about why they should be on Pinterest. Okay.

Gabby: I would say because there is no harm in being on Pinterest. You literally, if one of your photos or your pins, flops. There is no consequence other than it’s just not doing anything, but you do not know when one of your photos might take off.

And there you go. This photo keeps on working for you. It’s driving traffic to your website. And heck, if you say, I can only get some content on there a couple times a year, but that content. Strategically keyworded, it’s hitting your target market. It’s talking about venues or really niche keywords that’s bringing business all the way back to your website.

Imagine that just continuing to work for you year after year, and you don’t have to do anything, but get these inquiries in your inbox.

Becca: Love. It’s Gabby. I could literally talk to you about Pinterest all day long, but we can’t because otherwise everyone else will be falling asleep at home. But if you’re listening to this and you are thinking, yeah, Pinterest is for me, then please get in touch with me, get in touch with Gabby, find out more about what we do because we are out there trying to educate the wedding industry and to tell you that it doesn’t need to be complicated and you just need to give it a go.

Now, Gabby, I always end my interviews with the same. Question. So I would love to know your thoughts on this. What is the one thing you wish you’d known sooner in your own business?

Gabby: I wish I’d known sooner to niche down. I have made more money the moment I decided to focus on a specific market rather than trying to do everything for everyone in all different aspects.

Find something that you are super passionate about and as weird and niche as you think it might be, there will be other people that are gravitated towards that and you can make a killing just from being very specific.

Becca: Great advice, Gabby, it’s been such a pleasure having you on the podcast. If people wanna find out more about what you do and your services, where’s the best place for them to find you?

Gabby: They can just head over to my website. It’s Gabby Pinkerton.com

Becca: Awesome, and I’ll make sure that I link to that below in the show notes. Thank you for your time, Gabby, and I’ll speak to you soon. I love that conversation with Gabby so much. We could have geeked out about Pinterest together all day and it’s just reassuring as well for me to hear from someone else who’s doing a very similar thing to me to know that we’re teaching very similar strategy, so you know you are in safe.

If Pinterest feels all too much and you need a little bit of help, don’t forget to get in touch with me and the Wedding Pro Agency because we may be able to take your Pinterest management off of your hands. And if you wanna learn more about how to use the platform, then check out mine or Gabby’s resources.

We’ve got loads to help you. I’ll see you next time.