Whether it is Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform, hashtags are everywhere. The # symbol has gained mainstream popularity amongst people due to the functionality it provides. It makes searching and finding things very convenient for users on these social media websites.
Whenever you click on a certain hashtag, you are directed to a web page that contains content that is specific to that particular hashtag. Hashtags follow the same functionality on Pinterest as they do on other platforms.
There are, however, a few best practices for Pinterest hashtags and how to use them in the best possible way specific to Pinterest.
This article will discuss the best possible way to use Pinterest hashtags and get the most out of their potential to boost your marketing efforts on this platform.
What is Pinterest and How Does Pinterest Work?
Let’s talk about what Pinterest really is so that you can understand how to use the platform in your best interest.
Pinterest is a popular image search tool that lets you find and create inspiration and ideas based on the things you like and find interesting.
It is a highly visual platform meaning it doubles down on aesthetics due to its focus being around images. You would find the most beautiful images on the web on Pinterest.
With millions of active followers per month, it has become an important tool for many business owners and bloggers to expand their business, increase visibility, and put their online marketing strategy into practice.
You may also have heard the term Pins thrown around a lot whenever there is a mention of Pinterest. Pinterest Pins are simply the images that exist on the platform. Users can search for Pins and create boards to organize those pins according to each category.
For example, you can create a “Mexican recipes” board and attach Pinterest Pins that contain food from the Mexican cuisine from different blogs and websites.
Pinterest also allows you to follow other people, brands, and boards that have similar interests as you. It provides a way for you to communicate with like-minded people who share your likes and dislikes.
What are Pinterest Hashtags and How Do They Work?
If you stay up to date with the latest Pinterest best practices and news, you would know how a few years ago, marketers everywhere were suggesting people to stay away from Pinterest hashtags.
They were thought to be spammy and unnecessary to use.
But Pinterest’s SEO strategies keep on changing just like any other platform and in 2017, they announced the use of hashtags as being allowed. In fact, they actively encouraged people to use hashtags as a way of categorizing content and making it easier to find for users. So, what are Pinterest hashtags and how do they work?
A hashtag is a word or phrase that is preceded by a hash [#]. This hash symbol is used to identify and locate Pinterest Pins on a specific topic.
On social media websites, including Pinterest, hashtags function as keywords that let users find Pins related to a topic they searched for on the visual search engine.
Your hashtags can be one word or a combination of multiple words grouped together without spaces in a single hashtag.
On Pinterest, hashtags function almost the same way that they do on other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter. Their main purpose is to categorize content across all these platforms.
For instance, if you were to search for #veganrecipes, you would see all the Pins that use this particular hashtag in their description. This makes the process of finding something you are looking for a whole lot easier.
Pinterest hashtags provide users with a secondary and effective form of searching for their interests. At the same time, they provide marketers with an effective form of Pinterest promotion as well.
So, hashtags are a win-win for everyone involved.
Do Hashtags Work on Pinterest in 2021?
Originally, in 2017, Pinterest confirmed the use of hashtags on its platform and encouraged users to use them whenever they can. However, it is 2021 now and things have changed a bit.
Before, there were one of two ways to search for a hashtag. You could type the hashtag out in the Pinterest search bar and related Pins would pop up.
Another way was to click on a hashtag and all posts using that hashtag would appear, much the same as Instagram and other social platforms.
But the second method is no longer possible.
You cannot click on a hashtag to make similar posts appear. Moreover, searching for a hashtag in the search bar also brings up posts that have not used that particular hashtag in their Pinterest Pin descriptions.
Which means that Pinterest has once again made the use of hashtags optional. So, yes you can still use them if you want to gain that extra bit of exposure that hashtags still provide.
How Can You Add Hashtags to Pinterest Pins?
If you want to use a Pinterest hashtag in your Pin, you can type it out in the description.
Ideally, you should place the hashtags at the end of your Pin description so that you can use good keywords and a call-to-action at the beginning of the description text. This would allow Pinterest users to engage with your post first instead of getting distracted right away by the hashtags.
The hashtag suggestion feature is no longer available on the desktop version of the platform. You can only get suggestions for your hashtags while using the mobile phone app of Pinterest.
The Difference Between Pinterest Hashtags and Pinterest Keywords
Pinterest hashtags and keywords are very similar but they are not the same.
As you may already know, keywords are crucial if you want to drive traffic to your pins, posts, blog, and website. They are what makes your content rank better on any search engine.
Hashtags go one step ahead and provide businesses and bloggers another form of promotion along with categorization abilities while still acting as keywords.
It is recommended to use both relevant keywords and hashtags in your Pinterest Pins’ descriptions.
What Are the Advantages of Using Pinterest Hashtags on Your Profile?
Pinterest hashtags are a great content marketing strategy on Pinterest. If you use the right hashtags, your content will end up at the right place and get discovered by the target audience.
Below are a few reasons why Pinterest hashtags can be beneficial for your marketing strategy on this platform.
They Help Users Find Your Content and Increase Brand Visibility
Since hashtags are searchable on Pinterest’s search engine, they bring the right users your way if you use the hashtags right on your Pins. They are a great way to build an effective marketing strategy around Pinterest and its keywords by using a hashtag that is relevant to your post.
The more your Pins get discovered and pinned by users, the more likely it is to appear first on Pinterest’s search results. This would work as a cycle as better ranking would bring in more Pinners which would then bring in more visibility and improve your ranking even more.
All of this would contribute to more engagement, more visibility, and more growth for your business.
They Make Your Content Rank and Perform Better
Using Pinterest hashtags is a great way to promote your content across the platform. Brands and bloggers frequently adopt this strategy of performing better on Pinterest and bringing in more audiences for their content and products.
Pinterest displays a continuous hashtag thread showing the most recent posts. As opposed to other social media platforms that show the most popular ones at the top.
This makes Pinterest better because your new content gets the opportunity to get noticed right away instead of waiting weeks for your content to get noticed despite using the right keywords and hashtags.
Hashtags on Pinterest Help Build a Following
If a user searches for #homedecor on the Pinterest search bar, they are going to stumble across your post that uses the same hashtag. As a result, they could potentially click and engage with your post because it was exactly what they were looking for.
Following on from that, because you offered them exactly what they wanted, there are more chances that they will become a follower of your Pinterest boards.
In this way, Pinterest helps increase your following by bringing the target audience to you directly.
Pinterest Hashtags Contribute to Your Pinterest Marketing and Growth Strategy
All of the benefits mentioned above come together and contribute to your business’s growth on and through Pinterest hashtags.
If you are a blogger or a business owner, your main goal with Pinterest is to generate more business and consequently, more revenue.
Using Pinterest hashtags can be a crucial part of your growth because its functionality allows people to discover you much more easily.
How Can You Use Pinterest Hashtags the Right Way?
As with anything marketing-related, there is a right and a wrong way to use Pinterest hashtags. Using them the wrong way can do more harm than good. Therefore, it is important that you know how to use hashtags on Pinterest the right way.
Ideally, you should use them where appropriate. That includes using them at the end – rather than the beginning – of Pin descriptions and in comments.
Where Should You Avoid Using Pinterest Hashtags?
Avoid using your Pinterest hashtags randomly in the middle of sentences because it makes the description difficult to read. The post does not look neat and it makes for a bad user experience.
Avoid putting hashtags in your Pinterest bio, board descriptions, profile name, and board names. It’s better to use keywords in these places instead of hashtags.
What Kind of Hashtags Should You Use on Pinterest?
Your hashtags on Pinterest should be descriptive and specific to the content that is posted. Always use words or phrases that describe the content in the post accurately.
Along with including content-relevant hashtags, you should also use hashtags that are related to your niche.
Another thing you should do is to include your brand’s name as the hashtag first before following it up with other hashtags.
Avoid using popular, hyped-up hashtags that are irrelevant to your content just so you can get attention. You can even get banned by Pinterest for doing that.
You also should not use hashtags that are super niche and don’t have a lot of users searching for them. This would not help your case any better.
If you are not sure what hashtags to use, try searching for your Pin topic and see what Pinterest’s autocompleted suggestions include. Also, check out the content related to what you searched for and see if it is relevant to yours.
How Many Pinterest Hashtags Should You Use in a Single Post?
Pinterest recommends using no more than 20 hashtags per Pin. But that does not mean that you have to use the maximum amount of 20. You can use way less and still get good ranking results on Pinterest’s platform.
It is recommended to use less than 20 hashtags in most cases as using too many hashtags can just make for a bad user experience and make your content look spammy.
I recommend using somewhere between 5-10 hashtags per post but you should try what works for you best and go with that approach.
The Bottom Line
Using Pinterest hashtags is the perfect way to get to your growth goals quicker and in a much more efficient way. They don’t require a lot of effort from you but hold great value.
While on other platforms, using marketing and SEO techniques take weeks and months to take effect, it is the opposite with hashtags on Pinterest.
On Pinterest, you will see the fruits of your labor as soon as you post and experience an immediate bump in traffic if you have used the right relevant hashtags in your Pin.
It is in Pinterest’s ultimate mission to provide its users with the brand visibility and audience they crave. Safe to say, the platform does it effectively with hashtags!