Are using hashtags on Pinterest? Have you figured out a Pinterest hashtag strategy? I'm going to share three little ideas that could pay off BIG TIME for your Pinterest account.

this for later

2021 UPDATE: Use keywords not hashtags for Pinterest success.

In my Quick and Dirty Guide to Hashtags on Pinterest, I shared that Hashtags for Pins go into the description. To add a hashtag to your Pin description, type “#” and add a keyword or phrase. If you want to change your hashtag later, edit the Pin description.

Different types of hashtags:

Location-based hashtags: #mydayinla #bigapple #NYC

Industry hashtags: #fashionista #fashionblogger

Holiday hashtags: #fourthofjuly #christmaseve

Calls to action: #pinitforlater #clicktoread #pintowin

Branded hashtags: #thanksalatte is my Facebook Live hashtag, but I use it for all social media posts on the topic. #MyBookClub is the first hashtag I created for my Twitter chat. I have a great Pinterest board for it.

McDonald’s used #alldaybreakfast when they switched from breakfast ending at 10:30 to all-day breakfast.

Here are three ideas to bump up your Pinterest hashtag strategy:

1. Create a call to action to use on each pin

A call to action or CTA as it's commonly known is a phrase that inspires action. Think verbs like download, grow, join, or learn.

Coschedule says, “Your content marketing lives and dies based on the success of your CTA. It determines if people take your content and bounce out on their merry way, never to return, or if they leap for the bait and go further into your sales funnel. Knowing how to write a call to action that hooks your reader’s interest is key to your content’s survival.”

Adding calls to action to Pins makes them actionable, creates more engagement, and guides people toward your intended action from the Pin you've created. A few examples are:

#saveitforlater

#maketonight

#pinthistomakelater

#clicktolearn

#learnmore

#clickthroughfordownload

Consider WHY you're adding this new Pin to Pinterest and craft a CTA that will boost your goals.

2. Create a community with your Pinterest hashtag

Have a wonderful Facebook Group or customer group that you love, why not create a Pinterest hashtag? If multiple people use the same hashtag, it could gain popularity and gain more impressions much like trending hashtags on Twitter or Instagram.

Clicking on the hashtag will help you track the activity on Pinterest and be able to RePin from your community. Community over competition ensures everyone's Pins will do better.

Below is the top of the #Communityovercompetition hashtag hub on Instagram. This is an amazing group started by Natalie Franke with her Rising Tide Society.

It's only a matter of time before all the great communities from Instagram make their way to Pinterest – be a trend-setter.

3. Be specific with your hashtags

Have you heard the phrase “the riches are in the niches?” This is definitely the case for Pinterest hashtags. The more relevant your hashtags are, the more of the right people they will reach.

For example, if you're using a hashtag like #travel (which is too broad), you could switch this for # traveling, #traveltips, or #travelgoals.

The above screenshot is from the Pinterest search bar. These predictive search results can help you find more relevant hashtags which will reach your intended audience.

As you can see, there are many different ways to use Pinterest hashtags. Put together some highly relevant groups of up to twenty hashtags and add them to your Pin descriptions.

If you haven't started using hashtags yet, you can go back and edit old Pins but I wouldn't go crazy with it. Going forward, add hashtags to all your new Pins and they'll be fresh and visible at the top of hashtag searches.

I hope this gives you some new ideas for your Pinterest hashtag strategy or gives you a jumping-off point to get started. Happy Pinning!