Pinterest is too much work?

Dispelling misconceptions about Pinterest

Ever think Pinterest is too much work?

Even the thought of starting a new social media platform feels heavy with the weight of dread. Add it to the long list of business-y to do’s they say. But instead Pinterest gets pushed so far down the list morphing into a stagnant pile of “won’t ever do’s.”

If this describes exactly how you feel about Pinterest, welcome to the “business owners with too much sh*t to do club.” There will always be too much to do and far too many things piled on your plate. The trick is to uncover the most important tasks given the limited time you have to make an impact in your business.

In this post I’m guiding you on why giving Pinterest a solid try should top the list of important business tasks. I’ll cover:

- Why Pinterest is too much work is a lie
- How to use Pinterest dedicating only a few hours a week
- Tools that make success possible on Pinterest and
- Why one hour of dedicated time on Pinterest is far superior compared to the same hour devoted to social platforms like Instagram.

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Why "Pinterest is too much work" is a lie

Too much work is a relative measurement. Compared to what, I’d ask. If you’re comparing Pinterest to Instagram I’d question how much time and effort you put forth to achieve a desired result on Instagram? To get that same result, how much time and effort would you put forth on Pinterest?

There are misconceptions that muddy the waters when it comes to how much work is needed to get results on Pinterest. I’ve recently heard 11 pins is the ideal number to post to gain any traction on Pinterest.

If you believe this I can see why you’d think posting to Instagram once daily would win over posting 11 times on Pinterest. But this is misinformation that I don’t want to perpetuate. It’s a resounding “no”!

You don’t have to post 11 times on Pinterest to get results. In fact on my business account @tidywithspark, I have never posted 11 times in a day and I’ve successfully reached hundreds of millions of viewers while growing my audience to 270K followers in two years.

No lies here.

Pinterest is work, but there are ways to use Pinterest to help grow your business without devoting hours and hours on posting.

Pinterest Scheduling Tool

In less than one hour a month I’m able to fill up my Pinterest content calendar. To streamline the process I’ve adopted tools to create a system that works. One non-negotiable tool is a Pinterest pin scheduler.

Taking advantage of a free or paid tool to schedule out your pins is a game changer to save time, energy and frustration with posting your content to Pinterest. There are several options on the market today to utilize.

Pinterest partners with approved businesses that connect your Pinterest account making it easy to post your content.

Another option is to use the in app scheduler provided by Pinterest. The scheduling tool is powerful enough to get you going on a consistent posting strategy. Schedule up to 30 days of Pinterest pins without paying for a third party service.

Strategically Repurpose Content

Get your hands on your existing content and repurpose it in a meaningful way to Pinterest. Starting out with a blank canvas is not recommended when it comes to creating social media content.

The reason is because it takes a long time to create quality content so it’s ideal to stretch the use and longevity of content you have already created. That’s why I highly encourage a repurposing strategy as you start creating a presence on Pinterest.

There are no rules against reusing the content you already created elsewhere and bringing it over to Pinterest. If you do this thoughtfully and mindfully considering the nuances of the Pinterest platform, you’ll already be ahead in building out your account on Pinterest.

Time Saving Templates

After exhausting all your past content, one additional way I like to reduce the time I spend on Pinterest is through the use of templates. Templates are time savers.

And when you find ones that strike it big on Pinterest, modify and recycle those templates, using them again and again in your Pinterest strategy. It’s good business sense to use templates anywhere in your business when a repeatable task is needed.

Creating and posting Pinterest pins is a repeatable task especially if you establish a consistent posting strategy. That makes it a perfect process to utilize templates.

Using templates is a big part of how I squeeze more productivity out of my day. I especially appreciate using done-for-you Pinterest pin templates. Templates are so valuable that I created several template bundles to share with my students.

Pinterest with AI

This discussion isn’t complete without mentioning Ai.

Ai has exploded becoming a concept recognized by households across the world. Although the technology isn’t new, it has recently created waves even in the Pinterest community.

Why?

Because it’s a business tool that saves time. And if you’re on the fence about using Pinterest as a business tool because Pinterest is too much work, ai is an external tool capable of shaving off hours of time spent on Pinterest.

For several months I have been testing out the capabilities of Ai, specifically with ChatGPT. With my learnings I’ve created an entire prompt library to use on ChatGPT to create content specific to Pinterest.

Learn more about the Pinterest with Ai training workshop here.

Pinterest in one hour

By using a pin scheduler, repurposing existing content, making use of templates for repeatable processes, and trying out ai resources, one hour a month can be your reality for posting on Pinterest.

Even as you get into a working groove with Pinterest in the beginning, it might take you upwards of one hour a week.

As you work your way down to one hour per month, this time investment is a small price to pay when you consider the exponential benefits to the power of Pinterest.

Pinterest's Search Powered Algorithm

Pinterest stands out from the sea of social platforms.

Why?

Because it’s not a social media platform. It stands alone in a category of one. At best you can call it a hybrid platform that pairs aspects of social media with the foundation of being a powerful visual discovery search engine.

Pinterest successfully combines visuals with words to serve up exactly what viewers are searching for as they look towards getting inspired to take on their next project.

Pinterest is a search engine

Built on the foundation of being a search engine, Pinterest’s algorithm works differently than social media.

Instead of posting and hoping that your followers will see your posts (like you do on Instagram), on Pinterest anyone who is actively searching for your content will be served up the pins. Pinterest wants to serve up the best search results to the viewer.

If you’re posting pins to Pinterest sharing outstanding content, Pinterest wants to put it directly before those who are searching for it. This is also why Pinterest pins historically have a much longer shelf life. Instead of living and dying in a short time window like 24 hours, Pinterest pins have the opportunity to reach audiences days, months, and years later after the post date.

The Pinterest algorithm works differently and that’s why the results on Pinterest are different as well.

Being tied to your phone is not a thing with Pinterest like it is for social media platforms. And that’s a good thing when it comes to one less thing to worry about as you run your day to day business operations.

No more need to constantly engage. With Pinterest’s search-focused algorithm it works in your favor without daily upkeep.

Conclusion

Let’s put “Pinterest is too much work” to bed. This post dispels the misconception putting a spotlight on the truth of how Pinterest can actually be a powerful marketing tool that takes an hour, not days.

The key is to shift the perspective. It’s not about how much time one spends on a platform, but how effectively that time is used.

Had I known better when I first started my business, I would have given Pinterest a shot. Instead I followed my peers and went all in on Instagram. Once I realized the true value to Pinterest I took the time to create my presence on the platform.

That was one of the best investments of time in my business because using Pinterest changed my business allowing for exponential growth. The results I got on Pinterest speak for themselves. I only wish I had started sooner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let me help you remove the mystery around content for Pinterest by answering these common questions.

Who are the approved Pinterest schedulers?

There are both paid and free options to post pins to Pinterest. Pinterest has a native scheduling tool that allows a user to schedule pins up to one month in advance for free.

If you are ready to invest, there are several Pinterest approved schedulers noted below:

Are you penalized for using a scheduler to post pins?

Based on my personal experience I have not seen there to be any difference, notable or otherwise, in pin analytics between posting directly through Pinterest or posting via an approved Pinterest scheduler.

Having said this, as a hybrid social platform, Pinterest does want you to use their in-app features and tools. The same is true for many other social platforms like Tiktok and Instagram. With no significant difference the convenience benefit of using an approved Pinterest scheduler far outweighs the risk of hampered pin distribution.

Interested in learning more from me about Pinterest marketing? Grab this free Pinterest course to get started today.