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I run a board on Pinterest called Pinterest Articles and Tips. It’s an active board and I have a decent following. I read (in one of the infographics on that board) that over 80% of pins on Pinterest are actually re-pins. To make my board interesting, fresh and unique, I prefer to bring in new pins from outside Pinterest. If you’re just re-pinning others’ pins it doesn’t seem to be as valuable (but that’s just my philosophy).
Click this to see my Pinterest Articles & Tips Board
So how do I consistently bring in new content?
Obviously to bring in new, interesting pins, you have to be out there on the internet – reading blogs, engaging in social media and discovering new, fresh content. I do all of this, but I’ve found one more trick that helps me discover great content quickly so I don’t have to spend all day hunting down new posts and articles.
My Pinterest Curation Secret Weapon
I’ve been a user and affiliate of CurationSoft for a while now. I’ve used it mainly for writing curated blog posts (with it’s content discovery and drag and drop feature). If your strategy involves curating articles, I recommend you take a look at it. Anyway, in addition to curating content for blog posts, I’ve found two other good uses for CurationSoft. One of them is blog commenting. It’s a great tool to find recent blog posts on topics that I write about (and you can add “comment luv”, “Disqus” or “Liverfyre” as part of the search phrase if you have preferred commenting platform).
But the third use that I’ll talk about today is turning out to be a great time-saver for me .. curating content on Pinterest…
How CurationSoft helps with Pinterest Board Curation
The great thing about CurationSoft is that it allows to you to find relevant and recent blog posts, articles, videos and pictures by keyword. Each link opens in a new window so your original search stays there (so you can quickly go to the next post). It also allows you to quickly use several different searches to find the best articles and to quickly pin them to your board (or boards).
You can see how it works on the video here and I have step-by-step instructions below that.
Step 1: Choose Source, Input Keywords and Find Articles
Choose which of the several search options you want to use (for paid version). For the free version, the available option, Google Blog Search, is good because it usually seems to have the best selection.
Step 2: Check Article (or Video or Picture) Quality and Pin
I always do a quality check on each article (or picture or video) that I post on Pinterest. I want to keep the quality high and I usually learn something even with a quick skim.
Step 3: Pick the Rigtht Picture
Pick the main picture for the post. If there are several to choose from, pick the most interesting or eye-catching one. This is Pinterest rigtht? It’s all about what catches people’s eye.
Step 4: Choose the Board and Fill in Pin Information and Source
Make sure you pick the right board so you don’t waste time going back to edit that. I usually pin for one board at a time so the default board is always the one I’m working on.
Also, add the title or other comments about your pin. I usually also list the source in parentheses so people know where it came from (and are more likely to open or re-pin if it’s a reputable source.
Step 5: (Optional) See your Pin, Tweet it or Share on Facebook – done!
Pinterest gives you the option to see your pin, to Tweet it or to share it on Facebook. You can skip this step if you like. I share the occasional pin on Twitter.
Step 6: Get the Next Post, Video or Picture!
That process takes about a minute or two per post so you can go back to your CurationSoft dashboard and click on the next article and repeat. In a few minutes you’ve added a few great pins.
Do you curate any popular boards on Pinterest? Feel free to share them and let me know what tips and tricks you use to find good content in the comments below.
Twitter: DeniseWakeman
says:
Great way to use CurationSoft, Tom. Hadn’t really thought of that and it makes perfect sense. My Online Visibility Tips board is pretty popular with over 2200 followers. I mix my own content and a lot of curated content. http://pinterest.com/denisewakeman/online-visibility-tips/
I use Google Alerts, email newsletters, and articles people in my LinkedIn group share plus Twitter to find a wealth of information that I believe is useful for my followers. Anything with an infographic gets lots of Likes and Repins (all good for visibility!).
Denise Wakeman recently posted..Kindle, Amazon and EBooks – Digital Publishing is HOT! [survey]
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Hi Denise. Yes, I definitely find a lot of interesting articles just being “out there” online. I do find it really useful for finding some of the newer articles (before other people have distributed them too broadly) and for those busy days where I don’t have as much time but want to make sure that I have some great things to share.
Your board is a great one and I encourage everyone to join the one you linked to here. Thanks for the comment!
Tom recently posted..What Do You Wish You’d Known Before You Started Blogging?
Twitter: RyanHanley_Com
says:
Tom,
Love this strategy… It’s what I do with my Content Creation Curation series every Firday… See the CommentLuv below for an example…
Ryan Hanley recently posted..Content Creation Curation – Social Media RoundUp – Week 11
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Hey Ryan. Thanks for the comment and I love your Content Curation Series. Do you capture the best posts you like throughout the week? I’m assuming you don’t use a tool, right?
Tom Treanor recently posted..What Do You Wish You’d Known Before You Started Blogging?
Twitter: RyanHanley_Com
says:
Yeah, I don’t use a tool although CurationSoft look good, I just have the Pin It button in my Chrome Navigation bar and pin awesome articles that come across during the week…
Then I use Chrome’s screen capture extension to take a shot of that Pinterest Board and post it on my blog…
Thanks again!!
Ryan Hanley recently posted..Why Blogging is a Cold Callers Best Friend [Video]
Tom,
Incredibly awesome post. I hadn’t even thought about Pinterest and CS working that well together. I came here and learned something new about our own freakin software. And I LOVE that. You rock. Curation rocks. And I’m almost ready to say, publicly, that Pinterest rocks. :)
Jack Humphrey recently posted..The Web’s Largest Employer: You!
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Thanks Jack. I just like to use a few tools (some people have tons, others use none) but I try to get the most out of each one. This Pinterest Curation method has been a great time-saver so nice job with the the tool!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why Pinterest is Addictive – A Contrarian View
Twitter: danieldeyette
says:
I can’t believe the amount of detail and trouble you went to to take such detailed screenshots.
I don’t always have the time to do that kinda stuff, but I guess that’s why you’ve gotten 27 shares on Twitter. Great job :)
Daniel Deyette recently posted..Do prospects waste your time?
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Hi Daniel. Yes, if I do something I generally do a pretty detailed job of it to really show people how it all works. I appreciate the comment!
Tom recently posted..Do You Know Where Your Pages Rank in Google?
Thanks for the detail description and guide. I haven’t tried curationsoft yet. I will love to know more benefits of using the curationsoft before making any decision.
Ricky Shah recently posted..Repertoire of Best 3D Games for Android
Twitter: Just_Mel
says:
Great post on CurationSoft; I had actually never heard of it before. The one I use only pulls from Flickr right now, which is a bit of a bummer, but it’s a LOT more auto-pilot I believe. Plus, you can also do likes, re-pins, and follows based on your niche keyword.
Mind you, in the wrong hands it could be SUPER spammy. Then again if someone used it in that way I would hope Pinterest would be quick to terminate their activities:) LOL
Mel recently posted..Auto Pinterest Marketer Review & Bonus