Are you an artist or creative business using Pinterest to promote your content? Did you learn some years ago that repins are fine and you should repin content from others? Do you participate in 5 groups where you repin the Pins of other artists? Did your numbers go down lately? Please stop or at least limit repinning right now. Otherwise, your stats will go down even more.
First things first: This is quite old news. Pinterest wants creators to save as many fresh Pins as possible — for more than a year now! They don’t want us creators to repin any longer. This repin strategy change belongs to our Pins and also Pins from others. I wrote about this in my Pinterest for Artists 2020 blog post. In another post, I described in detail how to create fresh Pins.
So why do I write another post about this topic in the mid of 2021? Because I’m amazed by the fact how many fellow artists still do a large number of repins.
But they told me repinning is fine!
Yes, repinning worked like a charm — in 2019 and before. But, unfortunately, it can seriously harm your account right now. Pinterest wants fresh content, and if one creator repins lots of Pins from other creators, this produces duplicate content. So Pinterest stated multiple times that it is okay now (or even a good thing) only to pin your content.
Please note that it is still fantastic when regular pinners repin Pins from creators all day long.
So, what is a regular pinner, and what is the difference to a creator? I know, regular pinner is a funny name, but I’m not sure how to say it better. A creator creates. She makes content, usually to promote something — a product, a service, herself. She has a business account and claimed her website to create all types of Pins (including Video Pins and Story Pins) and see all the impressive analytics and statistics.
A regular pinner has a personal account (without access to analytics etc.). He goes to Pinterest to get inspired. Maybe he wants to decorate the living room or learn how to create Acrylic Fluid Paintings, so he collects many Pins into different boards. Which is totally fine and helps the creators to get more reach and engagement.
No repins at all? Really?
Does this mean creators should not repin at all? It depends.
A few targeted repins can help the Pinterest algorithm determine what your account is all about, especially if you have a brand new profile.
If your account is well established (some years old and in good standing), some repins will not hurt. Be sure to save them into relevant boards!
There is no hard line. One of the main things that I learned while helping hundreds of people and businesses grow their Pinterest: every account is slightly different.
Just don’t overdo it with your repins!
I hope this article helped you understand why repins can be harmful in 2021. If you need more help with Pinterest, please consider these offerings:
How can I help you with Pinterest?
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