For brands trying to reach shoppers interested in trying new things, or those making purchases or starting new projects, Pinterest could be a great platform for your brand. And that also means a Pinterest scheduler is essential.
Using Pinterest for business makes more sense than ever. In fact, as of February 2021, 459 million people use Pinterest each month and more than 200 billion Pins have been saved.
Reaching your brand’s target audience via engaging content requires thought. It requires consistent posting. It requires a carefully planned Pinterest marketing strategy. And that means not posting whenever you happen to remember.
Keep reading to learn:
- Why you should use a Pinterest scheduler
- The best free Pinterest scheduler tools out there (and some great paid Pinterest scheduler tools, too)
- How to schedule Pinterest posts and how to see scheduled Pins on Pinterest
- Top tips to keep in mind when scheduling
Why use a Pinterest scheduler, anyway?
A Pinterest scheduler is the best way to plan long-term content for your social media content calendar, keep organized and save time. No more pushing ‘send’ 25 times a day!
Your marketing calendar should incorporate daily Pins. (By the way, Pins are posts in Pinterest-speak.) And you should be posting at optimal times. That way, you will reach your audience when they’re online and using the platform.
This will differ from brand to brand, so track your Pinterest stats to know what days and times are best for your brand to publish content. Then, use a Pinterest scheduler so your Pins are published at those peak times to reach peak engagement.
3 Pinterest schedulers to know about
Trying to decide which Pinterest scheduler is best for your brand?
Keep reading for some of the best free Pinterest scheduling tools — and some great paid Pinterest scheduler options, too.
If your brand is only using Pinterest then the platform itself is the best free Pinterest scheduler out there. Scheduling Pins natively, especially when you don’t have to consider scheduling posts for other platforms, can be convenient.
Here are some other things to know about this scheduler:
- You will need to have a business account with Pinterest to schedule Pins.
- You can schedule Pins for posting on desktop or on iOS.
- Only one Pin can be scheduled at a time.
- It’s possible to schedule up to two weeks in advance and schedule 30 Pins.
Hootsuite
If your brand uses between one and three social media platforms, then Hootsuite is also a free Pinterest scheduler to consider.
Using Hootsuite’s integrated dashboard, you will see your scheduled Pins alongside scheduled posts for your other social platforms. And the dashboard makes it easy to view, edit and delete Pins.
If your brand uses more than three platforms — or wants more scheduling benefits like unlimited scheduling and analytics — consider upgrading to the Professional, Team or Business plan.
Using Hootsuite as your Pinterest scheduler means:
- You can compose new Pins, schedule them for later, create new boards and Pin to multiple boards at once.
- You can bulk schedule Pins as far into the future as you like.
- Paid Hootsuite plans means teams can more easily collaborate. You can send Pins to a manager for approval before publishing to ensure everything is correct and on-brand.
- Paid Hootsuite plans include Hootsuite analytics so you can see how your Pins are performing.
Learn more about Pinterest scheduling using Hootsuite here:
Tailwind
As a scheduler, Tailwind is limited to Pinterest and Instagram. (Want to learn how to schedule Instagram posts? We got you.)
However, it offers several features tailored specifically for Pinterest that make it worth considering:
- Tailwind can measure your audience engagement and its SmartSchedule suggests the best times to post.
- It can sync Pins with Instagram.
- You can schedule Pins using a browser extension.
- Collaborate with other Pinterest users via Tailwind Communities.
- There’s a free trial with no time limit. This caps the number of Pins you can schedule to 100.
- And there are paid monthly or annual options. The paid option provides unlimited Pin scheduling.
This Pinterest scheduler also integrates with Hootsuite. This integration makes it easy to manage your editorial calendar, pin to multiple boards at once, store draft Pins and more.
Source: Hootsuite
How to schedule Pinterest posts
Here, learn how to schedule Pins for your brand.
Remember: Scheduling Pins is different from creating Pinterest ads. Here’s more information on how to do that.
How to schedule Pins using Pinterest
To schedule Pins natively:
Step 1: Log into your Pinterest account
You need to have a Pinterest Business account to schedule Pins. If you don’t have a Pinterest Business account and are still using a personal account, be sure to upgrade.
Step 2: Click Create from the dropdown menu on the top left-hand side
And choose to Create Pin.
Step 3: Add all the details for your Pin
First, choose which board this Pin will appear in. If an existing board doesn’t work, you also have the option to create a new board here.
Add a title, a description and alt text so those using screen readers can get a better understanding of the image being shared.
Also share the link the Pin connects to and add an eye-catching image. Pinterest recommends your Pinterest images use a 2:3 aspect ratio.
Step 4: Choose when to publish
If you’re scheduling, then you’ll select Publish at a later date.
Step 5: Select the day and time for the Pin to publish
Remember that you can only schedule within 14 days of the current date.
Step 6: Hit publish
If you click See Scheduled Pins, you will be brought to a page that looks like this:
How to schedule Pins using Hootsuite
To schedule Pins using the Pinterest scheduler Hootsuite:
Step 1: After logging in to Hootsuite, hover over the Create icon
Then choose Create Pin.
Step 2: Add all the details for your Pin
Choose which board this Pin will appear in, choose to have the Pin show up on more than on board or create a new board.
Write a description, add the website link and add the eye-catching image.
Step 3: Edit the image
You can optimize the photo you choose using Hootsuite’s built-in photo editor. Edit colour, contrast and more, and choose the ideal size. Hootsuite recommends the ideal aspect ratios for each social platform.
Step 4: Click Schedule for later
Step 5: Choose the ideal date and time
Step 6: Click Schedule
If you select the dropdown arrow next to Schedule, you will see options to save the Pin as a draft, schedule and reuse accounts, or schedule and duplicate the post.
How to see scheduled Pins on Pinterest
See your scheduled Pins on Pinterest by going to your profile and selecting the Pins tab.
You could also type in the URL to find your scheduled Pins:
pinterest.ca/username/scheduled-pins/
You can edit your scheduled Pin by clicking anywhere on it. Or click on the three dots to delete the Pin or choose to publish immediately.
If you want to know how to see scheduled Pins on Hootsuite, all you have to do is click through to the Hootsuite Publisher.
In the Planner view — which is simply a calendar view — see your scheduled Pin by navigating to the day and time you scheduled your Pin to publish. It appear with other Pins you’ve scheduled and with other scheduled posts for other social platforms.
And in the Content view, navigate to Schedule to see all your scheduled Pins in a list format.
5 Pinterest scheduling best practices to know before you start
Know your audience
Don’t guess.
Keep track of when to schedule by tracking Pinterest analytics. You’ll see which Pins are most popular, which topics audiences find interesting and what’s being Pinned from your website. When you identify popular content, plan to Pin similar content and build new boards around that engaging theme.
Simply, tracking analytics will help your brand create an effective Pinterest marketing strategy. And don’t just do it once — keep analyzing that data!
Don’t schedule Pins all once
Rather than Pinning in chunks, space out the Pins you’re publishing regularly. Plan to schedule Pins throughout the day and throughout the week.
Keeping on top of your Pinterest analytics will also ensure you know the optimal times and days to post, and when you should plan to schedule Pins into your social media content calendar.
Don’t schedule too far in advance
The world moves quickly. If you plan something months in advance, the Pin you’ve planned might not be relevant by the time the publishing date actually rolls around. Instead, try to schedule Pins only a few days or a week in advance.
Always edit and double-check your Pins while scheduling
To increase visibility of Pins on Pinterest search, make sure you’re always including a description of the Pin to provide context.
Then, edit that description. As well as making sure you’ve included keywords, and that the description is grammatically correct and free of typos before it’s published.
And it’s not just the words you want to double-check. Make sure the Pin you’re scheduling is going to publish to the correct board and that you’ve included the correct link.
Checking during the scheduling phase will help your brand avoid embarrassing mistakes.
Check your image display while scheduling
Finally, check how your image displays. Scheduling means you will see if the image looks pixelated, or if Pinterest is cropping out an important part of the image if you haven’t selected a 2:3 ratio.
Using a Pinterest scheduler will not only make publishing content more efficient, it will also elevate your Pinterest marketing strategy. Pinterest schedulers often provide your brand with important data and analytics, and it’s easy to see when content is scheduled to publish. Simply, Pinterest scheduling tools can help you not only reach your target audience, but grow that audience.
Save time managing your Pinterest presence using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish posts directly to Pinterest, measure their performance, and run all your other social media profiles. Try it free today.
Schedule Pins and track their performance alongside your other social networks—all in the same easy-to-use dashboard.
