Lessons from the Most Popular Penguin on Pinterest: How to Get More Pin-Pals on Pinterest

Within months of Pinterests launch, the blogs and social media were jam-packed with “experts” teaching us how to be successful on this new platform. But where is the proof? How do we trust the tips we are reading? The proof is in the results. Just ask Jane Wang!

Who is Jane Wang, you wonder? She is a self-described Chinstrap Penguin from Antarctica. That’s right – a penguin. With more than three million followers (and growing by the minute!), there is some proof we can learn from.

Lessons on How Get More Pin-Pals on Pinterest

Think in Color
Pinterest is a visual network. Grab Pinners’ attention with vibrant, colorful photos. Visitors will see your board cover photos first, so set the most brilliant ones as the covers.

Pin Often
Jane is one lively Penguin. She adds many pins daily, and engages people around the clock. Penguins don’t sleep as much as us humans do, so they have more time on their flippers. But if you want popularity, you’ve got to keep up! Coffee anyone?

Comment and Like
When building your profile on Pinterest, most people think about pinning and re-pinning photos. But don’t forget to comment and like other people’s pins as well. The more people notice you, the faster you expand your visibility.

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes
If you want more followers and repins, choose pins that go viral. Recipes are
very popular on Pinterest. Grab a photo of the delicious-looking final result, describe the dish, and make sure it links to the page with the recipe.

Smile!
Check out the Penguin’s boards. They are all positively cheerful. Delight visitors to your page by using upbeat, optimistic descriptions for your boards. Use words like “amazing,” “delicious,” “delightful,” “fun,” “interesting”.

Be Simple
Your pin-pals are very busy. Don’t confuse them by over-complicating your Pinterest page.
• Write a short, compelling bio. (See the Penguin’s profile? It’s 3 words, but it intrigues you, doesn’t it?)
• Name your boards with straightforward titles (Gardens, Toys, Shoes, Covet).
• Describe your boards minimally. Penguin’s “Happy” board is described as: “So many things make me happy.” If the name of the board is self-explanatory (Fun with Kids), there is no need for additional description.

Appeal to the Masses
If you are branding yourself with a specific niche, this tip may not be for you: Jane the Penguin seems to attract pinners of every walk of life because she isn’t exclusive. She’s a Penguin for all People. Her boards range from topics such as Iowa and Rocking Chairs to Ties and Elephants. If your goal is to be more popular, create boards on many subjects and watch the follows pile up.

Hashtags
Yes, Twitter lovers! Hashtags help categorize posts on Pinterest, too. Almost every one of Penguin’s 16,935 pins includes a hashtag (or five).

Jump in NOW!
It may be too late to be one of the early adopters of Pinterest, but it’s still early enough to grow a big community before it becomes overly saturated. If you don’t have a Pinterest account, start one now.

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