Pinterest is an organizer’s paradise! Whether you’re a Pinterest account manager going the whole nine yards or just using Pinterest for fun, you’ll want to create boards to keep all your saved pins in order.

Why Do We Use Boards on Pinterest?

Let’s start at the very beginning. A pin is like a bookmark. People create pins to represent a blog, product, quote, etc., in the form of an image with text, a video, a slideshow, an infographic and so on.  Pinterest users collect pins (bookmarks) and save these pins to their Pinterest accounts. 

I have a wide range of interests. I like to save pins on topics like astronomy, entrepreneurship and cooking gluten-free desserts. When I’m searching for a recently discovered Pin I found on ‘How to Create Boards on Pinterest’ ?, I’d prefer to not have to hunt for it again among my (many) pins on the solar system or easy gluten-free chocolate cake recipes.

So I create boards! 

What are Pinterest boards?

I’ve written in-depth about Pinterest boards here, but in short:

For the casual Pinterest user: 

Pinterest boards are like cute little virtual boxes to collect all your similar pins in. You can create as many boards as you like!

If you use Pinterest to discover recipes, you could create boards called Favorite Dinner Recipes, Quick One Pots, Easy Breakfast Recipes and Vegan Smoothie Recipes. It’s all up to you and what you like!

As you browse Pinterest, you simply save your pins to the relevant boards. The next time you feel like something different for lunch, head on over to your ‘Lunch Recipes’ board, and browse through your saved pins on all things yummy for lunch and pick your favorite for the day.

For the more serious Pinterest user or Pinterest Account Manager:

Pinterest boards are a fundamental aspect in our marketing strategy efforts for clients or when growing an account.

Pinterest boards need to be optimized using keywords related to your brand. This is where the board description is vital. Use a combination of long tail keywords (e.g. How To Create a Vision Board) and short keywords (e.g. vision board ideas). 

It’s best practice to use these keywords in an actual sentence/s to describe what Pinterest users can find within a particular board. You can list some short tail keywords at the end of your description if you still have characters left after your sentences. (You’re allowed 500 characters.)

A detailed description using branded keywords is extremely important as it helps the Pinterest algorithm to:

•  index your board in the correct category and then
•  send interested Pinterest users to your board’s front door.

You’ll want to keep your board names very specific to your niche and (unfortunately) not get too creative.  A fun and quirky board name won’t tell Pinterest what it needs to know about the boards content – not good for our clients. Keep the name simple, on topic, and with relevant keywords.

For example, you have a client that blogs about reselling and thrifting and you want to name a board containing pins about how to repurpose unwanted items found in flea markets.

BOARD NAME THAT IS TOO VAGUE: From Old To New

BOARD NAME THAT IS CLEAR AND CONTAINS KEYWORDS: Flea Market Flips

Boards are also great for collaborations with other entrepreneurs, bloggers or family members.  You can create a group board and allow (even invite) people on Pinterest to contribute pins to that board. You could create a board that you share with your bridesmaids and share all your wedding inspiration with them. There are endless possibilities!

For Pinterest Managers, you’ll know the value of group boards to grow your clients accounts! Your client’s Pinterest boards (optimized with keywords!) are necessary to help Pinterest index the account and strengthen your presence for the specific keywords you’re hoping to rank for.

Now that you’re clearer on what boards are for, here’s a short tutorial on exactly How to Create Boards on Pinterest: 2 Easy Ways.

1. HOW TO CREATE BOARDS ON PINTEREST: FROM YOUR PROFILE

Let’s say you’ve recently discovered calligraphy, and you want to browse Pinterest for pins on the subject. 

Since you don’t have a relevant board to save these pins to, you can go directly to your Pinterest profile and create one.

• Log on to Pinterest
• Click your profile image in the top right corner

• Then click on the ‘+’ sign.

• Select ‘Board’

• Give your board a name

You can make your board secret if you don’t want anyone to see you have this board (wanting to surprise everyone with your newly learned calligraphy skills).

For Pinterest Account Managers, create a secret board if your client wants you to create a mood board for their website, collect ideas for a topic they want to blog on, store pins from a group of vendors for reference, and lots of other reasons.

Feeling any clearer on how to create boards on Pinterest? It’s pretty simple! 

You can even create a board while you’re saving a pin.

2. HOW TO CREATE BOARDS ON PINTEREST: WHEN SAVING A PIN

What if you’re already browsing and you discover a pin on how to declutter your kitchen. That sparks an immediate interest in the topic and you know you’re going to want to save at least 10 pins on decluttering. If you don’t have a relevant board, you can create one without moving from that pin!

• Presuming you’ve already logged on to Pinterest
• Hover over the pin you want to save
• Click on the that will appear next to the red ‘Save’ button

• Click on ‘Create board’ at the bottom of the list.

• Add your board name and click ‘Create’.

And you’re done! You can now save more pins to your newly created “Declutter” Board.

A note for Pinterest managers – remember to go back into the board and optimize it with keywords that are relevant to the board and account.

Pinterest is a very user friendly platform. It’s a great search engine for discovering more about your favorite interests and hobbies. For entrepreneurs, it’s an amazing platform to drive traffic to your website and grow your business.

If you’re on the lookout for an expert at Pinterest account management, who knows all the ins and outs of how to create boards on Pinterest (not to mention the 1001 other things it takes to run a Pinterest business account well), why not reach out for a chat! I’d love to hear from you.