Do hashtags work on Pinterest in 2024? Can hashtags give you an extra boost on Pinterest? Can you go viral with hashtags on Pinterest?
Well, those are too many questions but you might have asked yourself at least one of these if you are here.
Hashtags on Twitter are a way to connect with people who are talking about the same topic as you. On Instagram, you can use up to 30 hashtags and Facebook has also jumped on hashtags to make it easy for people to discover content.
In short, Hashtags do not work on Pinterest as the platform works as a search engine rather than a social media platform.
Let’s uncover the truth behind their effectiveness on this visual discovery platform.
In recent years, Pinterest has seen a shift in its approach to hashtags, raising questions about their impact on content visibility and engagement.
As Pinterest continues to evolve, understanding the current state of hashtags is essential for optimizing your marketing strategy on the platform.
Let’s talk through and see what hashtags can and can’t do on Pinterest.
Pinterest Discourages The Use Of Hashtags
Pinterest Itself has clearly stated that hashtags are not relevant on Pinterest anymore. In the past hashtags were a way to categorize your content and reach a broader audience.
Much like other social media platforms hashtags were big back in 2017. Now Pinterest has moved to a more SEO approach and categorizes itself as a search engine.
What Did Pinterest Officials Say?
Pinterest clarified the functionality of hashtags on their platform, emphasizing that they operate differently from other social media platforms.
According to Pinterest, hashtags do not serve the same purpose of tracking trends and can potentially confuse users. Instead, Pinterest suggests using branded hashtags, such as a business name or tagline, sparingly.
For example, a branded hashtag for NIKE can be something like #justdoit. If you have a restaurant or brand the name of your business can be a branded hashtag.
Pinterest has taken this so seriously that they do not allow you to run ads if you have more than one hashtag in your description.
During a Pinterest for Business YouTube webinar on June 15, 2022, they talked about do hashtags work on Pinterest One creator asked the question: “Hey, are hashtags still cool on Pinterest?”
And guess what? Amy, one of the presenters, dropped some truth bombs. She said, “Look, hashtags aren’t a big deal on Pinterest. Sure, you can use them if they’re part of your bigger campaign vibe, but don’t expect miracles. They’re not gonna boost your Pin’s reach or anything.”
So, even if you’ve got some cool branded hashtags like #BrandSummerSale, Pinterest isn’t the place to go hashtag crazy. It is best to keep things authentic and skip the hashtag overload.
Where To Put Hashtags On Pinterest?
If you come from a social media background then you will more likely feel hesitant to not use hashtags. But let me tell you a more effective way that can save you time and help you reach more people.
Search for relevant keywords that people might use when searching for your brand or a brand like yours. For example, if you promote sushi on Pinterest your potential keywords might be:
- Asian food
- Sushi
- Best sushi
And so on. Now instead of filling the description with hashtags, you can use these in both your Pin title and description. If your pin is eye-catching and engaging it will automatically show up when people search these words.
The best way to write your Pinterest descriptions is:
Discover the secrets behind (keyword 1), (keyword 2), and (keyword 3), and find out how they can enhance your (keyword 4) experience in this post.
For example, if I am writing for the keywords I mentioned above I would write something like:
“Explore the wonders of Asian food, learn the art of making sushi, and uncover the best sushi spots in this post.”
Proof That Hashtags Don’t Work On Pinterest
So to make sure that hashtags really don’t work on Pinterest I ran a very simple test. I searched for the keyword marketing and got the following results.
After that, I searched for #marketing, and guess what we got the same results as we did with just the keyword.
Now I analyzed the top pins to see if they really were using any hashtags related to marketing and NO they weren’t. These top pins in the search results were only optimizing their descriptions and they were able to rank on Pinterest without any hashtags.
This again proves that Pinterest does not rank your content based on hashtags but is more dependent on keywords. You will need to understand the Pinterest algorithm to rank on the platform.
Don’t worry we got a complete guide on Pinterest algorithm that you can check out now!
FAQ’s
1. Do hashtags work on Pinterest in 2024?
- No, hashtags do not work effectively on Pinterest in 2024. Pinterest operates more as a search engine rather than a social media platform, so the effectiveness of hashtags is limited.
2. Can hashtags give you an extra boost on Pinterest?
- Not really. While hashtags were once used to categorize content and reach a broader audience on social media platforms, their impact on Pinterest is minimal. Pinterest discourages the use of hashtags and emphasizes a more SEO-focused approach.
3. Can you go viral with hashtags on Pinterest?
- It’s unlikely. Pinterest’s algorithm prioritizes content based on keywords, relevance, and engagement rather than hashtags. While hashtags may have been effective on other platforms in the past, they do not have the same impact on Pinterest.
4. Where should you put hashtags on Pinterest?
- Instead of using hashtags, focus on incorporating relevant keywords into your Pin titles and descriptions. This will improve the discoverability of your content on Pinterest’s search engine-like platform.
5. How can I optimize my Pinterest descriptions without hashtags?
- Use a sentence structure to incorporate keywords naturally into your Pin descriptions. For example: “Discover the secrets behind (keyword 1), (keyword 2), and (keyword 3), and find out how they can enhance your (keyword 4) experience in this post.”
6. Is there any proof that hashtags don’t work on Pinterest?
- Yes, there is evidence that hashtags do not significantly impact content visibility on Pinterest. A simple test comparing search results for keywords versus hashtags revealed similar outcomes, indicating that Pinterest prioritizes keywords over hashtags for content ranking.
Conclusion
It’s pretty clear that hashtags are not the game-changer they once were. Pinterest isn’t like Twitter or Instagram – it’s more about searching for ideas than following trending topics.
Remember, Pinterest itself has said that hashtags don’t really do much here. They might even confuse people more than anything else. So, instead of spending time crafting the perfect hashtag, focus on using keywords that describe your content.