If you feel overwhelmed with being on social media all day, let Tailwind schedule pins for you and drive massive traffic on autopilot to your blog, e-commerce website, or the other channels you want to promote.
- Pinterest = lots of potential traffic + eyeballs on your content
- Pins = how you get people off of Pinterest -> on to your content
- Tailwind = the tool that helps you schedule your pins -> and get traffic on autopilot
1. Create A Canva Account
What’s Canva and why is it necessary for you to know how to use it for Tailwind?
Canva is a free and simple graphic-design tool website that LadyBossBlogger uses to create the graphics for our social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
To use Canva, you’ll need to first make a Canva account.
Rest assured, it’s FREE!
2. Create an Image/Graphic
- Once you’ve created an account and logged in, you’ll come upon this on your Canva home screen.
To begin designing, select the ‘Pinterest Graphic’ option. Check to ensure that the size is 735 x 1102 px.
If you don’t see that option, go to the search bar and type in ‘Pinterest Graphic’ or ‘Pinterest Pin,’ and it will show up.
You then have the option to choose to use a template or blank page.
On the left side of the screen, you’ll have these options to choose from for your design: Templates, Photos, Elements, Text, Background, Uploads, Folders, and More. See the image below.
Before making a pin, it’s better to look for the photo(s) you want to use first.
The recommended websites for photo use include www.unsplash.com and www.pexels.com as they are FREE stock photos you can use without giving credit. We want you to avoid copyright problems at all costs.
Canva also has photos you can use, but the selection is small when you have a free account.
Once you’ve found the photo(s) you want to use, go to ‘Uploads’ on the left panel to upload the photo(s).
A quick tip: you can drag the photos into the box to upload photos faster.
If you started with a blank document, you should now select a template from the ‘Template’ option. You can also create your own template if you want. Though to keep it simple, use one of the premade templates on Canva.
If there is a photo or an element (i.e., graphic florals, shapes, etc.) used in the template (and there most likely will be), be sure to delete them. To do that, click on the item and use the ‘delete’ key on your keyboard to get rid of them.
Then, add your uploaded photos onto your design. To do that, drag the photo over or click on it. You can manipulate the size by dragging the corners.
Once that is done, all you have left is to add in your text!
After you’ve finished, name the document so that you can easily find it later.
Finally, download your designs by clicking the down arrow button in the top-right corner.
Check to make sure the FILE TYPE IS PNG.
Normally, you would want the SELECT PAGES option to appear as ‘All Pages’ if you want to download ALL of your designs. If you don’t want to download all of your designs, click the down-arrow under the ‘select pages’ option to choose the ones you want.
Then, press download when you’re ready!
Your downloads should appear in your ‘downloads’ folder/file on your laptop.
More features in Canva:
Color Options:
- To view your color options, click the icon like the one shown below.
- Type in a color you want to use in your design. You should be able to select different colors for fonts and graphic elements by doing this.
Fonts:
- To change the font, click the drop-down arrow like the one in the image.
- You should then see hundreds of fonts you can use for your pin designs.
- Remember that NOT all fonts will allow you to use bold or italics.
- To change the font size, click the drop-down arrow. You can also just click on the font in the design and drag the corners.
Positioning:
- This is an important feature to know how to use as it’ll save you TONS of time and frustration. The name of the feature is self-explanatory and is used to position the fonts, elements, and photos used in the design.
Transparency:
- Again, another great feature to use. It controls the transparency of the font, element, or photo in your design. To use it, click on the item you wish to make less/more transparent and slide on!
Next up: scheduling your beautiful pins onto Tailwind!
3. Create A Tailwind Account
So, you’ve completed your designs, now it’s time to schedule them onto Tailwind.
First, you’ll want to go to Tailwind to create an account or log in.
4. Upload To Tailwind
Important note: Tailwind is the only Pinterest approved tool for scheduling pins.
Once you’ve logged in, there are multiple options to click on the left side.
For now, you only have to worry about the ‘Publisher’ option. This is where you will schedule your pins on Tailwind.
Click on ‘Drafts’ and a box will pop up requiring you to download their extension. To be able to post, you will have to do this.
Your ‘Drafts’ section will look similar to this:
To schedule, check to make sure you’re in the ‘Drafts’ part of Publisher. Then, you’ll want to click on ‘+ Create New Pin’ to schedule/create your pin.
Upload your creative pin designs by clicking the ‘Upload Images’ option.
5. Add Hashtags
To help with organization and SEO, you should include boards and a description with at least 15 to 20 hashtags.
At LadyBossBlogger, we typically start by entering a description. Then, we go to www.all-hashtag.com to find and generate hashtags for the post. The hashtags should be related to the pin.
In the screenshot below, I’ve typed in ‘blogging’ as an example hashtag. Of the three selections on the bottom of the search box, go ahead and choose ‘top’ to get top results. Then, press ‘Generate’ to get results!
To get the results, you’ll have to scroll down. Your page should appear like this:
Although it would be easy to copy all of the hashtags produced, sometimes, not all hashtags are relevant or appropriate. Pick out 15 to 20 to add to the description.
6. Schedule Your Pin
Once you’ve completed the description, it’s time to find boards that the creative pin could be posted in. Be sure the pin is relevant to the board you’re scheduling it to go into.
To do so, just click on the ‘Type a Board Name’ text box. There, it’ll give you a list of board groups and/or individuals ones (when you scroll down further). Select all boards that seem fitting to the blog post you’re scheduling.
Before you ‘Add to queue,’ double-check you have the correct boards and description.
Then, you’re ready to hit ‘Add to queue,’ which will use a smart schedule based on your followers’ activity. Your pin will be added to the next open spot.
Additionally, if you have more than one draft, you can also hit ‘Schedule all drafts.’
Lastly, click the ‘Save Changes’ option down below to save your hard work!
With these simple tactics, you will become a Tailwind master in no time!
Additional articles you might be interested in:
- 5 Proven Steps That Will Increase Your Organic Search Traffic In 2020
- 6 Common Mistakes Blocking Your Blog Traffic (And How To Get It Right)
- 5 Ways To Successfully Get Traffic To Your Online Store
- How To Use Pinterest To Grow Your Business And Traffic
- 5 Things You Need To Know About SEO
Claire Erickson is currently a blogging intern at LadyBossBlogger.com. Claire has just returned from studying abroad at the London College of Fashion and will finish her senior year studying retail merchandising back at her home university – University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). She is looking forward to having a future in buying, trend research, or planning.
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