Joining group boards has been one of the best ways to get traffic from Pinterest for your online business.
However, in 2018, Pinterest changed its algorithm and minimized the distribution rate of pins from group boards.
In an interview, Pinterest reps explained that while getting traffic from group boards is not prohibited, per se, the original purpose of group boards is idea collaboration and not to share audiences between users and drive traffic to pins.
This update from Pinterest has become a topic among bloggers and Pinterest marketers alike.
There were even speculations that joining group boards might not be a worthwhile Pinterest traffic strategy anymore.
Nevertheless, if you’re totally new to Pinterest marketing, it is advisable to use all strategies available to reach as many audiences as you can, and joining group boards is one of those strategies.
So in this post, I will share with you how you can find and join group boards in Pinterest, which group boards should you join, and which ones should you avoid.
Let’s get right into it.
1. Find Group Boards using the Pinterest Search Bar
The easiest way to find group boards on Pinterest is through the platform’s search bar.
First, you type in your niche + group boards, e.g., home decor group boards.
Then, you need to change the filter at the right side of the search bar from All Pins into Boards…
And you’ll find the top-ranking group boards in the home decor niche.
You then need to click on one of them, and you’ll see a page that shows you information about the group board like the owner, how many contributors it has, followers, and more importantly, instruction on how you can join.
In the example above, it says that you can join the group board if you follow the owner @sipbitego and then email JoinTheGB@gmail.com.
The group board owner is the first profile in the right, and you need to visit that person’s profile, follow her as instructed before you send an email.
You can send an email like…
Now you need to apply to join 5-10 group boards because if you’re new, it’s likely that you won’t get accepted quickly.
However, it doesn’t mean that you need to join all group boards that you can find in your niche, and I will discuss why in a moment.
2. Visit the User Profile of Top-ranking Pins in your Niche
The second way to find Pinterest group boards is by checking out various pinner profiles and finding out the group boards they’re pinning to.
For example, If you search for blogging tips on the search bar, Pinterest will show you the top-ranking pins for blogging tips like the image below..
Then you will need to click the top-ranking pins one by one to visit the owner’s profile.
Click Activity and See all boards…
Scroll down and look for blogging tips group boards that she joined.
In case you don’t know how to tell a group board from a regular board, group boards are indicated by 3 faces in the circle, instead of 1…
Click each of the group boards about blogging tips and find out the requirements on how to join.
Different group boards have different requirements for you to join.
Some group boards will simply ask you to follow the board owner, the group board and hit the Join button and wait to be accepted.
Meanwhile, other group boards will ask you to message the owner personally via Pinterest…
And others will ask you to email them like the home decor group board example above.
You must be prepared to visit a lot of profiles and check out various group boards because not all group boards are accepting more contributors.
Just keep visiting user profiles of the top-ranking pins for a query to find different group boards that might accept you.
3. Find Pinterest Group Boards on PinGroupie
The third way to find group boards on this list is through a third-party site called PINGROUPIE.
PINGROUPIE has a search bar where you can type in a niche, and it will show you the different group boards in that niche.
For example, you can type in vegan recipes, and you will see the list of the vegan recipe group boards on Pinterest.
Then you can filter the results according to followers, number of pins, number of collaborators, when it was last update, etc.
Click on the group boards that you’re interested in and hit Visit this Board on Pinterest.
A new tab will then open, and you can see the group boards on Pinterest.
You can then check out the requirements to join and whether or not they are still accepting new contributors.
Follow the instructions to join the group board, e.g., follow the owner, follow the group board, etc. and send a message similar to the one I shared with you at the top.
Repeat the process until you’re satisfied with the number of the group boards you’re a member of. Many Pinterest marketers join around 10-15 group boards for their niche.
But before you join any boards, there are things you need to know first…
Which Pinterest Group Board should you Join?
1. Relevant to your Niche
This is very obvious, but you’d be surprised how many Pinterest users are joining group boards that are irrelevant to their niche.
I even find some articles and blogs that recommend joining as many group boards as you can so you can pin as much as you can.
While this advice makes sense because you do need exposure for your pins, this is not a wise approach.
Your pins will only make sense for people in your niche. If you post a pin about blogging tips on a group board that majority of members are looking for vegan recipes, your pin won’t get much engagement, and all your efforts would be for nothing.
Keep in mind that the reason you’re joining group boards is to get traffic to your content.
Do you think people who are not in your niche would bother visiting your site?
Food for thought.
2. Keyword-optimized
Working on the SEO of your boards can increase your chance of making it the top results for queries.
The same thing can be said for group boards.
Make sure that you join a group board which title included relevant keywords for your niche and has a meaningful description as these are the kind of boards that will likely rank high on search results.
Here’s a good example of a keyword-optimized group board for blogging…
3. Has 50-100 Contributors
Boards that only have a little over 100 or fewer contributors are usually the boards that are closely monitored by the owner and do not tolerate spammers.
You wound’t want to join a group board that has hundreds or thousands of people.
Boards that are overcrowded are hard to moderate, and there’s a good chance that the pins are low-quality and some of the members are spammers.
4. Active
Joining overcrowded group boards are not advised, but so are group boards that have very few active pinners.
You want to join a group board because you want our pins to get more exposure.
But if there are only less than 10 people actively pinning in your board, it’s almost pointless.
5. No Language Barrier
This is another obvious one, but again, many users are joining group boards even if they don’t understand the language.
Even if the group board is relevant to your niche, it’s still best to join a group board where the members speak the same language as you.
If your pins and contents are in English and you join a group board where the majority of members belongs in the non-English demographics, your pins will get buried.
Wrapping it up
While it’s true that group boards may not be the best source of traffic for your pins, it’s still a good starting point for beginners and newbies to establish your brand on the platform.
Joining group boards will also allow you to get ideas on the kind of pins that you can create for your niche and take a closer look at your competitors.
But just don’t spend too much time on joining Pinterest group boards.
After the algorithm change in 2018, veteran Pinterest marketers strongly advise that if you want to get tons of traffic from Pinterest, it’s best to work on your own boards.
And if its traffic that you want from the platform, tons of traffic is what you’ll get if you learn how to make your pins go viral on Pinterest.
So that’s it, my fellow Pinterest marketers.
I hope that has been useful to you, and if you have any questions, suggestions, or reactions, you can let me know in the comment section below.
Until here and I wish you the best in the future.
Your friend,
Jack
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