Simple and plain. If you are a creative of color that relies on engagement, impressions or traffic as your bread and butter, then you should be on Pinterest and pinning in Tailwind Tribes.  One major problem I discovered, when searching for Tailwind Tribes to pin my content to, is a lack of diversity or content from people of color in those tribes.  Now I know somebody is gonna ask the question, so I’ll beat you to it.  Why is this important?  

*Full disclosure. This post contains affiliate links, where I receive service credit if you join. 

Well, just to reiterate what many creatives of color have been saying for the longest. Representation matters. It matters in the digital world just as much, if not more, than the real world.  It’s important that consumers, marketers and brands are able to find the visual content of people of color, just as easily as our white counterparts. It’s also important that we make sure that our content is prominent and visible in spaces where everyday people consume content, like search engines.

Why Pinterest?

Pinterest is a visual search engine. Besides Google and YouTube, it’s one of the largest search engines out there for visual content.

Pinterest is also unlike most social networks, where your content only shows up for a certain amount of time and then fades away. Unless someone archives it, visits your page, shares it after they consume it or you go viral, the life expectancy can fade.  With Pinterest your content has the potential to stay rotating for years a.k.a. long-term traffic.

I mean we’re out here creating killer content on dope blogs, podcasts and web series. Some of us are killing the game on Instagram and YouTube.  Others are strictly micro bloggers on social networks or regular business owners like photographers, illustrators and shop owners. But what is lacking in all of this greatness, is the ability to be found quickly by those strictly searching for visual content, every day, online.

If you’re curious about numbers. 175 Million people, per month* (according to Omnicore), visit Pinterest looking for recipes, what to buy, business advice, beauty tutorials, infographics, hair inspiration, breastfeeding advice, how to’s, diy’s, auto reviews, travel tips, fashion tips etc.  You name it, they’re looking for it.

The premise of Pinterest for content creators, is not to be used as another social network. It’s a place where you can cast a net, hook people visually, and draw those people back to the source of your content.  That’s what sets it apart.

More Valuable Pinterest Resources

How Pinterest Works

How To Optimize Your Blog For Pinterest Visitors

Quick Definitions

Pinterest – Visual Search Engine

Pins – Content (Images, Videos)

Pinners – People who pin things to Pinterest

Boards – Virtual pin boards where pins stay or groups of pins.

Group Boards/Shared Boards – Virtual pin boards, where multiple pinners have access to add content to it.  These work great for people who share similar niches or specific interests.

Tailwind Tribes – Groups of pinners who pin their own content and repin each others content, to relevant boards.

Tailwind App – Mobile and Desktop app that lets users create, join and manage tribes of Pinterest pinners. Tribemates can communicate, add pins and repin each others content. Within the app, you can also view the pin analytics of your Pinterest and Instagram accounts.  You can also schedule pins in advance to publish to your own boards.

Tailwind Tribes For Creatives Of Color

Many of us creatives of color encounter bias in the virtual world, much like in the real world.  If what we have isn’t culturally accepted, the norm, visually “safe” or fits into an acceptance box, we’re likely to be looked over.

Our ultimate goal is to be on an equal plane when it comes to exposure.

That’s where Tailwind Tribes comes in.

Why Tribes?

Tribes allow you to reach other people’s Pinterest boards, regardless of whether it’s a group board or individual board.  Yeah group boards are still dope, but Pinterest tribes are where the exponential growth lies.  Just 1 pin to the right tribe can yield tons of repins, to group boards and boards you wouldn’t normally have access to. 

Because of the combined reach of the Tribe, you have an opportunity to multiply the amount of impressions your content normally receives, when it is repinned.

You can join all types of tribes.  Some are niche specific, some are based on certain interests, demographics etc. Each tribe has its own set of rules, so be sure to read those before you commit. It also helps to have some boards set up before you join and start sharing pins. 

A Tribe Is Like…

I like to describe it this way.

Imagine a pin is YOU and boards are house parties.  In general, you might walk into 1 or a few house parties, causing a stir. People see you and engage with you. You’re pretty popular.  At best, you’d also hit a few clubs (group boards) and that may yield you a lot of phone numbers (traffic) based on the larger crowd in the club.  Do people still ask for phone numbers?

That’s regular Pinterest.

Now, imagine you walk into 1 house party and all of your good friends are there. You know, the kind that keep it real when it comes to support.  Several of those friends then take you to 1 or more house parties or clubs and introduce you. First of all, you’d be pretty exhausted. That’s a lot of partying lol.  But your reach has now become exponential and you’ve become a VIP.

That’s a Tribe.

I’m oversimplifying a bit, but ideally this is how it works in a good reciprocal tribe.

I hope this post gave you some clarity on what Pinterest is, how it works and how Tailwind Tribes work.  If you have any questions about tribes, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Also, I run one of the only Pinterest tribes out there for creatives of color.   So if you want to join or would like to try it out for a while, click the join link or the pic below.  I’d love to have you in the tribe!  We are Melanin Life.

If you end up joining long term, you’ll also get 1 month free using the link below.

Join Melanin Life Tribe!

Are you on Pinterest? What’s your experience with Tailwind and Tailwind Tribes?