One of the most important plugins you can have if you want people to Pin your images on Pinterest is a Pin It Button on Image Hover.
What is so great about it is that it reminds your readers to pin you image as they are looking at it. Your reader starts to scroll through you post, and they see that beautiful image you made. They hesitate for a second to admire it, think of how they want to make and it the recipe or just go, “Wow! That’s awesome!” And as soon as they do, a little button comes into view that says, “Pin It.”
“Oh, what a great idea. I should pin this. And I don’t have to do any work other than click that little button right there. Done!”
OK, at least that is what goes through my mind.
But when there isn’t a Pin It button, your reader can get confused for a second. They wonder, “Why doesn’t this blogger want me to pin their stuff? I thought everyone wanted their stuff pinned. Isn’t it the thing all the cool kids are doing these days?”
Some blogs have a Pin It button at the top and/or bottom of the blog post, which is also important. (We will go over that in a couple of weeks.) And your reader can scroll up or down if they really, really want to make sure they save that image/post. But sometimes catching them in the moment when they are looking right at the image is the tipping point.
So, let’s catch them at that tipping point. And get them to pin your stuff.
There is another advantage to having the Pin It Button on Image Hover. Customizing the description text so it is all filled in just how you want it, like what we went over in How to Optimize Your Food Blog for Pinterest – Pin It Buttons Everywhere. You can get your keywords and post link in there. Winning! (Do people say that anymore, or is it so over? Because I am always behind on this stuff.)
Now, I was going to spend the rest of this post going over the Pin It Button on Image Hover that I like and am using on this blog, but…
As I was looking at it more closely, I saw this message across the top of my screen that said they were no longer updating this plugin because they had made a new one.
Really!?!?!
I liked the plugin. It worked great for me.
But I decided to give the new one a try. I’m playing around with it and still not sure if I like it or not. Therefore, I am going to spend the rest of this post going over 3 other plugins that give you a Pin It Button on Image Hover, and I will be back next week to tell you about the new plugin I am trying out. It’s called Frizzly, by the way. Don’t ask me where they got that name. I don’t know.
Note – When you are looking for plugins, be sure to check the reviews as well as the descriptions and last updated on the Plugin Directory page. You can see the star ratings, how many downloads, last updated and compatible up to info in the image above at the bottom of each plugin section. You want one that is compatible with your version of WordPress, too. (You can get to the Plugin Directory by clicking the “Add New” on the top of your plugin page on your WordPress blog.)
So, here we go…
Pin It Button on Image Hover – 3 Plugin Options
- jQuery Pin It Button For Images
- Pinterest Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post
- AccessPress Pinterest
jQuery Pin It Button For Images –
This is what I used to have. This is the one they said they would only be doing minor updates for, if any. I am sad. I really liked this one.
- It dims the image just a bit to gain your readers attention.
- You have the ability to upload a custom image for your button, or choose from their basic ones.
- You have a couple of options for placement.
It’s good. But their new plugin has more options, as well as Facebook and Twitter options. We’ll see. If you choose to use jQuery Pin it Button for Images, here are some screenshots for how to implement it and what you get. Just remember they aren’t updating it.
How it looks on your blog. The dim and Pin It button are only when hovered over.
You get to the setting under “Settings” on your dashboard. Selection page lets you choose where the Pin It button shows up. I don’t like to have it on my home page, but that is just me.
On the Visual page, you can choose which description is used. Nice to have choices. You can choose how dark the hover dim goes. And you can upload your own custom Pin It button.
You even have a couple of places to choose from where the Pin It button will show up.
Pinterest Pin It Button On Image Hover And Post –
Not much to this plugin. It is very basic and simple, but it does give you a Pin It button when the image is hovered over. But that is it.
How it looks on your blog. The Pin It button is only when the image is hovered over.
The settings are pretty simple. Show button in post? Show it on page? Show it on hover? What color? What size? No more, no less.
AccessPress Pinterest –
This plugin is good if you want to have the ability to add Follow buttons, Profile widgets, Board widgets and custom Pin Image buttons in other places on your blog.
How it looks on your blog. The Pin It button is only when the image is hovered over.
This plugin doesn’t have many options. You can choose small or large button? Rectangle or circle button? And what color button? You can choose between English and Japanese. So if you have a large readership in Japan, this might be the button for you. Most of the other choices they save for the “Pro” version. It’s not too expensive, so you might want to look into it.
This is my attempt to cut and paste to show the long scroll that is the “How to Use” page. You do get the ability to make Follow buttons, Profile widgets, Board widgets and custom Pin Image buttons. But you have to use their short code to place them where you want. The instructions look pretty clear, though. But I didn’t try any of them.
Next week –
How to Optimize Your Website for Pinterest Part 3 – Frizzly Pin It Button
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Hey! Pin with me on Pinterest. – Tia’s Kitchen
*This post is part of Media Musings Monday.*
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