The Ultimate Guide to Tailwind for Pinterest Scheduling (2024)
Tailwind has been a popular Pinterest scheduler for years, but if you haven’t used it for a while, you may have noticed that a platform has changed. Let’s take a look at its features and how you can use Tailwind for Pinterest.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission. Please note that this comes at no additional cost to you.
What is Tailwind for Pinterest?
Tailwind App is a comprehensive marketing platform that focuses on social media scheduling. Specifically, the platform has focused on Instagram and Pinterest schedulers for years. In fact, Tailwind was one of the first Pinterest schedulers available.
Over time, Tailwind has expanded from just scheduling to include designing, email marketing and social media content writing.
Is Tailwind for Pinterest Free?
If you’re just starting out with Pinterest marketing, you may be apprehensive about investing in a Pinterest scheduler. Luckily, Tailwind App has a free plan in addition to their paid ones.
Currently, Tailwind’s free plan lets you connect one Pinterest account and one Instagram account, giving you 20 posts across all platforms. While this may not be enough posts to scheduler on both platforms, it will definitely get you started and will help you understand Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram before you purchase a paid plan.
Tailwind’s paid plans will provide you everything you need for your Pinterest scheduler. If you’re doing your scheduling yourself, their Pro plan would be a perfect fit. If you have a virtual assistant or Pinterest Manager, you will probably need to consider Tailwind’s Advanced or Max plan.
Check Out Tailwind’s current pricing.
How do you use the Tailwind App?
Since Tailwind is a comprehensive marketing platform, it can look a bit overwhelming at first. But it really isn’t complicated. We’re going to focus mostly on Tailwind for Pinterest, so you can see how the features will help you with your Pinterest marketing strategy.
The features for Tailwind can be divided up into 5 categories:
- Pinterest Scheduling
- Tailwind Create
- Ghostwriter AI
- Tailwind Insights
- Tailwind Communities
These features will allow you to go through the entire Pinterest marketing process from Pin creation to analytics. If you’re looking for a platform where you can do the entire process in one platform, Tailwind is the best choice.
When you’re determining if Tailwind is the right platform for you, take the time to go through each category and see if you like that feature or not. For example, for myself I appreciate the Pinterest scheduler, but prefer to use Canva over Tailwind’s design feature (Tailwind Create). That being said, I would still purchase a Tailwind plan for its scheduler. It’s all about personal preference.
How do I post to Pinterest with Tailwind?’
While not everyone uses all the features of Tailwind, but essentially all users schedule on the platform. So, we’re going to start with how to schedule on Pinterest with Tailwind. The tailwind scheduler is a popular Pinterest choice because of its different features including their chrome extension.
Tailwind has changed their Pinterest scheduler in recent years. You can still access the older publisher, but their new scheduler gives a calendar view that can be set to either weekly or monthly view.
Uploading Images
Once your pin design and description are created and written, you’re ready to schedule your Pinterest pin. On the left-hand side you’ll click the Drafts tab and you will be able to upload your Pinterest image by clicking the blue button that says “Upload or Create Posts”
Choosing Post Type
Upload all the Pinterest images you would like to post. Once you have uploaded your pin images, you’ll need to choose your Post Type: Pin, Instagram Feed, Instagram Story etc. In this case, you’ll need to check Pin for each image and then click the “Go schedule post” button. (If you forget to click Pin for each image you can go back to drafts and click them later).
Pin Title and Description
The next step in the scheduling process is to add your Pinterest pin information. You’ll need to add your title, description and the URL that the pin will link to.
Choosing a Pinterest Board
Now you need to scroll down the page and choose the boards that you would like your pin to be posted to. You can post the pin to one board or to multiple boards. One of the great things about Tailwind is that you can create board lists. So if you have similar board topics, you can put them in a list. Then instead of searching for each individual board you can just search for the list, saving time.
When to Post
The last step on the screen is choosing when to post. Tailwind gives you the option to use their schedule recommendation or to use a custom time. Either option works. It’s up to you. Choose the time that you would like the pin to be posted on the first board.
Tailwind will then give you a Schedule Preview with the dates the pin will be posted to other boards. Where it says, “Additional boards are optimized to pin weekly” I recommend clicking “weekly” and updating it to say “monthly”. Monthly is a better Pinterest marketing strategy.
Schedule Post
Your Pinterest pin is now ready to post. All you need to do is click the blue button that says, “Schedule post” and your Pinterest pin will be scheduled on the dates you chose. If you are bulk scheduling, you will need to click the button for each pin.
Tailwind Chrome Extension
One of the best features of Tailwind is their Chrome Extension. This extension will not only pull the image from your website, but the pin title and description as well.
The first step is to download the Tailwind extension. It’s easiest to use it if you have the WordPress plugin like Social Warfare, but it’s not necessary. You can do the same thing by putting the pin description in the alt text of your WordPress media image.
After your blog post is completed and posted, go to the live site and hover over the image to see the Tailwind extension. Click Schedule. Tailwind will pull the information. Choose your board, update the URL, and adjust the title as needed. Then click the clock to choose a schedule time. Finally click the green button that says “+Schedule Now”. That’s it. Your pin is scheduled.
Tailwind Create
You don’t have to use another platform to create your Pinterest image. You can do it in Tailwind Create.
To do this, go to Create on the left-hand side menu.
Then drag and drop an image into tailwind or search and choose one of their stock photos.
Select your colors and text. Tailwind Create will then generate several Pinterest designs to choose from.
Pick your favorite design and then click “Review designs”. Then click the “Go schedule” button on the right-hand side of the screen and it will take you to the Tailwind Scheduler.
That’s it. You’ve now created a Pinterest pin within minutes.
Tailwind Ghostwriter AI
If you struggle with writing pin descriptions, Tailwind has a new feature that can help. This AI feature will automatically generate a pin description based on the topic and your chosen keywords.
First, Click “Ghostwriter AI” on the left-hand menu.
Click “Social” and then “Pinterest Pin”. Choose what you are posting about, for example “information content”.
Write what the content is about, for example “How to clean a cast iron pan”.
Then check Add Keywords or phrases?” and input your Pinterest keywords.
Check “Add Call to Action” and write your call to action or leave it blank for Ghostwriter to choose one for you.
Click the blue button that says, “Generate Pin”
Ghostwriter will give you 3 Pinterest pin descriptions and titles that you can use. Make sure you edit them to your voice and content.
Tailwind Insights
Measuring analytics is a very important part of Pinterest marketing. It’s important to know if your keyword strategy is working. Tailwind Insights is an analytics dashboard that will tell you overall performance, board insights, engagement, outboard clicks, pin clicks and saves.
The data is pulled from Pinterest and then displayed in the Tailwind dashboard. You don’t need Tailwind Insights, but it does have a simpler design. Pinterest analytics is more in depth however.
Personally, my analytics platform of choice is Google Analytics 4 (GA4). As a blogger, you’re already monitoring your data with GA4, so it makes sense to have all the data in one location. GA4 is completely different from the previous version, so if you’re struggling, that’s okay.
My friend, Heather Farris, held a Pinterest and GA4 Masterclass and you can watch the replay.
Tailwind Communities
About 5 years ago, Tailwind Tribes were an extremely popular Pinterest strategy. Tribes were used to help groups repin other Pinterest users’ comments. A tribe user was required to repin others’ content. Essentially, it was a group effort to get your pins noticed.
Today, they are called Tailwind Communities. Communities aren’t as useful as they used to be. In fact, they are no longer necessary. Repinning is only used to save pins for your personal use. You don’t need to repin anyone’s content to get yours noticed, so Tailwind Communities aren’t needed.
Can I schedule Pinterest pins on Tailwind mobile?
Tailwind has removed their app from the app store and replaced it with SMS reminder notifications.
Tailwind says that, “you can easily schedule content using the Tailwind desktop to be manually published directly from your mobile device. You will schedule as normal from your Tailwind dashboard and receive a text to your verified phone number when it’s time to publish!”
I have never used the Tailwind mobile app, and don’t intend to anytime soon. The app will be more convenient for Instagram and Pinterest. Scheduling on Pinterest is easier on desktop, in my opinion.
Read more about the Tailwind SMS reminder app.
What is the Tailwind alternative for Pinterest?
If Tailwind isn’t the right Pinterest scheduler choice for you, there are other schedulers to choose from. Three of the top alternatives to Tailwind are:
- Planoly
- Buffer
- Canva Pro
Planoly
Planoly is one of my favorite Pinterest Schedulers. It has a beautiful aesthetic and is really intuitive. Planoly allows scheduling for Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. Planoly also has a chrome extension that works exactly like Tailwind’s. Lastly, I love how you can upload Canva designs directly in Planoly.
Planoly recently launched beta AI capabilities to help write captions. It’s available in all plans and is called AI Caption Writer. The Planoly AI Caption writer allows you to choose your tone., ex. artistic voice, luxury or a custom tone. It will generate several captions to choose from and edit.
Buffer
Buffer is a great budget option scheduler. Their free plan provides up to 3 channels (for Example, 2 facebook pages and 1 Pinterest account) and their paid plans are charged by the channel.
Buffer is very easy to use and has a simplistic design. You can also create a pin directly from the calendar view. Buffer does have a Chrome extension, but it will only pull the image.
If you’re looking for simplicity and value, Buffer may be the right option for you.
Canva Pro
Canva Pro is one of the best places to design your Pinterest pins. But did you know that this design program can also schedule your Pinterest pins?
Open your design and go to Share > Share on Social>Pinterest . Canva will ask for the pin information, you can choose the date and your pin is scheduled. You can also schedule your pins directly in Canva’s Content Planner (in the apps) by clicking the + icon in the calendar.
If you would like to schedule a pin to multiple boards, you will need to make a copy of the scheduled pin and choose a different board and date.
If you already have Canva Pro for your pin design, their scheduler may be all you need to schedule your pins.
Interested in learning more about scheduling your Pinterest pins with Canva Pro? Read my post, Is the Canva Scheduler the Right Choice for Pinterest Scheduling?
Is Tailwind worth it for Pinterest?
Tailwind is a great Pinterest scheduler. It has always been a popular Pinterest scheduler. While its interface isn’t as appealing as other schedulers it has some of the best features available. If you are looking for a scheduler that can provide you with high quality features and will be able to take you from creation to scheduling, Tailwind is a great scheduler choice.
If you’re looking for an initial Pinterest setup, check out my Pinterest VIP Month service.
