Pinterest for joyful, intentional marketing

Is a more positive, joyful way of marketing possible?

Pinterest thinks so. And honestly, I do too.

Unlike traditional social media, Pinterest isn’t built around likes or followers. It’s a visual search engine. People come with purpose- they’re planning, dreaming, gathering ideas. That means your business isn’t interrupting them- it’s part of their process.

Most social media platforms are built to keep us scrolling. Algorithms are designed to grab attention and hold it, often by showing us the most dramatic, extreme, or addictive content.

That constant scroll might keep us entertained for a moment, gives us that little dopamine hit. But it often leaves us feeling worse. More overwhelmed. Less connected. Especially for younger people, the effects on mental health are becoming impossible to ignore.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Pinterest has taken a different approach and it’s one of the reasons I love using it, both personally and professionally. Bill Ready, Pinterest CEO, envisions Pinterest as the “Volvo of social media,” prioritising safety and user well-being. He hopes other platforms will follow suit.

Pinterest is built differently. Their algorithms are designed to NOT push clickbait, or harmful content. They know that optimisation built on just user engagement often surfaces content driven by hate.

Instead of rewarding content that shocks or divides, Pinterest focuses on inspiration. Its algorithm pays more attention to what people actively engage with - like saving ideas - rather than just what gets the most views.

And that shift makes a huge difference.

Because when people are saving your content, it means they’re thinking about using it. Acting on it. Returning to it. Whether it’s a recipe, a product, a blog post, or a business idea - saved content is purposeful content. And that’s the kind of action that helps businesses grow and helps people feel better, not worse.

In fact, Pinterest worked with researchers at UC Berkeley to study how the platform affects well-being. They found that just 10 minutes a day engaging with inspiring content on Pinterest helped Gen Z users feel less stressed, less burnt out, and more connected.

I was recently part of a call with the amazing Emma Lembke- founder of the Log Off Movement, advocating for healthier tech for young people.

I asked her what she thought about Pinterest. And she said what I’d hoped: they’re doing it right.

That was backed up by Half the Story, another brilliant non-profit focused on digital wellness. Pinterest is one of the few platforms truly putting in the work to stay positive and safe.

It’s also why values-led brands like Lush have ditched Meta platforms and are active on Pinterest instead. Lush have been off Instagram and Facebook for four years now and have no intentions of returning.

Pinterest also continues to build in tools and policies to support safety and representation - especially for teens and underrepresented groups. From inclusive search features like skin tone and hair pattern filters, to strict moderation on harmful content, they’re taking steps that most platforms aren’t even talking about yet.

It’s not perfect, no platform is. But it’s different - in a good way.

And when you're using it as a small business owner? That same intention flows through. You're not fighting for fleeting attention- you're building long-term visibility, reaching people who are actively searching, saving, and planning.

It’s not about being louder. It’s about being useful, thoughtful, and present in the right moments. And to me, that’s a much more sustainable (and human) way to do marketing.

In a world of constant scroll, Pinterest invites us to pause. To gather. To create from a place of care, not just urgency.

And I think we need more of that- not just in how we market, but in how we live and work.

If you’ve been longing for a more joyful, intentional way to show up online, maybe it’s not about doing more. Maybe it’s about choosing the spaces - and the strategies - that align with your energy and your values.

Because when you build your business from a place of intention, everything feels more meaningful - including your marketing.

Marketing your business online can feel like a lot. There’s so much noise. So much pressure. So many “musts.” Be everywhere. Post daily. Dance. Perform. Entertain.

It’s no wonder so many small business owners feel burnt out, overwhelmed, or disconnected from their own message.

Pinterest offers a quieter corner of the internet; a space that values curiosity, intention, and inspiration over volume and speed. A slower, more sustainable way to show up. 

If you’re craving a way to market that feels inspiring, joyful, ethical, and strategic- not like shouting into the void- I think you’ll love Pinterest.

Trona Freeman is a Pinterest and SEO specialist based in Scotland, she’s been helping small businesses grow online for six years and counting.

How to make your small business marketing more like you

When I look back at how marketing felt in the early days of my business, I remember two things most vividly. I felt like I had to do a whole other job next to my business, next to the things I wanted to be doing—a job that I was not exactly equipped to do. And having to market my business felt like I had to put my own needs and desires aside. I told myself to push through and force myself to follow the rules the marketing gurus came up with.

Needless to say, that way of marketing didn’t really work for me. Even though I took courses, listened to podcasts and tried many different kinds of content and marketing plans, I could never stick with them. I felt burned out, uninspired, and frankly pretty gross too.

In this post, I’ll share how I shifted my marketing, and how you too can make your small business marketing more like you.

Since those early days, I’ve heard similar stories from other small business owners and creatives. Marketing feels like a necessary evil. It feels like playing a game that they don’t know the rules of. They feel like they need to throw their values out the window in order to keep up with the platforms and algorithms.

The change for me came in a moment of feeling thoroughly fed up. It was 2021, and I had just tried yet another marketing strategy that was supposed to help me grow my business in all the ‘right’ ways. I yet again felt overwhelmed, uninspired and resentful about having to share about my business (the business I loved!) this way.

What followed was a shift in my marketing in which I radically stopped doing the things I didn’t enjoy, and doubled down on the things I did. I looked at how I could incorporate more of my own strengths in my marketing. And I kicked the strict schedules to the curb, and landed on a spacious and sustainable frequency for the marketing I did.

I discovered three things that I’ve since shared with many of my clients and the participants in my gentle and effective marketing programme Grow.

#1 Choose the marketing platforms and channels that you’re most comfortable with

This is my permission slip for you to use only the marketing platforms and channels you enjoy. If it’s not working for you, your strengths and joys, you can either outsource it, or focus on other channels instead.

When I decided which channels and platforms to keep using and which ones to leave, I thought about where my strengths lie, and what gives me joy. But I also thought about whether a platform rewarded my presence, and thereby ‘forced’ me to spend a lot of time on it, whether it’s easy to discover my content, and how long the content lasts.

#2 Settle on a marketing schedule that works for you

One of the reasons that social media doesn’t work for me is that platforms like Instagram reward content creators for posting often and spending (a lot of) time on the platform. Although I’ve made some lovely connections through Instagram, having to post there multiple times a week put too much pressure on me.

I don’t do any marketing weekly—at least not live. My Pinterest pins are scheduled, and my newsletter goes out twice a month. For me, this is a schedule that works.

Many of the small business owners and creatives I speak to run their business next to a 9-to-5, a family, other care responsibilities or with a chronic illness. And they don’t have big marketing teams working for us.

The only way you will be able to keep up with your marketing and not burn out doing so, is to create a schedule that is sustainable for you. If looking at your schedule makes you feel pressured or overwhelmed, you need to decrease the frequency on something, or take it out completely.

#3 Lean into your creativity and authenticity

Once I started making my own rules for marketing my small business, I was surprised by how good marketing started to feel. Previously, I wasn’t even able to say the word ‘marketing’ without cringing. Now my marketing became a joyful and authentic way of sharing about my business.

Because I was now marketing using platforms and channels that drew on my strengths and joys, I did not only feel much more intentional, but also more confident. It became easier to share about my business, to come up with topics to write about in my newsletter, and connect with my audience through lovely resources.

And I’m saving so much time! Because marketing feels easier, it takes less time—and marketing has come to feel organic to my business rather than an additional job that I have to do.

Which of these strategies will you try first?

Grow is my 4-month hybrid group programme in which I support you to market intentionally and confidently, in a way that is all you. Grow is truly designed with your humanness in mind. Not only is the programme hybrid, creating a balance of accountability and working at your own pace, the marketing strategy I teach you is rooted in you, in your business, in your life.

Grow will run from 15 March to 15 July 2025, and is for sale from February 27th to March 14th. And, if you join the waitlist, you get a 10% discount during the early-bird window (24-26 February), and some of my favourite marketing bonuses. Find out more on the sales page, or send me a message with any questions you might have. I’d love to welcome you to the programme!

Astrid is a mentor for small businesses, supporting them to build a slower, gentler and more profitable business. She's on a mission to change how we feel, think and talk about business, and about kicking the hustle and productivity culture to the curb. Astrid supports small business owners and freelancers through 1:1 mentoring, courses, programmes and her writing.

Image by tobetold by Lena Kinast