Have you heard of Pinterest Idea Pins?
If you’ve spent any time marketing your business on Pinterest, chances are you’ve heard about Idea Pins.
But if you’re newish, you may be wondering exactly what they are (or what they are not!).
Are they like Instagram Stories? Can they drive traffic to my website? How do they grow my business?
Let’s dive into all of that!
What are Pinterest Idea Pins?
Straight from Pinterest, “Idea Pins are an evolution of Story Pins, with a fresh name to better match the uniqueness of a product that empowers creators to share long-lasting ideas and not ephemeral stories.”
Essentially, Idea pins are multi-page video and/or static pin images, designed to teach or tell a story.
You can make Idea Pins right on Pinterest, either on the web platform or via the Pinterest app. As of the writing of this post, you have more creative options if you create your Idea Pins directly from the app. More on that later.
Pinterest wants you to use Idea Pins to build an engaged community inside the platform. And what’s best of all, is that Pinterest Idea Pins don’t disappear after 24 hours like stories on other platforms. They last forever which means long term engagement, reach and growth.
What you CAN’T do, is provide a link to your website via Idea Pins. And this is on purpose. They want to keep the user engaged on the platform.
The point is to inspire the pinner right on Pinterest. Teach them and inspire them to take action.
What are the features of Pinterest Idea Pins?
Idea Pin creation now includes:
- Video recording and editing for up to 20 pages of content
- Voice over recording so creators can add their own personal voice
- Music selection by Epidemic Sound
- Ghost mode transition tools (perfect for those before-and-afters!)
- Detail pages for instructions or ingredients
- Interactive elements like people tagging and stickers
- Product tagging via a link sticker (this includes affiliate product links)
- Paid promotion product tagging
- Multi-draft save so Creators can publish more ideas
- Export options to share content beyond Pinterest
- Topic tagging, a publishing feature that helps connect content to relevant interests
- The Creator Code – our content policy designed to keep Pinterest a positive and inspiring place
In addition to these features, you can also:
- Split video into multiple pages
- Add continues music
- All “Takes” on your Idea Pins. This allows other pinners to submit their “take” on your Idea.
- Virtual try-on
How to create Pinterest Idea Pins
Currently, there are 2 ways to create Pinterest Idea Pins: via the Pinterest website or on the Pinterest app.
As a Pinterest Manager, I love the workflow (read, I’m used to the workflow!) of creating pin images (static or video) in Canva, downloading and then uploading to Pinterest via the website. Until the recent updates, this is how I have been creating my Idea Pins.
Now that the Pinterest app has more features, like music and product tagging, via the app, I have switched gears. I am still creating most videos and images in Canva, but now I need to get those images to my phone in order to access the bonus features.
To create Idea Pins via the app:
Open the app and click the plus sign in the middle of the bottom tool bar
Select Idea Pin
Click the square in the bottom left corner to open and select your videos/images.
Once you select your video or image, use the tools at the bottom of the screen to add text, music, voice over audio, stickers and filters.
For a quick video tutorial on how to do this from your phone (and tag products), check out this Idea Pin!
Why should I use Idea Pins on Pinterest?
This, my friend, is the million dollar question! I am hearing this a lot from my community. New features can cause initial confusion and uncertainty. Plus, what if we go all in and they disappear? Then what?
What I can tell you about Idea Pins, is that they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Pinterest has invested upwards of $20M in Idea Pins so I think it’s safe to say they aren’t going anywhere.
Plus, from my experience on my client’s accounts, they really are working to drive reach and engagement!
Here are a few reasons you should start using Pinterest Idea Pins:
- REACH: Idea Pins are the current pin type winner when it comes to overall reach. They are seeing more impressions than other pin types and driving far more engagement.
- GROWTH: Idea Pins do not disappear after 24 hours which means your reach only compounds and continues to grow over time.
- PRODUCT TAGGING: You can now add link stickers to your Idea pins, linking everything from products on your site to affiliate links (including Amazon affiliates!).
- TAKES: Other pinners can share their “take” on your idea, driving more engagement on your content.
- SAVES: Unlike other social stories, pinners can save your Idea Pin and come back to it over and over. Research has show that Idea Pins are getting 41x more saves when compared to the static pin image
- WEBSITE TRAFFIC: At the end of each Idea Pin, users are given an option to visit your profile. Even though these Idea Pins are not clickable, research has shown that because of their reach, they are driving profile visits which are in turn leading to website clicks. Make sure your website is listed on your profile!
Final Thoughts
Are Pinterest Idea Pins easy to create? Not always. Are they clickable? Sadly, no. But are they driving growth on the client accounts I manage? Absolutely.
Just like Instagram is rewarding users in the algorithm for using Reels, Pinterest is doing the same with early adopters of Idea Pins. So, if you have a business account that you’re aiming to grow, give these new pins a go and see what happens! And you never know, your reach just may explode!
As always, drop me a line if you have any questions!