A Guide to Pinterest Idea Pins
Update: Story Pins are now called IDEA PINS.
In this blog I am going to tell you about Pinterest Idea Pins and how to create and use them for your business. Learn why we love using Pinterest Idea Pins to help increase visibility, following and overall engagement for your business on Pinterest.
What Are Pinterest Idea Pins?
Pinterest Idea Pins are an “in-app” feature. This means they don’t link to an outside source like a blog or podcast or encourage you to leave the Pinterest platform. They give creators the ability to tell a story, teach a DIY, or share a tip or tool, right inside of Pinterest. Viewers don’t have to click for more. They get the entire story on the Pin.
Pinterest Idea Pins are different from similar-looking stories on social media platforms like Instagram. These platforms tend to focus more on what someone is doing right now in their life and less on sharing information to teach something. Think of Pinterest Idea Pins as a mini blog or short form content. They give creators the ability to share ideas and tips with up to 20 pages of videos, images, and text. AND, they last forever (much different from social media). When created they are saved to a board where it lives on for searchers to find, learn from and save for themselves.
Don’t let the fact that you can’t link to your website stop you from trying Pinterest stories. They are worth using for lots of reasons which I will explain here in the blog. Users love stories since they can learn what they searched for quickly and don’t have to click out of Pinterest to a separate website. It’s a quick, positive user experience for a new potential customer. We still want users to click and visit our website to get to know our business. But, Pinterest stories can represent your business in a way a standard pin doesn’t.
What Do Idea Pins Look Like?
Idea Pins can be found all over Pinterest. You will see them in your home feed as well as other places (the Today Tab). They are generally at the top of the feed (Pinterest is prioritizing). Idea Pins have a bubble in the top left corner with a picture of layered squares and the number of pages in the pin.
You may see emojis at the bottom as well. This is a feature on Idea Pins and allows viewers to engage by reacting with an emoji! They can also leave comments! Say hello to more engagement!
Why You Should Use Pinterest Idea Pins?
Some people see the fact that you can’t add a link to an Idea Pin as a reason not to use them. But I am going to tell you why you should be using Idea Pins. The benefits far outweigh the lack of ability to link. And, with more features coming in the future, we will have the ability to monetize our Idea Pins.
By using Idea Pins, you are creating greater engagement for your business on the platform.
Idea Pins provide users with a deeper experience. They are watching your pin and learning more about your business. In many cases, they are then following your business and in doing this, will see your pins in their day-to-day feed.
I said this above but it doesn’t hurt to say it again… Idea Pins live on FOREVER. They are saved to your most relevant board and live there for searchers to find and save to their boards. They will live there forever as well!
Idea Pins will get people to your Profile! Once there they will learn more about you, what you offer and how you can help them! These are your potential customers.
Your business will gain more brand recognition. People will see your stories, save your stories, view your profile. All of this will increase your visibility on Pinterest and will lead to more visits to your website!
Who Should Use Idea Pins?
I mentioned at the start of the blog that some feel Idea Pins are an advanced technique for established Pinterest Marketers. Yes, Idea Pins should be layered in as part of your Pinterest Strategy with your other static and video pins. BUT, there is a place for businesses who are not really at the advanced stage yet as well. Stories offer creators with little content an opportunity to share their expertise, tips and tools right on the Pinterest platform. Share a mini-lesson or how to without needing to send someone to a full blog for the full story. You can provide that full story right on Pinterest. This raises your brand’s recognition and engagement on the platform and will likely bring you more of an audience with increased followers.
Types of Creators and Businesses Using Pinterest Idea Pins
Many types of creators and businesses are using idea pins to engage with their potential customers.
You can use Idea Pins to:
Creators are offering quick step-by-step how-to guides, recipes or DIY
Bloggers are sharing mini blogs and teachings via stories. DIY bloggers share a quick tip that maybe isn’t enough for a full blog post. Food bloggers are offering tutorials on how to make an easy recipe and walking viewers through making that recipe.,
Product Selling business and e-commerce stores are showing round ups of products or how to use a product. They are offering tips for styling their product and videos and lifestyle stories about their products in action.
Coaches are sharing quick tips and tutorials on their subject in their niche.
Service providers are giving lessons and teachings about something they help clients with. This may be a quick takeaway or DIY way to solve a problem in their niche.
These are just a few examples of how creators and businesses are using Pinterest Idea Pins. Head over to Pinterest to take a look at how others are using idea pins to grown their visibility.
Use Idea Pins to Refresh Older Content
Another great way to use Idea Pins is to refresh older content. Pull in quick tips and teachings from older blog content and create a Pin to share. This will bring new life to old content and engage a new audience with what you are offering in that content. When creating the Idea Pin, some new graphics and video, add your tips and you have a fresh piece of content. It’s a great way to repurpose your older content and share your hard work.
How To Create Idea Pins?
Pinterest Idea Pins are not hard to make. They work as a drag and drop type process and it’s easy to follow along as you build your pin.
Getting Started
The first thing you need to do is to log into your Pinterest Business Account.
In the upper left, click Create, then click Create Idea Pin.
You will then see an option to either click Create Idea Pin or click on one of your drafts under Your Drafts
Upload and Design
To create a new Idea Pin, you will see a creation box on the next screen. You can either click the direction down arrow and choose 1 or up to 20 images or videos from your computer. You can also drag and drop any images or videos you want to add from your files. NOTE: You can create graphics on a program like Canva or Photoshop or you can drop images and video right from your files.
Once you have added your graphics and videos, use the tools on the right side of the screen to design your pages
If you find you want to add additional images or videos, click the + icon on the top left side of your page. Continue this until you have completed all of your pages.
You can add text overlay to your pages. If you are creating pages in an outside program like Canva, you can add stickers, small videos, and other features to your page!
Once you have added all of your pages, click Next in the bottom right to move to the next step.
The Details
In The Details section you will select a theme from the dropdown menu and add details to your Pin. The theme will allow you to add key details that help bring your idea to life! It's like the pin description on a typical pin. Your options are:
Once you have selected your theme, click Next in the bottom right to move to the next step.
Fill out information about your Pin
Pinterest Idea Pin Quick Tips
As you begin to create Idea Pins here are a few tips I offer from my experience!
The size of Idea Pins is a little different than standard pins. The size is 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels.
Pinterest is a search and discovery platform. People are there to find solutions to problems, new products to purchase, tips and tricks. Idea Pins are a great way to engage them with a quick lesson or tool. Focus on creating something to inspire and engage people.
Get creative and try new things. There are many ways to use Idea Pins, try different things to see what works best for you and your business. Try video, static images, different numbers of pages, and different calls to action. It’s the perfect place to experiment and show your audience your creativity.
Repurpose your content from other platforms. If you are using TikTok or Instagram Reels or YouTube, etc., reuse these on your stories when relevant to your content on Pinterest! Don’t recreate the wheel when you have great content you have already created.
I try to use movement on my first page. This draws the attention of people who are quickly scrolling through their feed. Try a video. If you don’t have video content, try the animation feature on Canva.
Include a call to action at the end of the idea. Ask people to click over to your profile and follow along for more! This can help you gain followers!
Experiment and try different things to find out what works best for you. Try video, try audio, add music or a voice-over, try 2 slides or 20.
You can actually edit your pages (not the first page) and the description after you publish. I love this feature. Sometimes after I view a pin I realize I want to update something. This feature lasts for approximately 14 days and then disappears from the pin.
Summary
Pinterest is focusing on giving searchers an inspiring in-app experience and is giving Pinterest Stories a lot of attention. That means increased visibility, impressions and engagement for anyone who uses them. I have seen a significant increase in my own and my clients’ following on Pinterest. This means even more people seeing our content in their day-to-day feed. It remains true that someone doesn’t have to follow you to see your content. Since Pinterest is a Search Engine and it will offer your content to anyone searching for it. But, it doesn’t hurt you to have a greater following.
Get creative and try Pinterest Idea Pins. They are a great way for you to share your information and expertise in a fun new way. Inspire a new viewer what a DIY, Tip, Tool or something they can learn from you.
Additional Tools to Help with your Pinterest Marketing
For more tips to make great Pinterest pins, head over to Create Pinterest Pins that Get More Clicks .