Pinterest launched Idea Pins in May 2021 and I was a bit of a slow starter with them. I couldn’t see how posting yet more videos on a predominantly image-led platform would help increase blog traffic.
In the last 6 months, my monthly impressions and click-throughs to my website from Pinterest have started to decline.
I hadn’t started to do anything differently, and it wasn’t as if my impressions had fallen off a cliff. It was just a steady decline month on month.
I thought it was about time I figured out how to create Idea Pins on Pinterest to see if it would help increase my impressions and subsequently, increase traffic to my blog.
Pinterest has said:
“The more you create, the more chances you’ll have to get discovered. Aim to create fresh Idea Pins every week to engage your current audience and maximize your potential to reach new people”.
Yet another bit of content to create on a weekly basis! Pffffft.
Pinterest is my first port of call when I am looking for inspiration for my home, fashion or DIY/crafting ideas.
As with all social media and social networks, Pinterest is continually evolving.
Pinterest has 2 feeds for you to find inspiration –
- Browse – Browse all the latest Pins and ideas with a few Idea Pins thrown in.
- Watch – An Instagram/TikTok-like feed where you can scroll through all the latest Idea Pins and videos. This tab is a must to find Idea Pins examples and inspiration!
What are Pinterest Idea Pins?
Idea Pins on Pinterest are multi-page video content which can include up to 20 pages of videos, images, or both.
They used to be called Story Pins but have evolved into Idea Pins.
You can publish high-quality, long-lasting and saveable content within Pinterest and they don’t disappear after 24 hours, unlike social media.
Should you create Idea Pins on Pinterest?
Absolutely!
When Pinterest initially created and tested Idea Pins, they found that 9 x more users commented and engaged with an Idea Pin than a standard Pin.
Idea Pins tend to stand out automatically on your profile as they are moving Pins in the form of videos, or a slide show.
I have always had a good strategy when it comes to Pinning on Pinterest. I use Tailwind to schedule my blog posts which would only take me around an hour a week.
Doing this has had a huge impact and is the best way to increase traffic to a blog, so I was a little reluctant to start doing Idea Pins.
Why?
A few reasons really.
I already had video and content creating fatigue from creating Reels and videos in TikTok. I really couldn’t see how creating more videos for my Pinterest account would help me in any way.
Also, Pinterest is extremely keen that Idea Pins are created in the app. This helps to keep people on the platform longer.
However, this means that currently you cannot create and schedule Idea Pins through schedulers like Tailwind.
Tailwind has been instrumental in helping me build a Pinterest following and can help to increase traffic to a blog. I couldn’t see how Idea Pins would be beneficial for me.
Finally, you cannot put external links on Idea Pins, only product links.
This was the biggest reason I didn’t jump on board with Idea Pins from the beginning. I love Pinterest for the amazing inspiration it provides, but I solely use it to send people to my blog.
Why would I spend time creating when it didn’t benefit me?
However, my home feed is now filled with Idea Pins on Pinterest, and I realised I was getting left behind.
A bit like Instagram and Reels, I knew I had to start creating Idea Pins if I wanted to stay relevant and keep my impressions from declining.
I have also read from many bloggers that, although they can’t track the data directly to Idea Pins with regards to traffic on their blog, once they put an Idea Pin strategy in place, their traffic started to increase.
It makes sense really.
If Pinterest is pushing Idea Pins, your content will be shown more than people who are still only posting standard Pins. If users like what they see, they will come to your Pinterest page and hopefully follow the link to your blog.
To create a link to your blog on Pinterest, you need to claim your website first.
Read more >>>
How to Claim your Website on Pinterest and Increase Traffic to your Blog
You can make money with Idea Pins on Pinterest
Another important reason for getting on board with Idea Pins is that you can easily monetise your content with them.
You can create shoppable Pins with Idea pins on Pinterest by tagging your products and services directly into an Idea Pin.
You can also add the Paid Partnership label within Idea Pins and get paid collaborations with brands.
Read More on How to Monetise Pinterest >>>
How to Make Money on Pinterest – 10 Ways to Monetise Your Content
What Idea Pins should you post?
I started to look into Idea Pins and what I could post and realised they are a brilliant way to showcase your brand and identity.
Some Idea Pins examples are –
- A slideshow of your best products/photos/what you have to offer
- A video of a transformation or How To
- A selection of interactive pages with product tags and stickers
- Multiple short videos with text or text overlay
- Curate a collection of your top-selling products
- A quick snapshot of your recent travels
- A recipe card with photos and instructions
- List posts
Read more >>>
What to Pin on Pinterest to increase traffic to a blog and social media
How to create Idea Pins on Pinterest
You’re ready to create Idea Pins, what now?
- You can create Idea Pins on the Pinterest mobile app or on your Desktop. I find it easier to create on my desktop, but I transfer my Reels and TikTok videos straight into the Pinterest app on my phone.
- Your Pins should be the same ratio as other social media formats like Reels and TikTok videos – 9:16 (1080 x 1920 pixels) which makes it easy to make Idea Pins straight from your social media content.
- Try to create your content using .jpeg, .png, .mp4 or .m4v formats.
For the last few years, I set aside around an hour or two every Monday to upload all my content for Pinterest into Tailwind.
Tailwind then schedules my Pins for me at optimum times and that’s it!
Unfortunately, as you can’t upload Idea Pins into Tailwind, it has to be a manual process.
However, all is not lost. You can create Pins and save them in batches, then post them throughout the week.
I will cover this in my next blog post.
How to Create Idea Pins on Pinterest via Your Computer
I know most people will probably create Idea Pins on their mobile, as this is where the majority of videos are made. It depends on your niche and what you are creating.
I tend to create most of my Idea Pins for Melanie Jade Design on my iPhone, but my Idea Pins for this website on a computer.
I create a lot of my content in Canva, so it is easier to create them on the computer and do them in batches. I then save them in my drafts and post them at optimum times.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create idea pins for Pinterest –
Step 1
Go to your Pinterest Business account and select the button that says Create in the top left-side corner.
A drop-down menu will appear, click on Create Idea Pin.
It will then take you to a page with the option to start afresh or keep designing a recent draft.
Note I have no drafts yet! I need to get on with it…
Select Create new. This will take you to a page where you can start creating your Idea Pins.
Step 2
After creating your images and videos, save them to your PC and upload them to Pinterest.
You can include up to 20 images and videos.
Step 3
Start designing your Image Pin. On the right-hand side, you will see page layers (some of you might still see it as 3 tabs at the top named: Image, Text and Background).
If your image or Video doesn’t fill the whole screen (as it is not set to 1080 x 1920), then you can add a background.
When I create an Idea Pin, I get the option to add “layers”. You have the basic video layer, then a background if needed, and then the option to add 8 different text bubbles.
There are many different things you can do with the text. I would suggest keeping it simple and not overcomplicating things, but you can change the size, alignment, and colour and highlight the text.
Step 4
When you are happy with how your Idea Pin looks, click Next to finalise.
Add a title, choose a Pinterest Board and select some tags.
Title – make sure your title lets your audience know what the Idea Pin is about and describes the Pin accurately.
Board – select a board where your Idea Pin will live. Again, the board has to correspond with the Idea Pin so people know what to expect when searching your boards.
Tags – Tags help Pinterest understand what your content is about. As my Idea Pin is about our kitchen renovation, I chose tags with kitchen in.
Tags and your title are extremely important for Pinterest SEO.
When people are searching for specific terms or inspiration, try and think what they would type into that search bar to find your content and base the title and tags around that.
Step 5
You can also “Add the details” to your pin.
Depending on what type of Pin it is, you can add Ingredients, Supplies or notes and add the details below.
This is optional but again, it is important for Pinterest SEO as it helps Pinterest get a deeper understanding of your pin.
In this area, you can also add a CTA. As Idea Pins do not include links, this is a good place to include your website or blog.
However, do NOT include it as a link! Pinterest has stated that they relegate Idea Pins that do this.
Step 6
Hit Publish!!
But, before you do, make sure you have one final look over your Idea Pin because as soon as you hit publish, you will not be able to edit the Pin.
How to create Idea Pins on your Mobile
I tend to create a lot of my Idea Pins directly on my iPhone.
It makes sense really. I create all my content and videos on my phone, so it is easier to just upload them from there.
I try to get into the habit of creating Idea Pins directly after I’ve published content on Instagram Reels and TikTok so I don’t forget to do it.
You can also film new content for Idea Pins directly on Pinterest.
Pinterest gives you lots of tools to help create the Idea Pin including Text, Stickers, Music, Audio and the ability to adjust the clips.
The editing tools definitely rival all the major social media apps and it is a great place to create your content.
When you are happy with your Idea Pin, select Next and it will give you the chance to fill out all the same details as creating on your desktop.
Make sure you fill out the Title, add the details, pick a board, tag related topics and then publish.
What are the disadvantages of Idea Pins?
The main disadvantages are –
- They are more time-consuming to create
- You cannot schedule them in a scheduler app like Tailwind. You can with Image pins, and this helps save time
- Tailwind can schedule them at optimum times. As a lot of my best times to post on Pinterest are between 1 am & 4 am (I have a huge American following), I am unable to schedule my Idea Pins to post at these times.
- You cannot put a link on Idea Pins. A lot of my traffic comes from Pinterest and this was the reason I spent a lot of time creating Pins from my blog and using Pinterest. However, Idea Pins get a lot of engagement and I have seen a small spike in people visiting my Pinterest profile. You can’t measure the success of Idea Pins when it comes to directing traffic, but as Pinterest users are spending more time on the “Watch” tab, you may get left behind if you only create Image Pins.
Conclusion
There is no getting away from it, Idea Pins are now the dominant Pin on Pinterest, with Pinterest pushing this kind of content.
With video content being King in the social media world, Pinterest had to evolve to stay relevant.
Even though you cannot put links on Idea Pins, the potential to get more eyes on your content is huge!
I have first-hand experience with the influence Pinterest can have on your social media apps, with a lot of my followers on Instagram finding my content on Pinterest first.
To begin with, I felt a bit overwhelmed that I would have to start creating even more content for Pinterest.
However, if you want to increase traffic to a blog and your social media apps, Idea Pins on Pinterest are a good start.
More on Pinterest >>>
What to Pin on Pinterest to Increase Traffic to My Blog
How to Change to a Pinterest Business Account
