How to Create Idea Pins on Pinterest
Updates April 2023Idea Pins are where it's at right now, and there is a bit of confusion when it comes to what you should create as an Idea Pin vs. what you should create for other pin formats. Today, we'll focus on Idea Pins.
Formerly known as story pins (the name was short-lived), Idea Pins are great for reach, community building and educating your audience.
Summary:
Why You Should Use Idea Pins
How to Use Idea Pins
How to Post Your Idea Pins
Why You Should Use a Template System
Why You Should Use Idea Pins
Ultimately, anytime a new feature is available to us (regardless of the platform), I think it's in our best interest to try it out. Idea Pins are extremely powerful when it comes to brand awareness and growing your audience.
One common concern I hear when I work with clients is WHY I should use Idea Pins if I can't link back to my website. The answer is quite simple, Pinterest is not only a visual search engine to drive traffic. It's also a place to build community and help potential buyers in their journey.
The good news is that since Idea Pins have been rolled out, a lot of new features were added, and merchants can now add links and tag products in their Idea Pins. You can see if it's available in your region here. Access to this feature depends on your location. For the rest of us, it's something to look forward to in the future.
One thing to note about Pinterest is that they always improve our features and typically roll out regionally and in beta first.
How to Use Idea Pins
I like to create Idea Pins that fall within one of the following categories & I included a few examples for each.
Educational (Tutorials, helpful blogs, industry tips, influencer collaborations)
Entertaining (Fun behind the scenes, "about us" posts, influencer collaborations)
Promotional (Product demos, client wins, funnel, webinar sign-up pages, etc.)
In terms of format, it's best to test what works for you, but I like to try a mix of graphics and videos. Things like GIFs, graphics with bold titles, and images can also do well.
Remember that Pinterest gives up the opportunity to add up to 20 graphics, videos, or a combination of both; this gives you the opportunity to create Idea Pins that will take your audience on a journey.
You want to give your audience full context, meaning teaching them or showing them an entire process from start to finish. A lot of creators are repurposing their trending videos from other platforms, such as TikTok videos and Instagram Reels.
Although trending videos can get a lot of engagement, pinners are looking for something specific. They want to plan their next purchase or learn something new.
If you are looking for the step-by-step process of creating an Idea Pin, Pinterest provides an easy-to-follow guide to teach you how to create Idea Pins on Android, iOS or desktop (web.)
How to Post Your Idea Pin
Go to your Pinterest account and click on “create” and then choose “Idea Pin.” On the mobile app you’ll click on + and then choose Idea Pin. You can see a full guide on the Pinterest website. From there, add your graphics and videos (up to 20.)
You'll also want to make sure that you enter the details such as your pin title, tags, and your description. Your description will go in the sections “Ingredients, Supplies, or Notes.”
NEW in 2023: Use the description section to enter a standard Pinterest pin description describing what can be expected from your Idea Pin.
Use ingredients for food blogs or recipes.
Use supplies for crafts or any DIY posts.
Depending on the device that you are using, this will look slightly different, remember to refer back to the helpful article by Pinterest.
NEW in 2023: Enter a link.
I highly encourage you to create your Idea Pins on your mobile device as you will have access to more features such as stickers, voice-over audio, a music library and more.
Allow yourself to get creative, but most importantly, be consistent. If you are unsure what to post, use these few ideas that work for both service providers and product sellers.
Share a "how-to" tutorial. This can apply to an industry-relevant tutorial for service providers or showcasing how to use a product for product sellers.
Create a testimonial series. Again, this works for both product sellers and service providers.
Share a company update.
Tell your audience why you started your business, why you created your blog, who you develop this product.
Still not sure what to post for your Idea Pins? Stop playing the guessing game. I've got you covered with the Pin Prompt Matrix.
Why You Should Use a Template System
Perhaps you've seen brands sell Canva templates in the past and wondered if it was worth it. In the case of creating Idea Pins, it is highly recommended for a few reasons.
While templates provide a foundation, they can still be personalized to reflect the unique aspects of a brand. By customizing templates with brand-specific colors, fonts, or imagery, brands can differentiate themselves from competitors and create a distinct visual identity in the market. This helps ensure visual consistency across the board.
And lastly, our Idea Pin template system features 10 Idea Pin series with two short training videos in order to ensure that you know how to make the most of your templates. Everything about our templates can be customized, providing a cost-effective way to attain a beautiful pin design.