How to Use Visual Stories for Pinterest

Pinterest is a unique social platform that is highly visual and collaborative. People visiting the site are looking for ideas and inspiration. This means your Visual Stories fit beautifully into Pinterest’s feeds. Research finds that Pinners use the verbs use, look, want, and need more than any others [1]. All of these words are consumption based, thus emphasizing the commercial potential of the site. Users have buying on the mind. Along with high rates of virality, or how much a piece of content is shared, Pinterest is perfect for showcasing your publication.

How to Upload your Visual Stories to Pinterest

The process is very simple. Using the Video Pin feature on Pinterest click the + sign to add a Pin. Drag your Visual Story file into the Pin creator. Once uploaded, slide the selector left and right and choose a still from the video to serve as your cover image. Give it a title, description, and a board. Lastly, you can add a link. Click publish and your Visual Story is now live on Pinterest.

Additionally, depending on the nature of your video, Pinterest’s new Rich Pins might serve you. There are four kinds of Rich Pins that display more information than the average. Product which lists pricing, availability, and where to buy; recipe which includes ingredients, cooking time, and serving sizes; article with the headline, author, and description, and app with a native download link. Consider these options when posting your article as well.

Related Reading: Why you should be using Facebook Stories 

What Should be in Your Pins?

The experts at Pinterest have a few suggestions. Have a clear actionable hook at the beginning. Data insights tell us that videos teaching viewers or encouraging them to try new things perform best. Promoted video should not be longer than 6-15 seconds. It doesn’t matter for all of your other videos. Don’t rely on audio! The message should be clear with imagery and text overlay. Choose a strong cover image so that people know right away what they are about to watch. Lastly, optimize your copy. Consistently written titles, descriptions, and hashtags make you reliable and memorable [2].