If you’re a blogger, e-commerce business or anyone wanting to market your content on Pinterest, you’ll want to know ALL about idea pins.

What are Idea Pins?

Idea pins (the new term for story pins) are a recent feature introduced by Pinterest in May, 2021.

Only available to Pinterest business account holders, idea pins allow you to share tutorials, videos, static images and more in the form of a carousel or single pin.

Pinterest wanted to move away from the initial name of ‘story pins’ to emphasize that  idea pins are for creators to share long-lasting ideas.

This emphasis on long-lasting content is one of the things we love most about Pinterest! Pinterest marketing harnesses the longevity of pins so that business clients continue to benefit long into the future.

Idea pins examples

Ideas pins generally have more than one slide that users can swipe through. You’re given up to 20 slides to use. Pinterest has encouraged creators to use video for idea pins, especially as the first slide.

Here’s what an idea pin looks like compared to a standard pin:

The first pin has a pages icon with the number 7 (in the top left corner) meaning there are 7 slides in this idea pin. The second pin (a standard pin) contains only one image.

Idea pins don’t have clickable links leading to your website. As such, you’re not guaranteed increased website traffic even if you get lots of views on your idea pins. From what I’ve seen, idea pins do have the potential to grow your Pinterest account (sometimes hugely) by increasing followers and monthly views. 

One of the reasons for this is likely because Pinterest is really pushing idea pins. If you’re creating them, they’ll probably get a lot more traction than static pins (for now at least).

Idea pins have also been given a special place right at the top of your profile. They’ll also be given preference and appear at the top of the Today tab and follower’s home feeds. 

Use idea pins to market your blog posts using a listicle. This could be “5 ways to Stand Out as a Pinterest Manager” with a slide for each point. If you’re a recipe blogger, idea pins have a section for you to add your ingredients, serving suggestion and cooking time.

You could also upload your own video tutorials (of up to 60 seconds), Instagram reels and stories and add voice-over, captions, graphics and music. The editing feature is easy to use! 

There are a number of stock photography sites (such as Pexels) that offer free short videos for download. You’ll easily find on-topic videos to include in your idea pins (remember that first slide!) if you can’t create your own videos.

You might be wondering:

How can I get idea pins?

Idea pins have been made available in

• Austria
• Argentina
• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Switzerland
• Chile
• Colombia
• Germany
• Spain
• France
• United Kingdom
• Indonesia
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Peru
• United States

Yeah!

If your country is not included in this list, you can request access to idea pins via your account settings or via this link.

Remember that you do need a Pinterest business account to get approved for idea pins (AKA story pins). Here’s how to get your Pinterest for business account set up.

How to create Idea Pins on Pinterest

Here’s an easy to follow tutorial for creating your own Idea Pin. If you’re using idea pins to market blog content, I’d recommend creating a template or two in Canva. Templates will help you create idea pins more efficiently and ensure they stay on brand.

Step 1

Log on to your Pinterest business account

Step 2

Click on the ‘Create’ tab. It’s visible on any of your pages in the top left hand corner.

Step 3

Click on ‘Create Idea Pin’.

Step 4

Upload your images or videos by clicking on the arrow.

Step 5

Rearrange your pins as necessary by dropping and dragging. 

Step 6

If you’ve added a video, a ‘video’ option will be included here which you can select.

Step 7

I’ve added pins from my Canva template that includes on-brand font and text.

You could also add a plain image and use the editor to include text and change the font, colour, size etc.

If you’d like, you can resize your image and add a background colour. There’s a section that allows you to add hex codes or RGB codes to get your brand colours.

Step 8

When you’re done, click Next.

Step 9

Fill in the title and use this opportunity to add a keyword relevant to your niche and to the pin topic.

Step 10

Select the most relevant board from the dropdown list of your boards. (Light blue arrow in above image)

Step 11

Add up to 10 tags to help your idea pin reach people searching for similar ideas.. You may have to experiment a little with keywords to find relevant Pinterest tags. You can’t make up your own tags.

Step 12

Before you publish, click on ‘Add a List’

Step 13

Select a relevant category. Choose ‘Ingredients’ if you’re sharing a recipe and fill out all the available slots. The ‘Supplies’ option is great for creative DIY idea pins.

I’m selecting the ‘Notes’ option where I’ll add a short description of the blog I’ve created an idea pin for. I’ll also add a link to the specific blog at the end of my description. (Links in idea pins are not clickable, but I like to add them anyway.)

Step 14

You’re done! Click publish.

If you want to save the idea pin, click on the cross in the top left hand corner, and it’ll be saved as a draft. You can access the draft by clicking on ‘Create’ and then ‘Create Idea Pin’. Store up to 3GB of idea pins in your drafts!

How to optimise your idea pins

These tips will help you optimize your idea pins for Pinterest SEO and promote your business, brand, or website.

1. Add your website address to each slide. Keep it small and within the suggested size bracket for smaller phones. You can find out where the borders are by clicking and holding on an idea pin page. 
2. Use keywords in the title of your pin if you’re promoting a blog/content
3. Remember to always optimize your images by including keywords in the file name
4. On the ‘Finishing Touches’ section, add a relevant keyword/s just after your pin title
5. Don’t neglect the Add a List section. This is a great place to add more keywords and an interesting description.
6. The Add a List section also provides you with an opportunity to add a link to your website or blog (although it won’t be clickable).
7. The final pin in your idea pin could include a call to action with your web address. Something like, “For more, visit www.arnaud-brunel.com” or “For more, follow @strategicpinterestmarketing”
8. Try use a video as your first pin slide
9. Try to use between 5 and 20 pages

Conclusion

Idea pins are currently an exciting way to promote yourself on Pinterest. Pinterest seems to want creators to experiment with idea pins so let your creativity take flight! 

If idea pins feel a little complicated, let’s chat about how we can help you!