Confessions of a food blogger

Pinterest Idea Pins

This Pinterest Idea Pins: How To Add Pinterest Idea Pins for Your Pinterest Marketing Strategy post includes affiliate linksWhen I find a great product or service, I like to share it with my readers. Sometimes I use affiliate links so I can earn a commission for my recommendations. Thank you for your support!

How To Add Pinterest Idea Pins for Your Pinterest Marketing Strategy

Note: This Pinterest Idea Pins post is written in the context of promoting a food blog. However, the tips, tools and tricks provided herein are applicable across the board.

Has there not been enough change in the social media world to suit you lately?

Between Instagram announcing that it’s leaning into video content, to Pinterest making a shift to creating more of a community feel, it’s like watching a game of big-tech musical chairs. 

As a food blogger, it can be pretty exhausting. If you feel like you’re just getting things figured out in time for them to change, you’re not alone. But if you don’t learn to adapt, it might find yourself there. And the latest adaptation is… Pinterest Idea Pins. 

How to Create Pinterest Idea Pins

What is a Pinterest Idea Pin? 

Pinterest Idea Pins were announced by the company in May 2021. They’re the evolution of Pinterest’s Story Pins, which were released as a beta in 2020. 

Pinterest Idea Pins are multi-canvas Pins that creators can use to tell a story or share an idea. Like Instagram stories, each slide remains visible for a short period of time before the next slide appears – giving users the ability to watch a story or an idea unfold. Unlike Instagram Stories, Pinterest Idea Pins do not disappear after 24 hours. 

What is Pinterest’s Goal with the Release of Pinterest Idea Pins?

Pinterest has been pretty clear about its intent with the release of Pinterest Idea Pins – to create more of a positive community feel.

In case you missed it, social media platforms took a beating in 2016 and 2020 and the years in between for being unwitting victims (profiteers? you decide…) of a barrage of false information. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pinchai and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey all got hauled in front of Congress to testify about how their companies intended to handle the spread of misinformation.  

How to Create Pinterest Idea Pins

So, it should appear as no coincidence that Pinterest’s release of Pinterest Idea Pins was accompanied by the following statements:

This new access and capability will empower anyone with a business account to create inspiring content and better interact with their audiences, building more engaged communities directly on Pinterest…By helping people on Pinterest spark creativity, try new things, build confidence, and be themselves, we believe creators are truly helping with our mission of bringing inspiration to create a life you love.

You can almost feel the love & community, right? 

There’s another takeaway though…

Did you catch it? 

The words “directly on Pinterest”? 

One of the key features of Pinterest Idea Pins that has content creators on edge is their inability to link the Pinterest Idea Pin back to their website. 

The ability to link static Pins back to your blog is, of course, one of the reasons that bloggers sing the highest praises to Pinterest. In the past, it was very easy (and quick and… fun, actually) to drive traffic to your blog using Pinterest.

Food Blogging Tip

Don’t get me wrong, I am not knocking Pinterest for its pledge to spread a little positivity in the world and, I think, it has a long-standing track record of being a positive place. I do think though, that as content creators, the emphasis on keeping the Pinterest community on Pinterest is going to challenge the very thing that look to Pinterest for – driving traffic to our blogs. 

Do Pinterest Idea Pins Mark a Permanent Change on Pinterest?

If you’ve had a business account on Pinterest for a while, this should make you smile. Because Pinterest changes things all. the. time. So, the short answer to this question is, who knows

Whether Pinterest Idea Pins are here to stay doesn’t really matter. What matters is that, right now, Pinterest wants them to stick and Pinterest is, at the very least, heavily testing the theory. Pinterest Idea Pins appear at the top of the Home Feed, within search results and at the top of creator profiles. And if Pinterest Idea Pins are taking up that space guess what isn’t… your static Pins. 

Food Blogging Tips & Tricks

If you’re thinking: At the top of my Pinterest profile? Who cares, no one goes to my Pinterest profile… you might want to think again. Since Pinterest Idea Pins won’t send users to your blog, the next best thing to sending them to your profile, which Pinterest Idea Pins do at a higher rate than static pins. And, what’s on your profile? Static pins that lead to your blog. 

In the limited time that I’ve had to experiment with Pinterest Idea Pins, I will say that they get a lot more traction on Pinterest than the static Pins I’ve posted as of late. And this is backed by more than my anecdotal evidence. According to Tailwind, Pinterest Idea Pins are getting 41x (yes, that’s 41x) the number of saves as a static Pin.

How to Create Pinterest Idea Pins

How To Create Pinterest Idea Pins

Pinterest Idea Pins are limited to Pinterest user with a business account. As a blogger, you should have one of these already. If you don’t, it’s time to switch. 

Because Pinterest’s goal is to keep users on Pinterest, your Pinterest Idea Pin should include everything that the user needs – whether that’s ingredients for a recipe, supplies for a craft or the steps needed to complete a project, the user should not need to look elsewhere for information. 

Pinterest recommends that Idea Pins include a combination of video and static imagery. It further recommends that you start each Idea Pin with video and to add text overlay to explain what is happening. This is important as many Pinterest users are watching Pinterest Ideas with the sound off. I mean, how else are you supposed to stay entertained during conference calls? 

For the introverts that loved Pinterest, I’m afraid that Pinterest wants to bring us out of our shells a bit. Fair enough, it’s kind of necessary to create a community. It’s recommending that you let you users see and get to know you. 

Personally, this sends me into a bit of a panic attack, but I did find some comforting advice from Tailwind’s Alisa Meredith who suggests concentrating on the value of what it is you have to share. If you can focus on what it is you want to share and not what you look like, it will help you get over the hump. 

As far as the mechanics of creating a Pinterest Idea Pin, here’s an in-depth video tutorial:  

How Do You Know If Your Pinterest Idea Pins Are Working? 

Since there currently isn’t a way to monetize Pinterest Idea Pins (see below), I define whether Pinterest Idea Pins working as whether or not I see an increase in traffic to my blog from Pinterest. It’s only been a short time and, I can honestly say, I haven’t seen a boost since I’ve started making Pinterest Idea Pins. I’ll be sure to keep this blog post updated as I continue to track it… as you can be sure I will. 

And I recommend that you do to.

To see whether or not you’re experiencing a spike in your blog’s traffic from Pinterest is pretty easy to determine in Google Analytics. You just need to go to the Acquisition tab on the left-hand side of your dashboard and select All Traffic –> Referrals. From there, you can see the sources sending traffic to your blog. 

If you change the date parameters at the top, you’ll be able to see if traffic has increased, decreased or stayed level over that period of time. You’ll also be able to look at each source individually, so you can see specifically how much of your blog traffic is coming from Pinterest. You can even see what Pins specifically are sending traffic to your blog – this is a great way to understand what’s resonating with Pinterest users. 

How to Create Pinterest Idea Pins

How to Monetize Idea Pins

Currently, there isn’t a direct way to monetize Pinterest Idea Pins, but Pinterest has publicly said that plans are in the works to add product tags so that users can purchase products directly from a Pinterest Idea Pin. 

As far as how that will work for food bloggers, my thinking cap is still on. I’m not worried though – I think as long as you’ve got your finger on the pulse of Pinterest, some enterprising content creator will find a way. 

As a long-game, I am trying to think about what it looks like if Pinterest takes on more of an Instagram feel. If it does, then it would stand to reason that the ways bloggers make money on Instagram might translate to Pinterest as well.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  

That’s right. Influencer marketing. If Pinterest Idea Pins are allowed to include product tags in the future, I can see where companies will pay creators with large Pinterest accounts to promote their products through Pinterest Idea Pins. The roots are already there – Pinterest will allow you to tag other accounts in your Pinterest Idea Pins already. 

Was This Pinterest Idea Pins Post Helpful?

Did you find this Pinterest Idea Pins post helpful? Be sure to check out my other Food Blogger Resources! There are plenty of posts to help you advance your food blogging dream no matter where you are in the process? Have a topic you’d like me to write about? Share your ideas in the comments below!

About Confessions of a Food Blogger

Confessions of a Food Blogger Creator Kate Friedman

Kate Friedman is the creator of Herbivore’s Kitchen, a vegan food blog, and Confessions of a Food Blogger. Confessions of a Food Blogger is an informative resource for food bloggers (and, actually all bloggers) that provides helpful articles, online courses and tips and tricks for starting, building, marketing and managing a food blog.