Master video on Pinterest with advice from our best in class creators
Who better to get advice from about video on Pinterest than some of our best in class video creators. Be sure to check out their profiles!
Yaya and Lloyd, otherwise known as Hand Luggage Only are travel and food creators who when they’re not exploring a new city or country are based in London.
Archana +Sudarshan from Hebbars Kitchen are Australian based food creators who are all about Indian vegetarian recipes. They try to encourage and motivate people to enjoy cooking through their videos.
Erin Elizabeth is a lifestyle creator from Ottawa, Canada who creates content covering everyday things in a down to earth way to make your life easier.
Do you see success with your video content on Pinterest?
It’s been very exciting doing videos on Pinterest and we’ve seen success with this — both in terms of providing us with a different and more in-depth avenue for story-telling and also in terms of an increased reach compared to image posts. Videos allow you to show more off than photos can so it’s allowed our followers to see more than they would on just a Static Pin.
Certainly yes!! Initially we (Archana & Sudarshan) were posting just Static Pins with links, but that response was not that great. Once Pinterest opened up for videos, we saw a spike in our Pinterest stats.
I do. I find that the video content I create on Pinterest tends to garner more views than static images. I personally find video to be the most engaging form of content.
What are your top tips for video on Pinterest?
Be as concise as possible and use text! Time is a valuable resource so you need to get to the point as quickly as possible — while still allowing room for some context to set the scene. For instance, you can’t just jump into a recommendation for ’10 beaches to visit’ without first saying where those beaches are, to begin with (e.g. Ibiza). Text over the video just helps tell more of a story and closes any gaps in communication between yourself and the audience. Also, people really respond to text on Pinterest.
- Vertical videos with crystal clear thumbnail
- Add relevant tags when you upload a video Pin
- Upload Video Pins consistentently
- If Pinners need more info about the video add a link to your blog or longer video
My top tips for creating video on Pinterest would be to keep it short, clear, and to the point. People are typically scrolling through so you don’t want to take too much of their time. You also want something right off the bat to inform the viewer of what they’re going to be watching and then make sure the rest of your video is to the point.
What is your process for uploading video content to Pinterest? Do you repurpose existing content from YouTube/Instagram?
We have a mix of both. Sometimes we create content specifically for Pinterest and sometimes, we repurpose content initially created for YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok. When you’re repurposing content though, what we’ve found is you still need to adapt the content for Pinterest. Don’t upload the content just as it is. You need to make sure the content fits the platform you’re uploading it to, even if it’s been created on a different platform.
We generally do not repurpose content, but we treat Pinterest as a parallel platform to others. In other words, whatever we upload to YouTube/ Instagram/ Facebook we also upload it to Pinterest.
I usually repurpose my content across all platforms. My blog is sort of my hub and then I’ll create different versions of the same content geared towards each platform, in their optical screen sizes. For Pinterest video I like to use the 2:3 ratio or 9:16.
Can you share your process and how you optimise your content for multiple platforms?
Our initial process was to try to recreate some of our most popular blog posts as videos and when it’s created directly for Pinterest, it’s simply a case of editing the video and uploading it. For repurposed content, it’s slightly different, depending on which platform, it’s for. YouTube, for example, would involved cropping the video from Landscape to Portrait or even Square format. Across the board, we tend to re-size repurposed videos to optimise it for Pinterest while still leaving room for the titles/descriptions to be read. We also edit out any sections we feel don’t add to storytelling for Pinterest.
I love creating video, so I often create content around video ideas. I typically write everything out into a blog post which then gives me clarity before shooting and I’m able to get an idea of all the shots I need. During the creation process I always grab video and photo content. Once I’m putting everything together I’ll upload long form content to YouTube, the written piece to my blog, photos to Instagram, and then quick videos are perfect for Pinterest and TikTok. I also post a lot of static Pins to Pinterest too, along with the video content. It really comes down to getting to know your audience and testing out content for each platform. Once you start you can begin to analyze what does well, what doesn’t, and adjust from there.
Can you share any of your tips for editing videos for Pinterest?
The two biggest things I’d say would be to a.) have a useful point of view/tip or story to share. It needs to have purpose and b.) try to use the age-old storytelling technique of having an introduction, middle/body and conclusion. Our very first two Pinterest videos didn’t have these. It was just a single shot without anything happening in, which didn’t really meet the two criteria above, and as such, they didn’t really do that well. Once we implemented both approaches above, we started to notice a real difference in user engagement and reach of our videos.
When editing video for Pinterest I either like to start it with a quick title (ex. 4 Ways to Wear a Slip Dress) or I like to have some sort of text within the video to make things clear. I usually go through all of my video footage and choose the most important clips to make it really concise. You still want your video to be able to tell a story or get the message across but without taking too much time. Typically I keep my videos anywhere from 5–30 seconds long.
Do you have a favourite video Pin that you’ve seen on Pinterest?
Favourite video pin would be two actually.
a.)This one because it’s a place we actually loved visiting and it appears lots of people loved finding out about it too.
b.)This one because we decided to do something different and the response to it was encouraging enough to make this a new series of posts we’re looking to regularly create on Pinterest
My favourite video pins are usually recipe ones! They always stop me from scrolling and grab my attention. It’s nice to be able to get a quick visual of a full recipe, and see exactly how to go about making something in a quick clip. Anything with dessert involved and I’m hooked.
Thanks so much to Yaya, Lloyd, Erin, Archana +Sudarshan for answering our questions. Make sure you check out their amazing videos on Pinterest.
Need some help with how to upload video to Pinterest? Check out this post which has everything you need.
For more Pinterest tips + tricks check out the Pinterest Creators Blog, Pinterest Creators Instagram and make sure that you’re signed up to the Creator database to hear the latest from us.
Georgia — Pinterest UK Creator Specialist, recently tried this Nutella Bueno loaf cake (remember to upload your tries of the Pins you create).
