Pinterest Pin Types

A guide to Pin types and their best practices

In this lesson you'll learn:

  • How to leverage different Pinterest Pin types to create an engaging presence that drives traffic and sales
  • The key features and best practices for each Pin format, from standard Pins to Rich Pins
  • How to strategically combine various Pin types to maximize your reach and engagement on Pinterest

By understanding and utilizing the various Pin types Pinterest offers, you can create a dynamic and engaging presence that captures the attention of your target audience and boosts your brand.

What are the different Pinterest Pin types?

Pinterest offers a variety of Pin formats, each designed to showcase your content in unique ways. Each has its strengths and associated best practices. Let's explore the main types and how they can benefit your small business:

Fast fact:
Pinterest boasts 537 million monthly active users. This presents a massive opportunity for businesses to connect with potential customers.

Standard Pins: The foundation of your Pinterest presence

These are the classic, static image Pins that form the backbone of most Pinterest content. They're versatile and perfect for showcasing products, blog posts, infographics, and more.

Best practices:

  • Use high-quality, vertically-oriented images.
  • A 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 x 1500 pixels) is ideal.
  • Include your brand logo, but do it subtly.
  • Use clear, concise text overlays to highlight key information.
Standard pins should be concise, have clear visuals, include your logo, and use a 2:3 aspect ratio.
📌 Tailwind tip:
Simple, clean, colorful designs tend to do best on Pinterest. Try to make your Pin as visually appealing and interesting as possible and avoid low-quality images or including so many elements the design becomes confusing or overwhelming.

Video Pins: Capture attention and boost engagement

Video Pins are dynamic, eye-catching, and increasingly popular on Pinterest. They allow you to tell a story, demonstrate a product, or provide valuable information in a concise, engaging format.

Why use Video Pins?

  • Video Pins significantly boost engagement compared to static Pins.
  • They're ideal for capturing attention in a busy feed.
  • They allow for creative storytelling and product demonstrations.

Video Pin best practices:

  • Keep videos short and to the point (15-60 seconds is a good range).
  • Optimize the first few seconds to grab attention.
  • Use a vertical format (9:16 aspect ratio is recommended).
  • Include captions for accessibility and for users who watch with sound off.
Your video Pins should be less than 60 seconds long, use a 9 by 16 aspect ratio, front load an interesting hook, and use captions for accessibility and SEO.
Quick tip:
Using video on Pinterest can drastically increase your engagement.

Idea Pins: Tell a story and build connections

Formerly known as Story Pins, Idea Pins are multi-page Pins that allow you to combine images, videos, text, and lists. They're perfect for creating step-by-step guides, tutorials, recipes, or sharing behind-the-scenes content.

Benefits of Idea Pins:

  • Encourage longer engagement and interaction.
  • Allow for more in-depth storytelling.
  • Provide opportunities to showcase your brand's personality.

Idea Pin best practices:

  • Use a mix of media (images, videos, text) to keep viewers engaged.
  • Create a clear narrative or flow throughout the Pin.
  • Include a call to action on the final page.
💬 Expert quote:
"Pinterest is a visual discovery engine, so utilizing all the different visual formats, such as video and Idea Pins, allows you to connect with your audience in a more engaging way." - Kevin Lorenz, Pinterest Marketing Expert

Rich Pins: Enhance your content with real-time information

Rich Pins are a game-changer for businesses, especially those in e-commerce. They automatically sync information from your website to your Pins, providing real-time updates on pricing, availability, and product details.

Types of Rich Pins:

  • Product Pins: Show real-time pricing, availability, and where to buy.
  • Recipe Pins: Include ingredients, cooking times, and serving information.
  • Article Pins: Display the headline, author, and story description.
Use Rich Pins in your Pinterest marketing for articles, products, and recipes.

Why use Rich Pins?

  • Provide a better user experience with up-to-date information.
  • Increase click-through rates and drive traffic to your website.
  • Improve your SEO and visibility on Pinterest.
Rich Pins increase your conversion rate, improve your SEO, and give user's a better experience.
🔍 Did you know?:
Rich Pins often have higher click-through rates because they provide more context and build trust with users.

Carousel Pins

Carousel Pins are just what they sound like, Pins with multiple images! Carousels work just like organic Pins, but feature multiple images for Pinners to swipe through. Carousel Pins are an option for both static images and video Pins.

🛠️ Tools of the trade:
Tailwind Create makes it a snap to create professional-looking Pins, even if you're not a design expert. Experiment with different templates and styles to find what works best for your brand.

Pinterest offers a range of Pin types including standard pins, idea pins, video pins, carousel, and rich pins. Use a variety for a well-rounded Pinterest marketing strategy.

By understanding the unique features and benefits of each Pinterest Pin type, you can create a diverse and engaging content strategy that resonates with your audience. Use a mix of formats to keep your profile fresh and maximize your reach on this powerful platform. Experiment, analyze your results, and refine your approach to find what works best for your small business!

Key takeaways:

  • Pinterest offers multiple Pin formats including standard Pins, Video Pins, Idea Pins, Rich Pins, and Carousel Pins - each designed to showcase your content in unique ways and serve different marketing objectives
  • Video Pins and Idea Pins are powerful tools for increasing engagement, with video content performing exceptionally well and Idea Pins perfect for step-by-step tutorials and deeper storytelling
  • Rich Pins automatically sync with your website to provide real-time information, improving user experience and increasing click-through rates for your business