Pinterest Launches 4 New Video Tools

Pinterest is a visual discovery platform and social network where users (or ‘Pinners’) share their tastes, hobbies, and ideas and get inspiration from others. Pinterest, ‘pin your interests’, get it? 

Although Pinterest users, of which there are over 250 million, are known to be doers and buyers, the platform’s social media marketing potential often gets overlooked by brands and businesses that focus primarily on Facebook or Instagram. However, new updates are drawing the attention of advertisers as Pinterest increasingly lends itself to business interests. Rumor has it that Pinterest is a dark horse.

The growing platform has made many exciting changes in the past year, revamping their interface to cater to trends in mobile advertising. Most recently, Pinterest launched four new video features for business profiles. The video tools align the site with current market trends and offer new possibilities for facilitating connections between brands and consumers. It’s important to understand the many reasons to use video marketing in your social strategy.

Four New Video Features

This summer, at VidCon 2019, Pinterest announced the release of these four exciting video-related features. The platform’s new capabilities make sharing and viewing video content easier than ever before. With this new update, businesses, brands, creators, and influencers can reach more users through video engagement.

What’s in the update:

1. An updated video uploader
2. A new video tab
3. Video analytics feature
4. Pin scheduler tool

We’ll explore each of these features in greater depth below. 

Updated Uploader 

Pinterest’s new uploader streamlines the upload of video content. Business profiles can now post videos directly to Pinterest. The updated pinning process improves a brand’s ability to appeal to audiences by adding video content to their pages with greater frequency and speed. 

New Video Tab 

This tab consolidates all of a brand’s video content onto a single page, forming a video gallery. The benefit of this tab is that it allows businesses to feature all the clips they’ve ever uploaded together and give users the option to view all these videos in one place. 

Video Analytics 

The video analytics feature is a helpful tool for businesses looking to better understand how users interact with their content. With video analytics, brands and companies can track the popularity and performance of their video content, measuring views and evaluating the relevance of different videos over long periods of time. Pinterest calls this metric lifetime views.

Lifetime Views

Pinterest promises a longer lifespan for videos. In fact, on Pinterest, videos literally never die. By resurfacing videos over and over again, the platform guarantees consistent video visibility on feeds over time. Whereas on other social networks, videos are often drowned out by waves of other posts, Pinterest videos are less likely to get lost in a sea of content. By continuously engaging viewers with their video material, businesses remain relevant on Pinterest. 

Pin Scheduler Tool 

Lastly, Pinterest’s Pin Scheduler lets business profiles set up videos to be posted in advance. By scheduling videos to be released ahead of time, brands can now roll out content with greater regularity. 

Adapting to a Mobile Market

So why should your brand care about these new video tools? Let’s rewind for a second. To fully understand the profitability of Pinterest’s new features, one must first get a more global sense of what’s going on right now in the world of marketing. 

According to eMarketer forecast reports, adults in the US will be spending significantly more time on their phones than watching television this year. Per this shift towards mobile media consumption, mobile advertising in the US has also shown substantial growth. 

In the past year alone, US mobile advertising rose 40%, with spending exceeding $76 billion and total revenue reaching $69.9 billion. Rapidly outpacing TV, radio, and other media, mobile advertising now makes up more than two-thirds of all digital ad expenditures—and it’s only getting bigger. 

Mobile Marketing on Pinterest

Pinterest has demonstrated a keen awareness of the jump in mobile consumption. The rollout of their new video tools follows several other changes the platform has made to accommodate mobile business profiles. 

Other recently launched mobile assets include:

• Pinterest max.width – Last August, Pinterest released an exclusive new max.width mobile format. The feature allows companies to display ads up to 4x larger than their original width, spanning the breadth of an entire screen. 
• Product Pins – Released in October, Product Pins further represents the integration of retail into Pinterest. These pins promote shopping on the platform by displaying pricing and other key product info, as well as by linking viewers directly to retail websites. 
• Shop the Look – Again in February, Pinterest got another update. The Shop the Look feature got revamped and is now fully automated. By improving matching technology, this update increases efficiency and makes for easier product searching and a more seamless link from the image to product.  

In line with their introduction of new video capabilities, Pinterest’s various additions and upgrades demonstrate how the platform is working to better appeal to advertisers and engage consumers through mobile media.

The Power of Video 

In addition to the sharp turn advertising has taken towards mobile engagement, there has also been a recent spike in spending by advertisers on video content in specific. Video is hot right now and is arguably one of the best ways for businesses to connect with their followers and expand their audience. 

Pinterest’s development of a more video-friendly interface is a clear response to both the activity of it’s users and the interests of companies using the platform to advertise. The company reported a 31% boost in searches for “inspirational videos” since last year, revealing the great potential for video to be used as a marketing tool.  

Inspirational Videos 

The name of the game right now is “inspirational videos.” This kind of galvanizing content appeals to consumers because it is visually stimulating, highly informative, and process-oriented. In turn, producing such videos is beneficial to brands and companies because they spark curiosity and encourage people to take action (i.e. sharing with friends, clicking links, making purchases).

If you’re still wondering what exactly inspirational videos are, here are some examples of the types of “inspo” videos that are most popular amongst Pinterest users:

• Styling and beauty tutorials 
• How-to videos for recipes
• DIY arts and crafts
• Inspiring travel guides 
• Home decoration tips
• Creative solutions and demonstrations

Pinterest Users Hungry for Video

So, who are Pinterest users, and why are they searching so much for “inspirational videos”? Pinterest has a more targeted approach to user engagement and caters to a more niche audience than other social media networks.

While a narrower audience may seem to be a drawback, it is actually a strength. Pinterest users interact with content in ways that set them apart from users of other social networks and make them model consumers. A recent YouGov Plan and Track survey revealed the profile of Pinterest users to be one more sensitive, materialistic, adventurous, and imaginative in nature compared to the general public. 

Not only do Pinners seek out and watch more videos, but they also quite literally get inspired by them. Pinners use the platform to get creative inspiration, to learn new skills, to get educated on a topic, and to engage with lifestyle aesthetics. Surveys show that users are 54% more likely to say they were inspired to take action after watching a video on Pinterest than by videos on other social media platforms. 

The findings of a Millward Brown study further validated this, showing the ways Pinterest really did influence users: 

• 96% of Pinterest users do research and collect info on the platform 
• 93% of users use the platform to plan for purchases
• 87% of users have purchased something because of Pinterest

Due to their unique consumer profile and marked interest in engaging, applicable, and personable content, Pinterest users are, in many ways, ideal targets for video-based marketing. 

Success Thus Far 

Already, brands and businesses are capitalizing on the new video features. Videos help brands stand out, share stories, promote products, and draw traffic to their site. Video content is great for businesses looking not just to get clicks, but to form real relationships with consumers. Videos are so successful because they create lasting impressions and brand recognition.

Some examples of brands with tangible success using Pinterest video features to inspire viewers include:

• Giadzy – Chef Giada De Laurentiis’s recipe and food blog
• PureWow – Digital media women’s lifestyle brand
• L’Oreal – Popular French cosmetics company
• Tastemade – Online food and travel network

Tastemade Testimonial

Pinterest’s new video tools have helped Tastemade’s food and recipe videos reach more people. In an endorsement of the platform and its ability to drive video discovery, the network stated that its video content had gotten 100 billion views and 200 engagements through Pinterest. In turn, Tastemade’s following has grown 100% YoY. 

Explore Tastemade’s Pinterest board and video content here: www.pinterest.com/tastemade/

Pinterest for Brand and Business Profiles

Just like video content captures the attention of users, Pinterest’s new updates have captured the attention of businesses and brands. The platform’s new video features have strong potential for a significant return on investment. Through mobile video, business profiles can connect with users through storytelling and spark interest with educational and entertaining content.

The updated uploader and Pin Scheduler make the posting process more seamless and, with the analytics tool, brands can discern what they are doing right and what can be improved in terms of video marketing. Lastly, the new video tab can help brands highlight their video content and make it more accessible. Overall, Pinterest’s new tools stand to promote video discovery and meaningful engagement.

Sources:

Forbes. Pinterest Users: More Adventurous, Sensitive And Materialistic. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandindex/2019/04/08/pinterest-users-more-adventurous-sensitive-and-materialistic/#78648dc2487a

EMarketer. Americans spend more time on mobile devices than TV. https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/emarketer-americans-spend-more-time-on-mobile-devices-than-tv/556199/

EMarketer. US Digital Ad Spending Will Surpass Traditional in 2019. https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-digital-ad-spending-will-surpass-traditional-in-2019

Mobile Marketer. Pinterest opens its max width ad format to all brands. https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/pinterest-opens-its-max-width-ad-format-to-all-brands/529722/

Mobile Marketer. Pinterest Debuts Fresh Video Tools for Creators and Brands. https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/pinterest-debuts-fresh-video-tools-for-creators-brands/558520/

Pinterest. More ways to discover inspiring video on Pinterest. https://newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/-video-on-pinterest

Pinterest. New study shows that most Pinners have made a purchase https://business.pinterest.com/en/blog/new-study-shows-that-most-pinners-have-made-a-purchase

Venture Beat. Pinterest introduces new video tools for brands and creators. https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/10/pinterest-introduces-new-video-tools-for-brands-and-creators/

Tailwind. How does Pinterest Work: Pinterest 101. https://blog.tailwindapp.com/how-does-pinterest-work-pinterest-101/