Pinterest is a visual discovery engine that helps people find ideas and inspiration for future projects. It offers a wide range of content, including recipes, home decor, makeup tutorials, DIY projects, and more.

Originally, Pinterest was completely picture-based, with no video content. It wasn’t until November of 2016 that Pinterest created a new video feature that permitted users to watch native videos on the explore page.

This feature was wildly successful, which led Pinterest to introduce promoted video pins in August of 2017, allowing businesses to promote their brands for an advertising fee.

Today, Pinterest is a gold mine for video marketers, largely because it’s not over-saturated with video content. It’s one of the few social media platforms where your videos can easily stand out from the crowd! Check out a few stats that prove Pinterest’s value below.

Source: Hootsuite

In this article, we’ll go over the two main types of Pinterest video posts you can use to advertise your business today. Then, we’ll go over the main benefits of using Pinterest for video marketing. Lastly, we’ll discuss how to make quality Pinterest videos that will resonate with your audience, leading to higher engagement rates, brand awareness, and sales. Let’s dive in!

Different Types of Pinterest Video Posts

There are two main types of video posts you can create on Pinterest to advertise your business: paid video posts and organic video posts. Let’s take a closer look at why you might choose each of these options.

Paid Video Posts

Many businesses use Pinterest’s paid video posts to showcase their brands. Typically, these video ads highlight what your business is selling in an exciting way. Additionally, they display your brand name and logo to increase brand awareness.

The primary purpose of these ads is to drive more clicks to your site and increase sales. When used correctly, Pinterest video ads can give you almost immediate results. However, if your video doesn’t resonate with your viewers, your efforts might be wasted. Aligning with your audience is key!

Organic Video Posts

Organic video posts are when you pin video content in the “old-fashioned way.” You’ll create a video pin, allocate it to one of your themed boards, then add an eye-catching title and descriptive keywords to attract an audience.

Unlike a video ad, organic videos tend to be creative and fun instead of “market-y.” While they may still showcase your business’s products, they tend to be less direct than a video ad.

Organic posts are beneficial because they help you develop a loyal following of Pinterest users who genuinely enjoy watching your content. Additionally, it shows your followers that your company does more than just post a bunch of ads!

One potential downside associated with organic posts is that there is no set engagement window to become popular. Therefore, it can take days, weeks, or even months for you to see any significant results. So, patience is key!

Benefits of Using Pinterest Videos to Promote Your Business

There are two main benefits of using Pinterest to promote your brand. We’ll discuss these in detail below.

Videos on Pinterest Receive Prime Placement

In the past, Pinterest’s framework wasn’t video-friendly since it was initially created as a picture-only platform. However, that all changed in 2019 when Pinterest re-designed its framework to increase the video distribution rate. Today, Pinterest’s algorithm prioritizes video content over all other forms of media.

Because of this, videos tend to rank higher on internal searches. Additionally, videos tend to have better placement on Pinterest’s explore page, allowing them to reach a wider audience of interested viewers. So, just by using videos to market your business, you’ll have a leg up on other content creators on Pinterest’s platform!

Video Content Is More Popular and Leads to User Action

Another reason you should use Pinterest videos to promote your business is that the users themselves prefer them. In 2019, Pinterest reported that it saw 6x as many video views as it did in 2018, indicating the increased popularity of video content.

However, Pinterest users don’t just enjoy watching videos. They are also inspired to take action from them! Pinterest found that its users are 2.6x more likely to make a purchase after viewing brand video content on its platform.

So, Pinterest users like watching videos AND they are more likely to take action after watching them. By making videos, you’ll get more followers while also increasing your sales. That sounds like a win-win to us!

How to Create an Engaging Pinterest Video

With the benefits above in mind, here are a few best practices to apply next time you’re creating a video for Pinterest.

Begin With a Bang

From the second your viewers start watching your video, you want them to be interested enough to watch the entire thing instead of just scrolling past. Therefore, from the second your video begins, it needs to be interesting, inspiring, and bold.

Have a clear hook in the first few seconds of the video, and avoid using a blank screen, boring text, and uninspiring pictures. The opening scene of the clip should leave viewers wanting more!

Keep It Short

Pinterest recommends keeping organic posts between 15 seconds to 1 minute long and video ads between 6 to 15 seconds long. This means that you won’t have very long to make a lasting impression. So, you need to make every second count!

To achieve this, try to focus on one key message or narrative for each video. Don’t try to pack too much content into one clip. Instead, if you have a lot of content to cover, make multiple videos and distribute them as individual pins or ads.

Don’t Depend on Audio

Many users scroll through Pinterest with their volume off. Therefore, your video content shouldn’t rely on sound to tell a story. While you can definitely still have audio or dialogue for those who choose to enable audio, make sure you can still completely understand the content without sound.

This often involves adding closed captioning, which is also incredibly important for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers. Even if your video doesn’t have audio, use text overlays and bold graphics to get your point across.

Include a Relevant Title, Description, and Hashtags

Always include titles and descriptions in your videos, since these will help your video get discovered during searches. Make sure they are clear and descriptive—this will make it easier for the algorithm to find your content. You should also make them interesting to entice your viewers.

Additionally, don’t forget to include relevant hashtags! These help to categorize your video, making it more likely for interested viewers to find your content. If you’re not sure which hashtags to include, you can always check out other content in your industry to see which hashtags are common.

Create On-Trend Content

Lastly, do some research to determine the top topics and search terms currently trending on Pinterest. Then, use this information to create an on-trend video that will resonate with your viewers. Another way to stay relevant is by creating seasonal content. Try to structure your videos around major seasonal holidays and events, such as Halloween, Christmas, graduation, or back-to-school!

Just make sure to act quickly; trends are constantly evolving, and you don’t want to realize the trend has passed right when your video is ready to share. When in doubt, if your content is related to a trend, focus on getting it ready quickly rather than getting the video 100% perfect.

Final Thoughts

Pinterest is one of the best-kept secrets for video marketers. Currently, videos are prioritized on Pinterest’s platform, so they are more likely to reach a wider audience than ever before. Moreover, Pinterest users prefer video content and are more likely to take action after watching brand videos.

When making a video for Pinterest, make sure it’s short and exciting. Don’t rely on audio since many users turn off their sound. Instead, use text overlays and bold graphics to tell your viewers what your video is all about! Lastly, try to create on-trend content since it is more likely to engage your viewers.

Now, what are you waiting for? Start promoting your business on Pinterest today!