Another day, another algorithm change, am-I-right?
Last week Pinterest announced some major changes for businesses and creators. Some of them are exciting and some of them I am less excited about, but overall, I think there are some pretty cool shifts happening on the platform. It’s clear that Pinterest is trying to keep up with Tik Tok and Instagram Reels by taking the features from those platforms and applying them to a Pinterest audience. They are also creating a more business-friendly environment, which I think is great.
You may read through these changes and feel like it doesn’t apply to you, or that you aren’t ready to try any of them, but I would encourage you to think twice! When a platform announces these sorts of changes, there is a ton of benefit to being an early adapter. You will get more eyes on your content and more reach, which can never be a bad thing. Even if you hold off for a while, it’s good to know what is ahead as you create your 2022 Pinterest strategy.
1. Watch Tab
Pinterest has added a “Watch” Tab to give people the chance to watch videos as they are searching. This full screen experience is similar to Instagram Reels or Tik Tok videos, but it will be related to search. It shows the best videos related to the pinners interests, searches and preferences.
Take Away: We’ve known this was coming for a long time, but it’s even more important now to create Idea Pins on Pinterest. Spend some time scrolling the Watch tab to get an idea of how other creators are using this feature and then go and create some for your brand!
2. “Takes” To Encourage Engagement
The idea of Takes is to encourage engagement on Idea Pins and fresh content. Basically, a pinner can respond to an Idea pin with their own “take” on the pin. From Pinterest:
“Unlike other apps focused on entertainment and passive scrolling, takes are designed to inspire Pinners to try something new, and empower creators to build community around shared passions. Pinners’ responses will link back to the creators’ original Idea Pins, and creators can also highlight top takes from Pinners” – Pinterest
Take Away: Pinterest is trying to encourage engagement on the platform. They want to move away from passive scrolling and pinning and they want to encourage pinners to take action from what they see on Pinterest. As a business or creator, the challenge will be to think of ways to encourage this interaction.
3. Pinterest is Paying Creators!
This one is exciting for any blogger or creator! Pinterest will be offering “Creator Rewards”, “its first-ever in-product monetization program for creators, and the latest initiative to pay creators for producing inspirational content.”
You can use the Creator Hub where you can manage your content, see analytics and use tools for content creation and see how you can get paid for creating inspiring content. This feature is not available to everyone yet, but will be rolling out to all accounts soon.
Take Away: If you’ve been thinking about diving into serious content creation, this could be an excellent time to hop on Pinterest! We know that new features are always emphasized on a platform, and if you have great content, then I would build a strategy and see what you can do with this new feature.
4. AR Try On!
Pinterest is introducing Augmented Reality Try-Ons for beauty products available on Pinterest. What does that mean? It means you can use the camera on your phone to try on eye shadow, lipstick or other beauty products. You’ll be able to tag your Idea Pins with “Try On” stickers to encourage pinners to try on the products you’re featuring.
Take Away: Go and try this feature! Right now there are 10,000 products you can try, go see how this works and if it’s something your business can utilize.
5. Amazon Affiliate Links
This feature is long overdue, but now you can tag Amazon Associate Links in in your Idea Pins making it much easier for people to shop from your pins. Amazon has millions of products and if you’re in the Associates program, you should be able to link any affiliate marketing link from your idea pins. Another cool feature for affiliate marketers, is that now you can include Shopping Recommendations in your pins. For example you could create a collection of products that are shoppable links for whatever your niche is “5 Cool Weather Sweaters for 2021”, etc.
Take Away: If you use affiliate links, this is a no-brainer. Start using the tools Pinterest is offering!
What do you think of these changes? Tell us below!
