How to Create a Pinterest Video Pin
Pinterest is finally catching up and allowing some account to save organic video Pins. The new feature is available only to Pinterest business accounts and is a great way for businesses to get more engagement with their content. Internet traffic is moving toward ever-increasing amounts of video viewing. Pinterest is catching up to other social media channels like Facebook and Instagram, both of which offer multiple placements to accommodate videos. Video pins can be created quickly using prerecorded mp4 and .mov file formats or with a phone’s camera app.
Video Pins will appear in Pinners’ home feeds and following tab. When other users search using the words “video” or “videos” they can find video content. The video Pin feature is new and is currently available as another early access feature. Pinterest Pinners with business accounts can upload videos directly to Pinterest. All Pinterest Pinners, business, and personal accounts, can upload videos when they try a Pin.
Pinterest Autoplay Video
Video Pins start to play automatically on desktop/web Pinterest and also autoplay on mobile devices when the video Pin is halfway on the screen. Pinners can watch the video in a larger view by tapping or clicking on the Pin which opens up the closeup view. The sound will play in the close-up view if your device settings allow it.
How to Upload Video to Pinterest – Desktop/web
Creating a video pin is just as easy as creating a regular image Pinterest Pin.
- Log into Pinterest
- Click the plus sign in the upper right corner of your screen
- Choose Create Pin
- Drag or drop a video file onto the grey box
- Enter a title for the Pin using keywords if possible
- Enter up to a 500 character description for the video Pin using keywords
- Select a thumbnail for the video Pin by sliding the selector over one of the three images
- Choose Save
Upload Pinterest Video Pin – Mobile App
- Log into the Pinterest mobile app
- Click the plus sign at the bottom middle on your Pinterest mobile app screen
- Choose Create Pin
- If you have a video already saved to your mobile device, then choose the folder of where the video is saved on your phone then select the vieo to upload. If you want to record a new video, then chose the camera icon
- Enter a title for the Pin using keywords if possible
- Enter up to a 500 character description for the video Pin using keywords
- Select a thumbnail for the video Pin by sliding the selector over one of the suggested thumbnail images
- Tap Destination URL and enter the web address the pin should link to
- Choose Save
Note that the create a video Pin screen contains an option to add a URL. If a goal of your marketing strategy is to increase website traffic, then every pin you save to Pinterest should include a URL. If you forget to include a URL when creating the Pin, the you can always edit the Pin after its saved and insert a URL as an extra step.
When you create a video pin you also have the option to insert a link to a YouTube video or web page with an embedded video rather than upload a video file. If you simply enter a URL rather than upload a video format file, the new Pin won’t be a video Pin. It will simply link to the YouTube video or web page.
What are the Best Sizes for Video Pins?
Pinterest video pins can work with .mp4 or .mov file formats and must range from four seconds to fifteen minutes in length. The maximum video Pin file size is 2GB. Like all other Pinterest Pins, the description area underneath the Pin can accommodate a maximum of 500 characters. To optimize the Pins for search engines Pinners should use up as much of the 500 character limit as possible. Hashtags can be used as well. The ideal aspect ratios for video pins is 16:9 which also works on YouTube, a square 1:1 ratio, and vertical ratios like 9:16, 4:5, or 2:3 all of which work on Instagram.