Pinterest has implemented some major changes over the past year. One of the biggest developments has been their shift towards new types of content. Specifically, video content is receiving a lot more traction on Pinterest these days.
Pinterest marketers are investing a lot more in video pins, as the algorithm is placing more emphasis on them. One study by Pinterest found that 67% of its users have taken action after watching a video pin. The number of video pins increased six times between 2018 and 2019. These are numbers that marketers simply cannot ignore.
Unfortunately, creating quality video pins can seem intimidating. Pinterest marketers must follow these tips to use video pins effectively.
Use reliable hosting for UX
Why is this relevant to video marketing on Pinterest? It all boils down to setting user experiences.
User experience (UX) optimization is crucial for any form of online marketing. Pinterest video marketing is no exception.
When you create a landing page for users that discovered your video pins, you will need to match the expectations that you laid out in your Pinterest content. After clicking video links, users tend to expect that the destination landing page will have video content as well.
This means that you need a reliable hosting plan. Video files tend to be large and cumbersome. They can consume a lot of bandwidth and slow the webpage loading time if your hosting is not up to par.
Use text overlays for a strong call to action
The major benefit of video pins is their visibility. Unfortunately, there is a downside. Users tend to watch Pinterest videos, rather than clicking on them like they would other pins. As a result, the CTR tends to be lower.
You need to be more creative to get users to click through to your website. You should have text overlays with a strong CTA. This text could say something like “Click the article link below to see the rest” or “learn more at domain.com”.
A strong CTA will go a long way towards driving visitors to your site. You will be able to leverage the superior visibility of video pins and still drive traffic.
Don’t give everything away in your video
Pinterest marketers started using infographics to boost engagement a few years ago. They found that infographics received lots of shares, but often had very low CTRs.
This was often because the content creators gave away all the information in the infographic itself. Users didn’t have a strong incentive to visit the website for more information.
Video marketers have discovered the same thing. Why would a customer click through to your website if you shared everything in the video already?
You need to avoid sharing all of your content in the video. Customers also need to know that they have to visit your site for the rest of the content.
This approach is easy to implement with list style content. You could have a blog post on the 10 best carpet cleaning products that you sell. Your video could have the same title, but you only share the first five. The end of your video could tell users that they need to visit your site to see the other five.
Use the right tools and resources to create great video content
Creating video content from scratch can seem very intimidating. The process will go a lot faster if you use the right tools and resources.
You can find a lot of stock videos from sites like Pixabay. You can also conduct Creative Commons searches on YouTube to find videos to repurpose.
You should also use video creation and editing tools. My favorite is Canva, because you can use it to create video specifically for Pinterest. Wave, VideoLeap, Slider and Filmora are also excellent video creation tools.
Keep your videos short
If you have used YouTube for video marketing in the past, you probably Are used to creating longer videos. The ideal video length on YouTube varies by niche, but most marketers find the sweet spot is somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. Even the average mobile user is on YouTube for 40 minutes.
You need to create much shorter videos for Pinterest. Pinterest allows you to publish videos that are up to 15 minutes long. However, user attention spans are much lower than they are on YouTube. The most successful videos are only between 6 and 15 seconds. That is a fraction of the time that most elevator pitches are meant for.
You need to know how to condense your content as much as possible. Find a creative way to get your core message across in just a few seconds.