(Update: Story Pins are now called Idea Pins.)

Have you seen the new feature that Pinterest has rolled out? In this episode, we’re going to introduce you to Pinterest story pins. More specifically, you’ll learn how to integrate them into your Pinterest marketing without it feeling overwhelming. 

New features on any platform can tend to make us feel overwhelmed. But if we take the time to learn about them, master them, and then use them regularly, we can get beyond that feeling of not knowing what the heck we’re doing. 

My promoted pins specialist, Erin, was in the original beta group for story pins a couple of years ago and she also participated in a more recent beta group for the release of story pins. As a result, she has a lot of experience using them and learning how they work. 

Erin has been testing Pinterest story pins for her website content — Clever Bloom. 

In this episode, she shares how she uses story pins, why she thinks they’re a useful feature, and how to use them so that they aren’t overwhelming. 

Are you new to Pinterest and not sure where to start? Do you already feel overwhelmed?

Don’t worry, because we’ve got your back! We have a special newsletter just for you, where we teach you how to get started on your Pinterest marketing. Sign up and we’ll help you get off to a great start. We’ll be there if you get stuck at any point along the way. 

Pinterest Story Pins: The Ultimate Guide

 

What Are Pinterest Story Pins?

If you want to see some story pins in action, Erin recommends you go into the Today tab and click on one of the pins. On the day we recorded this episode, every single pin inside the “Recipes” tab was a story pin, which seems to indicate that Pinterest is favoring story pins at some level. 

You can also see more story pins at the top of the main feed, so the prioritization of them is pretty obvious. 

But how do you know if you’re looking at a story pin? 

If you’re on mobile, you’ll see a bubble in the top left corner with a number in it from 3-20. That number lets you know how many slides are in that story pin. On desktop, the bubble will say “story.” 

Please note that story pins are not in any way comparable to Instagram stories. Like I say all the time, Pinterest is not a social media platform, so don’t expect it to behave like one. 

I say that to let you know that story pins won’t be “real-time” like Instagram stories. You can’t pop in and talk to your audience that way. 

You can choose to include sound in your video story pins. Erin hasn’t included her voice in any of the story pins she’s created, simply because she knows that most people don’t have sound turned on while they are scrolling through the Pinterest feed. She did add some music to a couple of her story pins, just in case anyone has their sound on. 

Should YOU Be Using Story Pins on Pinterest?

I will fully admit that I have been more than hesitant to jump on the story pins bandwagon. But Erin has been wearing me down and I am ready to learn more about why they are beneficial and the best way to use them. 

So, if you are just getting started with Pinterest marketing, please don’t try to add this to your current strategy. This feature is for advanced users. Feel free to read on or listen in but keep doing what you’re doing for right now.

One caveat to what I just said- if you don’t have a blog yet but you do want to begin sharing ideas and solutions with an audience, story pins might be a great option for you. 

Because story pins aren’t linked anywhere,