What Are Pinterest's Idea Pins and How Do They Work?

Who Are Idea Pins For?

More creators are leaning on Idea Pins over regular Pins because of the ability to showcase more content in one Pin. You have the option to include both video and regular images in your Idea Pin, add text using different colors and fonts, and an option to showcase written details about what you are sharing in the description. Another reason you should consider incorporating Idea Pins into your growth strategy? Your content will be front and center for your community to see!

On the Pinterest mobile app, your Idea Pins will live on top of your home feed. The Idea Pins following streams are a place for Pinners to see new Idea Pins from the creators they follow, right at the top of the home feed. In this immersive stream, Pinners can find fresh Idea Pins and even find new creators to follow through the “Discover creators” icon. This gives your Idea Pins more of an advantage for higher traffic at a faster rate, so you will receive instant gratification for your creations vs. waiting to see results over time.

Idea Pins can also generate more followers because they are discoverable. Users are inspired to click into the creator's Pinterest profile after seeing an Idea Pin – giving them a deeper look into a brand or creator’s personality.

How to Create an Idea Pin

Before we dive in, did you know you can upload, schedule, and post Idea Pins using PLANOLY's Video Planner? It's true -- you can even repurpose them for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, all in one place. Learn more here.

Now to creating Idea Pins. If this is your first time hearing about Idea Pins, you’re probably wondering where it lives and how it works. You can create an Idea Pin on both web and mobile.

On the Pinterest web dashboard, under the Create tab, Create an Idea Pin will be the first option listed. On the Pinterest mobile app, tap the ‘+’ icon in the middle of the screen, and from there tap Idea Pin to start creating!

Creating your Idea Pin works about the same for both web and mobile. You will have the option to upload any photos or videos from your computer or mobile device – you can add up to 20 Idea Pins! On mobile, you will also have the option to take your photos or record a video right on the app. Once you’ve added in your content, you can choose to decorate your Idea Pin with colorful text, fun fonts right on the platform. On the right side of the screen, you will see layout and background options. You can also adjust your image or video size and customize your font.

Next, you can pick a theme for your Pin to add any extra details. For example, if you are creating a recipe Idea Pin, click ‘Recipe’ in the ‘add a theme’ dropdown menu to add your ingredients. Then you will be prompted to add your Pin title, the Board you’re saving it to, and any tagged topics you want to add. Tagged topics are crucial when it comes to getting more eyes on your Idea Pin. Start typing in different keywords like “recipe” or “DIY” and Pinterest will start populating top searched tags that you can add. Once you’re finished, hit Publish, and your Idea Pin will be visible for the world to see!

If you want your Idea Pins to stand out, even more, try using our StoriesEdit app for more creative template options! You can choose from an array of different templates (a couple of collections are made specifically just for Pinterest), fonts, color schemes, and even stickers. Once created, you can easily upload them into the Idea Pin creator! Interested? Click here to learn more or download to start creating.

Best Uses for Idea Pins

There are endless ways to get creative with this feature! Idea Pins are ideal for sharing step-by-step projects, recipes, product catalogs, guides, mini blog posts, or anything that inspires you at the moment. There are no limits! Here are more ways to use Idea Pins depending on your use case.

Social Media Manager

If you’re a social media manager for your own personal brand or managing social for other clients, creating Idea Pins for product education can create more awareness and add value for your customers. Get creative with tutorials, tips and tricks, and how-to guides related to your products. If you’re active on Instagram, you can also optimize your Instagram Stories and easily transform them into an Idea Pin to streamline your workflow.

Entrepreneur

Idea Pins are an entrepreneur’s best friend to grow their business. If you own a retail business, leverage Idea Pins by creating product catalogs, or compile trendy tips to style your products. If you’re a trainer, create step-by-step workout or instructional videos. If you are a writer or blogger, easily transform a whole blog post into an Idea Pin by gathering your images and including a summary with text on each slide.

Influencer

As an influencer, using Idea Pins is a great way to expand on your current content and audience. Now you can bridge the gap between inspiration and creation by creating an Idea Pin around what inspires you, curate a style lookbook if you are a fashion blogger, optimize content from your blog or Instagram Stories, or share tutorials and DIYs.

We hope that we set a good foundation of inspiration for your new journey with Idea Pins. This feature is already changing the game for so many users and will be taking over your Pinterest dashboards by storm! It’s best to hop on this bandwagon and start creating. Here’s how to convert your personal account to a business account to request access to this Pinterest feature! If you need a little more background on the Pinterest platform, check out our Ultimate Pinterest Guide for Beginners.