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Part 4 in our 2018 Pinterest Influencer Marketing Playbook series. 

By 2019, global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic. That’s not surprising, considering 78% of people watch online videos every week and 55% view online videos every day. Video has gone from a nice-to-have to a must-have.96% of viewers find video helpful when making purchase decisions online and, 1 in 4 customers actually lose interest in a company if they don’t have video.

In this article, you’ll discover four tips for creating Promoted Video on Pinterest to enhance your influencer marketing strategy.

Influencer Marketing on Pinterest

Influencer marketing on Pinterest is unique because, at its current state, Pinterest is both a social network and a visual search platform. Unlike posts on other social media networks that live and die in followers’ social feeds, Pins lie forever in a state of discoverability. Exposure to a Creator’s Pin is not only driven by his or her follower reach, but also by engagement driven over time via search engine results, category feeds and external websites.

Instead of prioritizing social sharing like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, influencer marketing on Pinterest is all about content – and making sure that content is discoverable to your target audience. While traditionally influencer marketing success was based on the reach of a social post, dependent on the content creators’ abilities to reach their followers.

A Quick Look At Promoted Video Pins on Pinterest

While videos are not the primary content medium on Pinterest, evidence suggests they are growing in popularity on the social media platform. In fact, Pinterest reported an 180% lift in the number of videos on the platform since last year, suggesting Pinterest users are increasingly receptive to watching videos on the platform. Unlike on other platforms where video ads disrupt people as they’re trying to enjoy content from friends and family, Pinterest users say videos from brands add to the experience (1.6x), feel authentic (1.6x), and are higher quality on Pinterest compared to competitors (1.4x). In fact, 75% of Pinners users say they’re likely to watch a video about a topic that interests them on the site, compared to 55% of users on other social media sites.

Videos on Pinterest also drive action. Users are2.7x more likely to make a purchase on Pinterest if they first see a brand video. In fact, Pinterest users are more likely to take offline action after viewing a video compared to competitors, with 44% of users completing a project and 13% making a purchase after viewing a video. This highlights the elevated levels of engagement consumers have with branded content on the platform.

Since Promoted Video is bought on a per-impression basis, as the number of people watching your video goes up, your cost per view goes down. And, thanks to Pinterest’s new auto-play feature, every impression is significantly more likely to lead to a video view. The platform recently conducted a study of 29 Promoted Video campaigns to examine which elements performed the best in order to help guide marketers looking to optimize their Promoted Video strategy. Pinterest’s key finding was that two types of video content clearly perform best via Pin: storytelling and how-to’s.

With this in mind, here’s how you can use Promoted Video on Pinterest to get more engagement on your Pins, increase traffic to your website and reach and grow your target audience.

1. Check Your Specs

When creating a Promoted Video on Pinterest, your video must be:

  • .mp4 or .mov
  • H.264 encoded
  • Minimum 4 seconds to maximum 30 sminutes
  • Under 2GB in size
  • For max width video, aspect ratio must be square (1:1) or widescreen (16:9)

Pinterest suggests:

  • 240 ppi resolution
  • 25 FPS framerate
  • 10-20 seconds video length
  • For standard width video, they suggest square (1:1) or vertical (9:16) aspect ratio

2. The Shorter, The Better 

Pinterest research found that video completion rates on the platform did not correlate with video length. Relevancy is key, so it is important for marketers to put an emphasis on quality over a specific run time. Pinterest allows for videos of up to 30 minutes, but recommends videos be no more than five to seven minutes long. The ideal video length is 10-20 seconds long. Involve key influencers in the creative process to learn how they’d tell your story in 20 seconds or less, and if you’re planning to repurpose influencer-generated video content – make sure your briefs make 20-second video shorts mandatory.

3.  Optimize For Actions, Not Views

The majority of online video viewers will stop watching a video within the first 30 seconds if they’re not engaged, so a strong hook is key in capturing attention. Since Promoted Video on Pinterest is shown alongside a group of related Pins, brands should look to connect the video content with the subsequent action people can take on the platform.

4. Reach People At Different Points In The Decision Journey

67% of Pinners say that video inspires them to take action, compared to 32% on other platforms. Brands should look to capitalize on this by re-targeting users who saw a Promoted Video with related Promoted Pins.

Download our latest 2018 Pinterest Influencer Marketing Playbook to learn how to create, amplify and measure influencer-generated content on Pinterest, with a step-by-step guide to creating a Pinterest strategy and optimizing content for Pinterest.