Pinterest 101 key terms for beginners
Pinterest is not your regular run of the mill social media platform. It is unique in that it is a visual search engine. There are also unique terms specific to the platform that anyone new to Pinterest can benefit from learning.
In this post you will learn Pinterest 101 key terms for beginners and all the following questions will be covered in detail:
Questions answered in this post:
- What is a Pinterest pin?
- What is an impression?
- What is an idea pin?
- What is a save? Repin?
- What is a board?
- What is a group board?
- What is Pinterest SEO?
- What is a keyword?
- What is a follower?
What is a Pinterest pin?
A pin is a visual element, whether an image, a video or collection of images and videos that conveys an idea or concept on Pinterest. Pins are the backbone of the platform where billions of pins across the globe are shared to create an international forum of knowledge sharing and inspiration.
Let’s discuss the three types of pins (as of the writing of the post).
Standard Pins
A standard pin is a pin type that represents an image. Along with the mage, the pin creator has the option to add relevant details to the pin to share more information to give context around the image.
These details include:
- Pin title – Up to 100 characters describing the nature of the pin
- Pin board – Name of the board you chose to bookmark the pin
- Pin description – Up to 500 characters describing what the viewer can expect from clicking on the pin
- Alt Text – Information for screen readers for the visually impaired
- Destination URL – Web address that the viewer will be taken to when the pin is clicked
Video Pins
A video pin is nearly identical to a standard pin except the media format is a video. A difference to note is the tagging abilities. A creator can add up to 10 descriptions that exist from a keyword bank pre-defined by Pinterest. These tags are used for Pinterest to better understand what the pin is about. Also note that the keyword bank does change from time to time with trends.
Idea Pins
Idea Pins are the newest pin type that debuted in the summer of 2020. This new pin type brings the two media types, image and video together, into frames up to 20 to share an idea and inspiration. The opportunities that exist for idea pins are far and wide.
A significant difference between a standard, video and idea pin is that idea pins currently do not have the capability to add a destination URL as a clickable hyperlink. This is a major drawback for many that have been using the platform to draw audiences away from the network to instead explore the creator’s owned content on their blog or website.
What is an impression?
An impression is a metric that identifies the number of times a particular pin has been shown on the Pinterest platform on any screen, whether a mobile, computer, or tablet device.
This number is often used as a vanity metric like follower count; however, it is valuable to understand the reach of a particular pin. Impressions is a bloated and inflated number, but it does give insight on whether or not the pin has reached screens across the globe.
Use it to know if the content in the pin resonates with audiences. It is a good tool, but be careful not to focus entirely on this metric alone. Impressions share only a part of pin performance, not the entire performance.
What is a board?
A board is a place where pins live and are saved. It’s the bulletin board where all the pins related to a specific subject matter or topic are grouped together. Consider it a way to organize ideas for current and future projects.
Boards help to create groupings so that the user can easily access pins that they have previously created and saved. They also serve to help Pinterest understand what types of pins are contained in the board.
What is a save? or repin?
A save on Pinterest indicates that a pin was bookmarked to a specific board. The original creator of a pin can save the pin to their boards and others who come across the pin can also save the pin to their own relevant boards.
Another term used to describe a pin save is called a repin. Anyone on the platform can repin a pin. This means that the original creator can repin their own pins to other boards. Users other than the original creator can do the same.
Let me make a point of clarification. When a user other than the original creator saves and repins the pin, that user does not take ownership of the pin. They are merely saving the pin to their respective boards. The original pin creator remains the owner and gets credit for the creation of the pin.
However, please note that there are users that have taken images and videos from Pinterest and uploaded them as their own pins, which may or may not violate the copyright of the content.
While this is an ongoing practice you see across all social media platforms, Pinterest especially takes the matter very seriously when reported. Contact Pinterest help if this situation arises for you.
What is a group board?
A group board is a board that a user creates then invites other users to collaborate on the board. Collaborators can perform different actions based on the settings defined on the group board.
Essentially, a group board can be a means for pin content to be shared and seen by many more audiences beyond your own followers. In the past, the use of group boards was an accepted practice that yielded positive results for account growth and pin visibility; however, Pinterest has deprioritized pinning activities on group boards in favor or other pins posted to the platform such as idea pins.
Although group boards exist today on Pinterest, it is an outdated strategy and the benefits from joining and posting to a group board is limited at best.
What is Pinterest SEO?
Pinterest SEO is the action used to optimize a Pinterest account or profile so that Pinterest is better able to crawl through the creator’s content to accurately understand the nature of the pins.
When Pinterest understands a creator’s account, Pinterest will pair up that content with intended searches on the platform. This pairing, when done correctly, will match up the right audience to the creator’s content helping creators market their ideas to the exact audiences they wish to serve.
What is a keyword?
Keywords on Pinterest are words and phrases that identify what the pin content is about. Think of keywords as the who and the what of a particular pin. Using keywords to identify what your pin relates to helps both users and Pinterest.
When a creator does not take the time to use keywords in their pin strategy, it is a missed opportunity that often yields unexpected results.
If Pinterest does not understand what a pin’s content is about and subsequently miscategorized the pin, those who were meant to see the pin will not be shown the pin and your efforts on pin creation will go unnoticed or shown to the wrong audience.
Learn more about keyword research here.
What is a follower on Pinterest?
Followers on Pinterest are similar to followers on other social networks. A user can choose to follow another user on the platform so that they can see their content on their home feed.
Additionally, a user who follows a specific creator will get notified when their pins are posted. A user can also choose to follow a specific board instead of the creator’s account.
Conclusion
Learning a new social media platform takes time and can be a steep learning curve. In the case of Pinterest, a creator is learning the nuances of the platform plus gaining a handle on Pinterest SEO and keywords. It might even feel like learning a new language similar to SEO (search engine optimization) on search engines like Google.
If you are just getting started with Pinterest, keep at it and know that consistently posting quality pins will serve you well. I too have been using Pinterest with a strategy I learned in the past nine months. I have seen growth and success on the platform in a short period of time so I know that the hard work and diligence can pay off.
Get a head start on your strategy for Pinterest by downloading my free Pinterest Account Checklist. This resource lists all the action items I took to grow and reach my ideal customer on Pinterest.
Southern California based Professional Organizer, Sandy Park, owner and founder of Tidy with SPARK shares her joy of organization with her clients.
She serves clients in Orange County as well as the hundreds of thousands of followers on her combined social media platforms.
Connect with Sandy through her website or by connecting through her social channels.