Pinterest is a visual search engine where people come to plan, shop, and save ideas they intend to act on.
That mindset changes everything: Pins can remain visible for months, even years, and a single great visual with the right keywords and timing can continue to pay off long after the post date.
Pinterest itself has just shared a fresh playbook: create new content weekly, align with major seasonal/marketing moments, and use trends to guide what you create.
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Those are the backbone of how distribution works on the platform today.
“Pinterest is one of those platforms where patience pays off. I’ve been experimenting with different styles. And I know a single Pin can continue to work for you for months after you post it. I’m excited to experiment with new ideas, test what really sticks, and see how far I can push our strategy this year. For me, it’s about finding those little hacks that turn inspiration into consistent growth.” Debby, Logie social media manager
Meanwhile, the audience is there and growing. Pinterest reported 553 million monthly active users at the close of 2024 and 578 million monthly active users by Q2 2025, with a record number of users.
That’s an 11% Year-over-Year lift and proof that inspiration-led shopping is alive and well.
Below is your comprehensive, practical guide to strategy, workflow, and checklists so you can grow an audience that actually saves, clicks, and buys.
1) Start with the Right Account and Infrastructure
Use a Pinterest Business account. It unlocks the Business Hub, Pinterest Analytics, Rich Pins, and shopping tools essentials for serious growth and measurement.
It also enables advanced formats, carousels, video, collections, and the ad stack when you’re ready to amplify your presence.
Claim your website. When people save images from your site, your profile photo appears on the Pin, the Pin links back to your profile, and users see a “follow” prompt, tiny UI touches that compound over time.
Pin specs matter. Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio, with dimensions of 1000 × 1500 px. Go taller than 2:3, and your visual may be cut off in feed.
For video, 3–60 seconds is a solid guideline. For collection/Carousel formats, adhere to the approved aspect ratios of 1:1 or 2:3, and keep safe zones in mind to prevent text from being obscured by UI.
Creators who treat Pinterest like a media property, utilizing brand kits, templates, and regular production tempo, outpace those who treat it as a channel where they post sporadically.
The platform rewards those who are “fresh” and consistent.
2) Design for Pinterest’s Discovery Graph
Pinterest’s official guidance for 2025 is simple, specific, and powerful:
Create fresh content weekly. “Fresh” means new image assets and ideally new URLs or angles, not just re-pinning old visuals. Freshness helps distribution.
Align to big marketing moments. People plan early on Pinterest holidays, back-to-school, and seasonal refreshes. Build a calendar around those peaks.
Use Pinterest Trends. Their Trends hub lets you compare up to four keywords and view seasonal trends, allowing you to post ahead of demand.
Pinterest’s annual Pinterest Predicts report shows that their methodology has yielded ~80% trend accuracy for multiple years running, and their trends tend to last longer than those on other platforms. That makes your content investments more durable.
Pro tip: Build a “Pin pipeline.” For every key season or trend cluster, ship a trio: 1 static 2:3 Pin evergreen, 1 short video 3–20s, story-led, and 1 carousel with steps, options, or before-and-after content.
It gives you breadth without requiring you to reinvent the wheel each time.
3) Pin SEO That Works
Think like a search marketer. Pinterest is a visual search engine, so keywords in Pin titles, descriptions, and board names are foundational.
Use natural language; don’t stuff. If you run ads, you’ll see keyword targeting mirrors this logic.
Checklist:
Keyword in title benefit-first: “Small kitchen storage ideas renter-friendly”.
Keyword and synonyms in description 1–2 sentences; include product names only if helpful.
Board names people actually search “Minimalist living room ideas,” not “Moodboard #2”.
Alt/overlay text only where it improves comprehension. Pinterest recommends limiting text to keep visuals clean in ad creative, but clarity beats cleverness.
Hashtags are not your growth lever here. Focus on keywords and saves.
4) Formats: What to Post
Pinterest is no longer a one-format platform.
Static images may have built their reputation, but today’s best-performing accounts utilize a mix of formats that strike a balance between evergreen discoverability, quick attention-grabbers, and shoppable inspiration.
Here’s how each one works, with strategies to make them stand out.
Static Pins 2:3 ratio
Static Pins remain the evergreen workhorse of Pinterest. Because Pinterest acts like a search engine, these image-based Pins can continue driving impressions, saves, and clicks for months, sometimes years after you publish them.
What works best:
Crisp, high-quality photography that feels real, avoiding over-edited or stock-looking images.
Minimal text overlays 3 to 7 words max. Think of them like mini-billboards that clearly state the benefit: “Small Kitchen Storage Hacks” or “Cozy Fall Outfit Ideas.”
A clear promise in the design. Pinners scroll fast; they need to know instantly what value they’ll get.
Seasonal and evergreen posts “Summer picnic essentials” or “Work-from-home desk ideas”.
Static Pins are still the backbone of Pinterest SEO. Optimize your Pins with keyword-rich titles and descriptions to improve their ranking in search results.
Video Pins
Short, snackable videos are exploding on Pinterest, especially with Gen Z, who are used to Reels and TikTok.
However, the dynamics are different: Pinterest users come with the intent to plan and take action.
What works best:
Keep them short, 3 to 60 seconds. The sweet spot is usually under 30.
Lead with the reveal in the first second. Don’t waste time on long intros. Start with the transformation, step 1, or the “ta-da” moment.
Use captions or on-screen text; many people watch without sound.
Tutorials, recipes, before-and-after, quick DIY projects, and product demos all perform well.
Example: Instead of a 3-minute room makeover, post a 20-second clip: start with the messy “before,” flash through steps, and end on the styled “after.”
Pro Tip: Video Pins also support autoplay in feed, so use movement in the first second to catch the eye.
Carousels
Carousels enable you to add multiple images in a single Pin, creating a swipeable storytelling experience. They’re perfect for walking someone through options or steps without overwhelming them.
What works best:
Multi-step tutorials: “How to Style a Bookshelf in 5 Steps.”
Option spreads: “5 Neutral Paint Colors That Work in Any Entryway.”
Lookbooks: mini-collections of outfits, recipes, or products.
Specs:
Carousels only support static images, not video.
Each card should stand on its own but also connect to the overall narrative.
Ratios: 1:1 or 2:3.
Treat each swipe as a micro-Pin. Place the most compelling image first to capture people’s attention, but ensure that every card adds value.
Collections / Shopping Pins
Collections bridge the gap between inspiration and transaction. They allow you to showcase one hero creative, a styled room, a flat-lay outfit, a recipe image, and up to 24 secondary creatives that link directly to products.
Why it’s important:
Pinterest users often start with “inspiration” searches (“cozy living room ideas”) and end up shopping the look.
Collections streamline this: one visual for inspiration, multiple clickable products for execution.
When to use:
Retail campaigns for fashion, home, and lifestyle.
Holiday guides “Gift Ideas Under $50”.
Seasonal inspiration that inspires people to shop the entire look.
Ensure product images align consistently with the hero creative, avoiding jarring mismatches that appear like stock drops.
Rich Pins
Rich Pins automatically sync information from your website into your Pins using metadata. They update dynamically when you change product prices, stock, or article details on your site.
Types of Rich Pins:
Product Pins auto-pull price, availability, and product details.
Recipe Pins list ingredients, cooking times, and serving sizes.
Article Pins include the headline, author, and description.
Why it’s important:
Adds credibility: users see you’re a verified source.
Boosts conversions: price and stock updates in real-time prevent “out-of-date” frustrations.
Set up: Add Open Graph or Schema.org markup to your site, then validate your domain in Pinterest’s Rich Pin Validator.
Putting It All Together
If you can only manage two formats consistently:
One evergreen static Pin; SEO long-tail discovery.
One short video, Pin attention, trend alignment.
That combination covers both intent searchers looking to act and impulse scroll-stoppers who save for later.
Over time, layering in Carousels, Collections, and Rich Pins amplifies both reach and conversions.
Create a content mix calendar. For each theme (e.g., “Back-to-School”), plan:
1 Static checklist or idea
1 Video for a quick reveal
1 Carousel with a step-by-step guide
1 Collection shoppable inspiration
This keeps your feed fresh and maximizes how Pinterest distributes your content across search, recommendations, and Shop tabs.
5) Content That Gets Saved
Pinterest is explicit that complete, accurate metadata and keyword-rich information increase distribution.
For merchants, keeping catalogs clean, maintaining accurate stock status, organizing product categories, and ensuring titles are clear helps reach the right Pinners.
Saves are a high-intent signal: people want to come back.
Make your Pin “save-worthy”:
A specific use case: “School-morning breakfast you can freeze”.
A visible result: before/after, outcome shot.
A clear label on the image, 3–7 words.
A reason to revisit the checklist, recipe, and step order.
Occasionally, include a “Save for later” nudge in your description. It’s native to the platform’s behavior.
6) How Often to Post
Pinterest’s 2025 advice: post fresh content weekly. That’s the baseline. Many high-performing accounts post more frequently, but quality and keyword relevance often outweigh volume.
If you scale, do it with variations: crop options, new hero images, before/after versions, seasonal phrasing.
A Flow that works for most brands:
Weekly: 2–5 fresh Pins around 1–2 themes.
Monthly: Seasonal cluster 3–6 Pins scheduled 30–45 days before the peak.
Quarterly: Trend experiment set guided by Pinterest Predicts and Trends graphs.
7) Community & Brand
Unlike fast-scroll feeds, Pinterest users read, save, and engage with content. So be helpful and credible:
Reply to comments with specifics: “Try 1:2 vinegar: water on glass fronts”.
Pin community photos with permission to a dedicated board.
Publish “collections” that remove decision friction, e.g., “Coastal living room: paint + rug + pillows”.
Personality is a growth lever on every platform. On Pinterest, a useful personality is clear, calm, and practical.
8) Measure What Matters
Utilize Pinterest Analytics to identify what resonates across both paid and organic content. Look at impressions, saves, outbound clicks, engaged audience, and top boards.
Track cohorts for each seasonal cluster to learn what sustains over time.
A simple analytics loop:
Identify the top 5 Pins by saves; consideration.
Identify the top 5 Pins by outbound clicks; conversion intent.
Clone their patterns, angle, title, and format into next month’s plan.
Retire visuals with impressions but no saves/clicks.
If you’re not moving “saves” or “outbound,” rethink either the angle or the audience keywords/boards.
9) Monetization
Pinterest has positioned itself as a shopping-first discovery engine. People come here to look, plan, and buy.
That intent is why monetization works and why the platform has steadily rolled out structured tools for creators and brands.
Product Tagging and Catalogs
Pinterest allows brands to upload a product catalog feed in CSV, XML, or through ecommerce integrations like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce.
Once approved, each product in your catalog becomes an automatically generated Product Pin, with live details: price, stock status, title, description, and link.
Product Pins are prioritized in shopping surfaces, such as Shop tabs, search filters, and related items.
Pinterest’s algorithm uses your feed health to determine visibility. Incomplete or incorrect product data, out-of-stock items, missing categories, and poor titles reduce reach.
How to get started:
Switch to a Business Account.
In the Business Hub, go to “Catalogs” and upload your product feed.
Map categories correctly using Pinterest’s taxonomy (similar to Google Shopping).
Validate the following fields: title, description, image, price, availability, and product URL.
Apply for the Verified Merchant Program (VMP): This grants you a blue checkmark, enhancing trust in your Pins.
Guidelines to follow:
All products must comply with Pinterest’s Advertising Guidelines: no counterfeit items, weapons, tobacco, or prohibited supplements.
Prices must be accurate and match the prices listed on the landing page.
Shipping/returns policies must be clear.
Pro Tip: Pinterest surfaces catalog items organically once they have been approved. You don’t have to run ads for every product you get free distribution by default.
b. Affiliate Links
Pinterest allows creators to add affiliate links directly to their Pins either through affiliate networks such as Amazon Associates, RewardStyle, ShareASale, and Awin, or brand-specific programs.
How to use it:
Add your affiliate link in the destination URL when creating a Pin.
Use it in posts like:
“Top 5 kitchen gadgets that actually work” carousel with affiliate links
“Skincare routine for winter”: each product is linked to an affiliate source
Tutorials, roundups, gift guides.
Rules and best practices:
You must disclose affiliate partnerships #ad, #affiliate, “this post contains affiliate links”.
The link must take users directly to the merchant page. No cloaked links, redirects, or links to prohibited categories.
Don’t spam: Pinterest’s algorithm can detect patterns of excessive duplicate Pins with the same affiliate URL.
Pro Tip: Affiliate monetization works best when paired with evergreen tutorial-style content. For example, a “10 Best Pantry Organizers” Pin can generate clicks for months, long after a TikTok video would have lost traction.
c. Collections as Guided Shopping
Collections Pins allow creators and brands to create one hero image or video alongside up to 24 secondary items.
Think of it like a shoppable lookbook: an outfit, along with links to the individual pieces that comprise it.
Why it works:
It mimics how users shop, starting with an overall idea and inspiration, and then drilling down into the parts’ execution.
Strong for seasonal campaigns, holiday decor ideas, and back-to-school shopping.
How to get started:
From Ads Manager or Pin builder, choose “Collections.”
Upload a hero creative lifestyle image or styled shot.
Add secondary creatives from your product catalog or manually tagged products.
Ensure each product has a functioning landing page and a compliant title/price.
Guidelines:
All tagged products must match the creative. No bait-and-switch.
Collections should feel like curated inspiration, not a product dump.
Avoid using stock images that are disconnected from your brand. Pinterest prioritizes authenticity.
d. Pinterest Ads
Organic distribution is powerful, but once you have a proven Strategy, it saves clicks, conversions, and amplification with ads to drive scale.
Ad formats you can use:
Standard Pins static. Repurpose top-performing organic Pins into ads.
Video Ads. Up to 15–60s, autoplay in feed. Use captions, as many viewers watch without sound.
Max Width Video. Takes up the entire feed width on mobile, ideal for high-impact storytelling.
Collections Ads. Paid amplification of collections Pins, merging hero inspiration with shoppable products.
Carousel Ads. Swipeable image ads are suitable for multiple use cases or product variations.
Shopping Ads. Pull directly from your catalog to auto-generate product ads.
Ad best practices:
Always start with organic proof before making a purchase. Test messaging/creative organically, then boost winners.
Use audience targeting: interest targeting, keyword targeting, actalike audiences, retargeting site visitors.
Don’t overload with text. Pinterest recommends no more than 3–7 words in overlays.
Include clear CTAs: “Shop the look,” “Try the recipe,” “Save for later.”
Guidelines to follow:
All ads must meet Pinterest Advertising Guidelines.
Clearly disclose sponsorships or partnerships (#ad, Paid Partnership).
No misleading claims or unrealistic before/after, particularly for health/fitness/beauty.
e. Other Monetization Layers
Creator Rewards: Pinterest experimented with creator funds; some regions still have bonus programs tied to idea Pins. Check eligibility in Creator Hub.
Brand partnerships: Sponsored Pins still exist, where a brand pays you to create Pins featuring their products. Here, disclosure rules apply.
Drive off-platform sales: Pinterest traffic is known for high intent. Many creators funnel Pinterest clicks to their blog, monetized with ads or digital product storefronts.
10) “Why Pinterest”
Audience momentum: 553M -578M global million Monthly Active Users from Q4’24 to Q2’25; record users.
Mindset fit: According to Pinterest, the #1 reason people use the platform is to discover new products and brands, which directly leads to revenue.
Trend shelf-life: Pinterest’s trend program is unusually accurate (≈80%) and trends last longer, which means your content stays relevant longer.
Proven with cases: Brands that planned seasonal spikes via Pinterest Trends increased conversion and basket size by aligning content to search curves.
Start quarterly planning with Pinterest Predicts and validate your niche with Trends graphs. Build a seasonal slate 4–8 weeks ahead of the peak, then monitor saves/clicks and re-cut the winners.
11) Common Pitfalls
Over-tall images that get cropped. Use 2:3.
Vague board names: Use searchable, intent-rich labels.
Posting once, then disappearing. Commit to weekly freshness.
No metadata. Add descriptive titles, descriptions, and, for merchants, complete product feeds.
Treating Pinterest like Instagram, Don’t. Pinterest is a search and planning platform designed for saving and future actions.
12) Repeatable Workflow
Plan: Choose 1–2 trend/season topics from Predicts/Trends.
Produce: One static 2:3 Pin, one short video, and one carousel per topic.
Publish: Schedule weekly; front-load seasonal Pins 30–45 days in advance of the peak season.
Polish: Ensure metadata, keywords, and board fit.
Promote: If a Pin gets saved or clicked, consider ad collections/max-width to scale.
Probe: Use Analytics to duplicate what drives saves and outbound; kill what doesn’t.
Conclusion
Pinterest rewards brands and creators who provide useful, searchable, and seasonally savvy content.
Do the basics brilliantly: business account, clean specs, trend-guided topics, keyword-smart titles, weekly freshness, and you’ll feel the flywheel: more saves, more clicks, more qualified traffic, and a library of Pins that keeps performing long after you hit publish.
Logie streamlines influencer discovery, product distribution, and content performance to drive measurable sales for eCommerce brands. We also equip content creators with the smart tools, brand partnerships, and commission opportunities they need to turn content into income.
