Let’s be honest, Pinterest can be a powerhouse when it comes to traffic for your blog and selling your products or services. However, it can be overwhelming to keep up with all the different updates, algorithms, and new features. This is a great place to start if you feel lost when it comes to story pins. Keep reading for more Pinterest story pins for beginners.

I was given a chance to attend the virtual Pinterest Creator Office Hour last month (hosted by Pinterest), which usually takes place 2-4 times a year throughout the different seasons or when Pinterest is in the process of rolling out something new. During this particular meeting last month, the topic of discussion was STORY PINS!

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Pinterest Story Pins For Beginners

**Before we begin, it is worth noting that according to Pinterest:

“Story Pins are a work in progress and aren’t available to everyone yet. You can request access by filling out this form. Please be patient while we review your request. You’ll only hear back from us in 5-7 days if your request has been approved.” as of February 3, 2021

I also want to point out that, according to Pinterest, you can use story pins if you have a Pinterest business account. However, I want to stress that this doesn’t mean you will automatically get access to story pins just by switching from personal to business. I have friends and colleagues with a business account and still haven’t been granted access to story pins. I wish I could give you ALL access, but that is out of my control. However, I can give you tips on using story pins if you have access or for when you do.

Pinterest Business Account And Basic Tips

If you aren’t starting from scratch or if you already have a Pinterest business account, feel free to skip ahead to the story pin tips.

First, let me share a couple of basic tips in case you are just starting.

1. Make sure your Pinterest account is set up as a business account.
2. Claim your website.
3. Enable Rich Pins

The Pinterest business account is free to use and easy to set up. Click here for the steps to go from a personal account to a business account. The business account gives you access to your Pinterest analytics, which helps you to see which pins are performing well and gives you a choice to pay to promote a pin. Don’t forget to claim your website, which is simple:

1. In Pinterest, click on your settings menu at the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
2. Click the Confirm website button.
3. Follow the instructions. You’ll be prompted to verify by uploading an HTML file to your server or adding a meta tag to your website’s header.

The business account will also allow you to enable Rich Pins. Rich Pins provide more information directly on the pin. Click here to learn how to enable Rich Pins.

What Are Story Pins And How Do They Work?

In the words of Pinterest, “story pins give people more ways to share ideas with up to 20 pages of images and text.” Unless you are just completely new to Pinterest, you know that a regular pin consists of a single image, title, and pin description. Story pins will allow you to utilize up to 20 images per story pin. A story pin will be jam-packed with way more information and inspiration than a regular pin.

Pinterest is a place where people go for inspiration, tips, advice, ideas, and recipes! Story pins work great for how-to tutorials, recipes, and list posts. Your followers can swipe through your story pins and find everything they need about a craft, DIY, or recipe for example:

1. List of ingredients
2. List of materials
3. Steps to create a craft
4. Recipe steps
5. And more!

It is also crucial to point out that unlike other “stories” on other social media platforms, your story pin won’t disappear after 24 hours.

What Content Works Best For Story Pins?

Honestly, you can use story pins to share any content because they really are about giving you the option to share more with your followers in a single pin. However, certain content can benefit greatly from story pins. For example:

1. Travel tips for a certain destination
2. DIY Tutorials
3. Recipes with step-by-step photos
4. How-to guides
5. Any posts that need lists

How To Prepare Your Business For Story Pins

If you are waiting for access, there are things you can do to prepare your business for story pins. We all know that Pinterest allows you to reach a large audience. However, this isn’t going to do your business any good if you aren’t reaching your right kind of audience.

Know Your Audience

Making sure you understand your audience is a great way to start preparing your business for story pins.

1. Who are they?
2. What are their pain points?
3. Why do they trust you?
4. What will grab their attention?
5. How can your product or service solve their problems?

Get Your Media Ready

It is no secret that Pinterest craves new content. Use this time to get all of your media content ready to be added to a story pin. You want high-quality images and videos. Remember, you will have up to 20 slides to utilize in your story pins, so be creative.

Why Should You Use Story Pins?

I know that some of you might be asking, why should I use story pins? How are they any different than regular pins? However, I urge you to give it some thought. Even though story pins are still in the early days, think about how successful stories have become on Facebook and Instagram.

How To Create A Story Pin

Story pins can be created on the desktop or your mobile app. Both are easy and straightforward.

How To Create A Story Pin on Desktop

1. Click the Create button in the top left-hand corner and select Create Story Pin.
2. Add up to 20 images or videos.
3. Design your pages. You can change the layout, add text overlay, adjust the size/resize your image, add more pages, and change the background color.
4. Add extra text to inspire your audience.
5. Create your story pin title, choose the board you are going to pin to, and add tags to help people find your pin.
6. Click publish.

How To Create A Story Pin on Mobile

1. Click the + button at the bottom of the screen and select Story Pin.
2. Decide what your pin is about; The choices are recipe, crafts + DIY, or something else.
3. Select your photos or videos from your library.
4. Get creative with your design by selecting your cover photo, resizing images, and adding text overlay like you would on your desktop.
5. Add the finishing touches by creating your story pin title, choosing the board to pin to, adding extra details, and adding tags.
6. Click publish.

Check out this link on tips to edit story pins from Pinterest.

Suggested Story Pin Narrative

As your Pinterest account’s creator, it is up to you on how you want to organize or layout your story pin. However, I have found the following formula works best for my clients and me.

Slide 1: Video with text showcasing the finished project or what is to come.
2: Video, image, or text of what you will need for the craft, project, recipe, etc…
3: Video or image with the step by step process
4: Video or image of the completed project, DIY, etc… I would always try to include a call to action (CTA). For example, “follow for more!”
Final: Text with links to my Pinterest profile and website.

Keep in mind this is just a starting off point, you need to go by what you are showcasing and your niche. You know your audience.

What Makes A Story Pin Successful?

I truly believe a successful story pin is all about engagement. Story pins (if done correctly) can help you hold your audience’s attention for longer, giving you more time to turn them into clients, customers, or followers. The truth is, your Pinterest analytics and website analytics will be the places to turn to if you want to see what story pins were a success.

Extra Tips For Creating Story Pins

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when creating your story pins:

• Plan your story. A great way to do this is to create the pins you want to include in your story pin in Canva.
• Use video whenever possible. Video is great when it comes to grabbing the attention of your followers.
• Max 20 pages and max 60 seconds per page.
• Use text to provide more detail, but (according to Pinterest themselves) DO NOT use links. However, to be clear, I give a little direction towards my site and profile.
• Save your story pin to any of your boards and make sure it is set to public.
• High-quality visuals
• Use catchy titles
• Go more in-depth than the regular pin.
• Inspire action! Use your CTA (call to action)
• The use of keywords is still CRUCIAL!
• Plan a good story. A good story always contains a beginning, middle, and end.
• Make it personal. Let your personality and creativity shine!

Examples Of My Story Pins

You can find some great examples of story pins on Pinterest in your home feed. Story pins have a little square icon in the top left corner with a number. The number indicates the number of slides/images in the story pin. That’s it! That is how you can tell if the pin is a story pin. Here are some of my story pins:

• Christmas Goodies
• 40% Off Sale
• Valentine’s Day Inspiration (shown below- feel free to pin for later!)

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Tips for Social Media Management

I hope my Pinterest story pins for beginners guide gives you enough information to get started on story pins.

Personally, I am super excited to see how story pins will take off and increase traffic numbers for creators, bloggers, and business owners. Honestly, maybe it is a little too soon for me to tell how they will work out in the long run. However, I have a hunch that Pinterest will treat story pins differently than regular pins, at least in the beginning.

One of the main things that the Pinterest team kept stressing during the Pinterest Creator Office Hour is that “if you want to drive traffic to your blog, start using story pins ASAP.” Think about it this way, if Pinterest is trying to test out the new format, don’t you think they will give story pins more exposure?

Do you have access to story pins yet? Have you been using them? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Creating!!

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31