How to Create Compelling Pinterest Video Pins That Drive Traffic

Video is becoming an increasingly important part of social media marketing. On visually-driven platforms like Pinterest, video can be a highly effective way to capture attention and drive engagement. In fact, video pins generate 50% more impressions and 2-3x more clicks than static image pins on Pinterest.

If you have a business presence on Pinterest, creating compelling video pins should be part of your content strategy. Well-made video pins not only get more views and clicks, they can help boost brand awareness and drive qualified traffic to your website or landing pages.

In this post, we'll cover some best practices and tips for creating video pins that get results. We'll look at what makes a good Pinterest video, strategies for repurposing existing video content, tools for creating original videos, optimizing videos for Pinterest, and steps for uploading and promoting your videos on Pinterest.

Follow along to learn how to make video pins that captivate viewers and convert Pinterest users into site visitors. With a strategic approach, video pins can become a valuable source of traffic and leads from Pinterest.

Choose the Right Video Style and Length for Pinterest

When creating videos for Pinterest, you'll want to keep their style and length optimized for the platform. 

In terms of length, videos under 15 seconds tend to see the highest overall engagement on Pinterest. Short how-to videos, quick tips, and mini product tutorials do particularly well.

However, Pinterest does allow videos up to 10 minutes long. So if your content requires more time, aim to keep videos under 5 minutes whenever possible. Anything longer risks losing viewer attention.

For video style, some effective options for Pinterest include:

• Tutorials - Teach viewers how to use a product, create a craft, style an outfit, etc. 
• Product Demos - Showcase your product and highlight key features and benefits.
• Listicles - Recap top tips, favorite products, DIY tricks, etc. Presenting information visually retains attention.
• Stop Motion - Use this playful style to demonstrate crafts, recipes, etc. 
• Before & Afters - Show transformative results of makeup, cleaning hacks, renovations.
• Explainers - Break down complex topics or ideas into engaging, bite-sized videos.

Experiment with different video styles and lengths to see what resonates best with your target audience on Pinterest. Keep them short, focused, and entertaining or informative.

Optimize Your Videos for Maximum Visibility

Once you've created compelling video content for Pinterest, make sure you optimize each video pin for maximum visibility. Here are some key tips:

• Orient videos vertically - Pinterest's layout is designed for tall, vertical pins so shoot and export videos in a 9:16 vertical format.
• Add text overlays - Include your brand name, product details, tips, or quotes on top of videos to reinforce key information.
• Use relevant keywords - Include keywords in the pin description that relate to your video content to help get discovered.
• Create eye-catching cover images - The thumbnail needs to capture attention, so choose an appealing frame from the video.
• Pin your site URL - Make sure your website or landing page is linked so people can click through.
• Link out to products - Use rich pins to add product links people can purchase directly on Pinterest.
• Add captions - Improve accessibility and reinforce your message with text captions.

Optimizing video pins for Pinterest isn't difficult, but following best practices can really help them stand out and drive more engagement on this highly visual platform. Take the time to create vertical, polished, informative videos optimized for visibility and you'll maximize your reach.

Promote Your Video Pins Effectively

Creating amazing video pins is only half the battle - you also need to actively promote them to get them in front of your target audience. Here are some tips for boosting video views and engagement:

• Share new videos on relevant Pinterest boards in your niche. This exposes them to your existing engaged followers.
• Promote video pins on your other social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Cross-promote great content.
• Collaborate with influencers in your industry to have them share your video pins with their followers for extended reach.
• Use video quotes as image pins to pique interest and drive people back to the full video.
• Create a "Videos" board and pin your latest videos to the top for easy discovery by visitors.
• Promote your best-performing videos periodically by repinning them to keep momentum going.
• Analyze your video metrics to double down on what's working and improve future video pins.
• Consider promoting through Pinterest Ads to expand reach to targeted new audiences.

With a multi-channel promotion strategy, you can expand viewership and get more traffic from your high-quality video pins. Test different tactics and find what resonates to make video a driver of results on Pinterest.

Video is only continuing to grow in importance across social media platforms like Pinterest. As a visual discovery engine, Pinterest offers immense potential to connect with new audiences through video content.

Hopefully this post provided some valuable tips and strategies for creating compelling video pins that capture attention and drive traffic.

The key is to focus on providing value for your target viewer. Make entertaining, helpful, or informative video content specifically tailored for Pinterest. Optimize for the platform, promote your pins across channels, and analyze performance to refine your approach.

If you’re ready to boost your Pinterest presence and results with video pins, now is the time to get started. Begin brainstorming video ideas and formats that would appeal to your niche. Leverage existing content you can repurpose or create fresh video pins from scratch.

Implement some of the best practices outlined above. Stay focused on adding value for your audience rather than overly self-promotional content. With strategic, high-quality video pins, you can build audiences and traffic on one of the web’s top visual platforms.