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When Pinners want fresh ideas, they come to Pinterest first. It’s where they find inspiration, plan their future and decide what to buy. You do the math on multiplying that kind of social platform power by the 320 million Pinterest users around the world. If you want to know more, check why you should include Pinterest in your digital strategy.
Want to learn what makes Pinners click? Scroll on as we break down the Pinterest ads format, outline Pinterest ad specs, how to upload videos, and share best-practice tips for creating ‘thumb-stopping’ video pins.
Get in the mood(board) and get ready to autoplay.
Pinterest ads format
What’s the difference between Pinterest ads and a promoted pin?
A promoted pin is Pinterest’s basic ad format with a single featured image. A promoted video pin (aka video ad) can further capture your audience’s attention and tell a strong story with engaging video content.
Why go video pin you ask? You’re already here on Clipchamp, so we don’t need to convince you of the power of the moving image. But, since you asked, here are some fun facts on Pinterest video ads:
Pinterest video pins are in .mp4 format
Pinterest videos autoplay as soon as they’re 50% in view.
Pinterest recorded 6 times as many video views in 2019 than in 2018.
Pinterest is highly optimised for search, both on the platform and through Google.
Pinterest ad specs
Promoted video pins are made either max-width or standard.
Standard width videos are the same size as regular pins, whereas max-width stretch across people’s feeds on mobile, grabbing all the attention from competing pins. More expensive? Yes. More effective? Yes!
Tip: Save money by repurposing existing videos from other channels and run them as ads on Pinterest
Promoted video specs
File type: .MP4 or .MOV
Encoding: H264
Video pin aspect ratio: 1:1, 2:3, 4:5, 9:16 or 16:9
File size: Max 2GB
Video length: Minimum 4 sec, maximum 30 min
Description copy: Max 500 characters
Check out our Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Videos for more.
Pinterest ads best practices
Mood board magic
Use strong visuals to bring your video pin to life.
All killer no filler
Hook viewers quickly. Videos from 15 to 30 seconds long do well, though how-to videos can be longer.
Knowledge is power
Pinterest’s research suggests the best performing video on the platform are how-to and storytelling videos.
#inspo
According to Pinterest, searches for ‘inspirational videos’ increased by 31% in 2019.
All about the overlay
Many viewers scroll without sound, it’s important to produce your video with overlay or captions so it’s not dependent on audio.
Strike a pose
Pick a strong cover image so viewers are keen to stop and watch more.
Optimize it
Make sure your pin copy is optimized for Pinterest search.
How to set up Pinterest video ads
Create a business account
If you don’t have one already, it’s free and takes less than a minute to set-up. A business account performs and looks just like a personal one, but gives you access to all-important analytics and the ability to post ads. You can even convert your existing personal account into a business version if you like.
Whip out the plastic
Yes, the account is free, but running Pinterest video ads is paid. You’ll need to add your billing information to your profile before you’re given the option to upload a video.
Start uploading
It's time to share your awesome videos!
Note: Unlike regular pins, you can only upload videos from the Ads Manager.
For more on how to build and launch your video ad campaigns and for Pinterest ads tutorials check out the Pinterest Academy for free bite-sized online courses.
Okay, now you’ve got the 101 on how Pinterest video ads work, enjoy this clever and innovative Pinterest ad example for inspo!
You're ready to go
Ready to grow your business by making your own Pinworthy video ads? Great! Make it even easier by signing up to Clipchamp for unlimited video creation and access to thousands of quality video and audio stock options to create your masterpiece.
There you go. Hey, “great vid pins!”
