Pinterest Launches Story Pins & More New Tools

Pinterest is launching its “biggest updates for creators yet,” which includes a suite of features and the debut of stories.

The company states in an announcement:

“These new publishing and measurement tools will give creators ways to easily publish immersive and expansive stories directly to Pinterest and reach Pinners looking for inspirational ideas and people to follow.”

Pinterest Story Pins

It was only a matter of time before Pinterest introduced its version of stories, a feature which is now ubiquitous throughout all social media.

That’s not an exaggeration either. With the launch of LinkedIn stories earlier this week, and now Pinterest stories, there’s hardly a social network you can log into where stories are not at the forefront.

“Story Pins is an all new type of Pin and publishing option that gives creators a way to tell dynamic and visual stories with videos, voiceover and image and text overlay.

We’re making it easier for creators who are eager to share their talent, passions and creativity to flow back directly into Pinterest without the need for a website.”

Stories are everywhere for a reason – they get get engagement!

Pinterest aims to make its stories more engaging and actionable than regular pins in a variety of ways.

Every company’s version of stories does something slightly different, and Pinterest is no exception.

The major difference between story pins, and other types of stories, is they can be saved to your profile permanently and remain discoverable over time.

“Ensuring fresh, positive and inspirational ideas are always discoverable on Pinterest is a key priority of ours. Creators are the heart and soul of Pinterest, building content that inspires people around the world. We want Pinterest to be a place not just to be inspired, but a platform where people can inspire others.”

In addition to user’s profiles, story pins will also appear across the home feed, search results, and places like the Today tab.

Story pins will be surfaced to other users via Pinterest’s visual discovery engine, which matches new content to people with relevant tastes and interests.

How to Publish a Story Pin

Story pins can be created directly in Pinterest using the in-app camera.

Users can record video, add multiple images, and overlay text with custom fonts over the visuals.

Pinterest users can also add a supplemental page to their stories with additional detail, such as ingredients or DIY materials needed.

Since story pins remain discoverable, and do not disappear after 24-hours, users can add hashtags to categorize them by topics or interests.

New User Profiles

Pinterest’s suite of new creator tools includes revamped user profiles.

A focus on original content

Profiles are being updated to showcase users’ ideas front and center.

There’s a renewed focus on content published directly by the user, not just other content they’ve saved to their boards.

New messaging feature

Pinterest’s new user profiles offer the ability for users to message each other via the Contact or Message card.

Messaging also includes emoji reactions, which is a quick way to provide feedback to users on their content.

Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest is launching new analytics tools, as well as an engagement tab, for users to track their performance and progress over time.

Users can find stats on individual pens or view the redesigned analytics dashboard which shows a more detailed view of content performance.

These features are starting to roll out now. Pinterest users in the US will start seeing story pins on iOS, Android and web today.