A Guide To Repurposing Content For Pinterest
One of my favourite things about marketing on Pinterest has always been the ease at which you can create content from what you already have on hand - there’s no daily showing up like on Instagram, no engagement or interacting with other accounts, you’re not even trying to grow a following! You simply post and ghost.
But how far can we really take repurposing content? Should you really just dump whatever you have on TikTok or Instagram on your Pinterest feed? Here’s my guide to repurposing content on Pinterest with strategic insight into the what, why and how:
Website Content for Pinterest:
I’m starting off with this because website content to me is king. Now you might not have a website for your business if you sell products on Etsy, you’re an Amazon or LTK affiliate marketer, or you’re a micro-influencer. There are cases where we can work around it. However, if you do have a website prioritising it is key for Pinterest success.
Blog content is where I would start. If you’re already creating weekly blog content you have the ideal setup - simply create optimized pin graphics for your posts and you’re set. If you have product listings on your site, optimize your images for Pinterest and you’ll be pinning those to Pinterest. I’d recommend having an opt-in to entice Pinterest users to sign up to your mailing list for further retargeting. Having a free download or a discount code offer is a great way to get Pinterest users onboard.
The biggest reason for focusing on website content here is because you’ll have claimed that website which Pinterest will recognise as verified content and are more likely to promote it. Anytime I pin a website link pin it will outperform the amazon affiliate Link (which doesn’t have a claimed website attached to it). I’m not saying the affiliate link won’t perform at all, I’m saying that a website link with the same content will outperform it every time.
Pinterest also values consistent new, fresh content in the form of new links on your website - it can be a blog link, product link or freebie link - so prioritising this will really help you please the algorithm. If you’re already creating content for your website, it’s really a no brainer for repurposing it.
Social Media Content for Pinterest:
Before I dive deeper into the individual social media platforms, I want to give some deeper insight into repurposing content from socials as a whole. We’ve seen a clear shift from ad-based marketing to more community-driven content curation. It’s important to understand that users come to Pinterest to find ideas, get inspiration and to solve problems. Pinterest users might want to find ideas for their upcoming birthday party or get inspiration for a kitchen makeover or they want to know how to turn old pallets into a table. They don’t want to hear a story about a founder of a company or watch a funny trend dance - this isn’t what the platform is about.
It’s quite an impersonal experience. Pinterest users don’t tend to follow other accounts but rather search for content based off of keywords or look through their curated home feed. It’s very much about ‘me’ and not about who is on the other side of the content.
So no, I wouldn’t just repurpose every TikTok or Instagram video. A trending viral piece of content from other platforms is very likely to fall flat on Pinterest unless it’s sticking to the big three: providing ideas, inspiration or solving a problem.
So providing valuable information or insight into your niche, showcasing your product features or it in use, sharing tips and tricks, how to guides, and step by step instructions are great for Pinterest!
Here’s how you can repurpose content if falls into the big three:
Instagram Content for Pinterest:
My main focus with Instagram content are Instagram stories and Instagram Reels. Instagram story slides can be used as Idea Pins (bonus points if you can link them to a relevant page on your website!) and Instagram Reels can be repurposed in Idea Pins and videos pins. I’d test both formats and see which gets you the best results - video pins are currently performing better for my clients.
TikTok Videos for Pinterest:
If you have a Pinterest appropriate video you can simply post it as an Idea Pin or video pin, again video pins seem to be performing better at this time for me. One thing to note is that Pinterest idea pins work off of multiple slides, like you might see in an Instagram story, so just having the one video playing isn’t great for engagement. I often add an end call-to-action slide to videos I’ve repurposed as Idea Pins or sometimes even a title cover page.
YouTube Videos for Pinterest:
I’ve worked with many high subscriber YouTubers on Pinterest and one of the best things to do here is first repurpose you video into a blog post on the website. Add some short copy to the page and optimize it for mailing list sign ups, subscribers and anything else you’re selling. You’d then market this as a regular blog post on Pinterest while having the benefit of a new link on your website which Pinterest loves. You could also design a pin that links directly to the YouTube video itself, but I’ve seen better click-through rates and overall success with marketing it through the website as blog content.
Short form video content works really well on Pinterest and is highly converting if it aligns with the big three, so repurposing your existing video content is a win-win and highly recommended.
Hello, I'm Megan!
An introvert at heart, Pinterest is the perfect platform for me. Simply posting your content using the right marketing strategies gets you an abundance of website traffic? No engagement or ‘showing up’ needed?
Who wouldn’t want to use this powerhouse of a platform …
