One of the best ways to get your brand video out to the masses is by posting it on social media. And if you’re looking to use your video to increase visibility and boost sales, you should definitely consider Pinterest.
With the growth of Pinterest’s content base, and their introduction of the autoplay video, the platform’s proving to be a solid option, helping video marketers reach new, engaged audiences.
Though often underrated by marketers, Pinterest has built a dedicated audience, with over 200 million monthly active users. What was once considered a “craft” platform has evolved into one of the top options to share business, science, and networking content. Studies have shown that nearly 55% of people on Pinterest are interested in shopping for products, compared to only 12% of people on other social networks. This is a huge opportunity for businesses to use aesthetically pleasing images and videos to directly sell to consumers.
Here are some notes on how Pinterest’s developing video options can provide new opportunities.
Pinterest Autoplay
Pinterest videos used to be “click to play”, meaning that users had to click on the video for it to start playing. Oftentimes, viewers would scroll past promotional videos without clicking, which can drastically impact view rate metrics – if people don’t click on your video, they don’t see your brand, and you don’t make an impression.
Autoplay removes some of this concern by automatically playing videos as they appear in users’ feeds. A brand’s video will show up among other related pins – either on a person’s feed or in search results.
As you can see, videos start to play automatically, with the sound off. If the video’s interesting, the user can click on it to hear sound. This form is non-intrusive, creating a more frictionless experience. In fact, Pinterest’s autoplay feature is making Pinterest competitive with Facebook marketing, offering a new, lucrative, and engaged source of customers.
One of the best features of Pinterest’s Autoplay video is that it shows up in search results. If someone searches “honey skincare,” your skincare brand could pop up with a promoted video. This ensures a higher relevancy to the viewers of your video – the people who see your video are already interested in associated content, which makes them more likely to watch, be engaged – and ideally, convert.
Best yet, you can still use analytics software like Nielsen to track the demographics and metrics of your viewers. Pinterest works with you to ensure that your videos and marketing are constantly optimized. For example, Pinterest offers the capability to retarget people who’ve watched your videos with follow-up ads. This enables you to create multiple impressions and boost brand visibility.
Pinterest’s sponsored campaigns are also billed on a ‘per-impression’ basis. This means you’re ensured a higher return on investment, paying only for video views.
How To Use Pinterest Autoplay
Despite the Autoplay feature, users can still scroll past your video without a passing glance. The difference, though, is that you have two to three seconds to grab their attention beyond just the thumbnail – the video begins to play, and in the first few seconds, the viewer can decide whether or not they want to continue watching.
In most videos, you want to start with a catchy opener – you want the first few seconds to present some sort of problem or narrative that intrigues the viewer to watch more. However, with Pinterest Autoplay, this becomes slightly more challenging because you don’t have sound.
So how do you gain attention through visuals alone?
The quality of your video – In essence, the more professional and relevant the look of the video, the more likely a viewer will continue watching. This is especially true on Pinterest, which is a highly aesthetic-based platform, where people are looking for content (even business content) that appeals to their creativity.
This means you want videos that have:
- Bright lighting
- Contrasting colors
- Unique backdrops and settings
- Emotion-driven faces and people
You can also catch their attention with a key phrase or shot at the beginning of the video which draws them in.
For example, if you’re appealing to a travel-friendly crowd, you could show a man diving into the ocean in Bora Bora. If you’re trying to sell your honey skincare, you could show honey droplets falling on someone’s face.
Make the first shot relevant and attractive. If there isn’t an applicable scene, use catchy and engaging embedded copy.
What not to do – Don’t start talking about your company immediately – instead, begin the story visually, then, continue to soft-sell your brand using the four building blocks of video.
“Sight, sound and motion are the tools of the trade to engage a potential consumer and share a story. Pinterest launching Promoted Video with Autoplay allows marketers to entice consumers into the story and encourages users to lean in and experience the brands.”
– Shenan Reed
President, Digital, MEC North America
You’ll also want to format your video appropriately.
Although Pinterest allows for a variety of orientations, vertical or square is best for Pinterest. This is especially true as Pinterest videos only appear on mobile devices.
Moreover, length matters in order to keep engagement. Pinterest allows for videos of up to 30 minutes, but we recommend no more than 5-7 minutes long. The ideal Pinterest length is 15-45 seconds.
Additionally, autoplay works for multiple videos in a queue as well. If someone finishes one of your videos, the next video will start to play automatically. This can create an “episodic” experience for your viewers. In this way, we often recommend promoting short bursts of video that are part of a series in order to gain the interest of your viewer without losing engagement in a longer-form video.
The Bottom Line
According to Pinterest, 61% of their users enjoy watching brand videos on the platform. These viewers are 2.7x more likely to make a purchase on Pinterest if they first see a brand video.
With the new Autoplay feature, there’s room to grow visibility and impressions with video content on a platform, with an underrated marketing reach. You can tap into a new audience source on Pinterest with quality, intriguing, eye-catching videos.