If you use Pinterest for business and you haven’t yet tried your hand at Rich Pins, it’s time to explore! As I am sure you are already aware, Pinterest is continuously expanding their functionality for businesses, and although not recently new to the platform, Rich Pins have been introduced as a marketing tool to help businesses get more from the pretty platform.

Let’s start with the basics…

So what exactly are Rich Pins?

In the words of Pinterest ‘Rich Pins are Pins that include extra information right on the Pin itself.’ Pinterest also states that ‘there are currently (suggesting to watch this space for more) five types of Rich Pins: film, recipe, article, product and place.’ Specific websites provide the additional information for pins in these categories. These Pins can also be referred to as ‘Enhanced Pins’ or ‘Super Pins’, as that is exactly what they are – Pins with extended information.

Film: Lights, camera, action! Film Pins give cinema fans flick ratings, cast member information and even reviews to help Pinners learn about new film releases.

Recipe: Get ready, set, bake! Recipe Pins allow Pinners to make recipes from your site. The Pins can include information about ingredients and serving info to get Pinterest foodies inspired. Search filters also help Pinners to find exactly what they are looking for, from Vegan to Paleo to the super indulgent.

Article: Read all about it! Article Pins allow Pinners to feed their inner bookworm, helping Pinners to find stories that interest them by including information such as a headline, the author and a story description.

Product: Shop ‘til you drop - from your boards! Product Pins are the ultimate in e-commerce encouragement. These Pins include realtime pricing and information on availability and where to buy. Pinners also get notifications when Product Pins they have added drop in price – what Pinner doesn’t love a bargain?!

Place: Pack a bag and start your next adventure with Place Pins. These Pins include a map, address and phone number helping Pinners to plan their next wanderlust trip.

 

Who’s using them?

It’s no surprise to know that the biggest uptake in Rich Pins is of course, the use of Product Pins. Brands such as Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Sephora, and even Walmart are making use of Pins with extended information. Product Pins are certainly the ones I think can prove to be the most fruitful out of all of the Rich Pin categories (and that’s not my retail background being biased-honest), there really is justification behind the theory, particularly when looking at the differences between Enhanced Pins and standard Pins.

So let’s look at what makes a Rich (Product) Pin so different - firstly Rich Pins stand out significantly when Pinners search within Pinterest (instantly drawing Pinners to the sales link on the Pin). Secondly, Rich Pins show current pricing details and an obvious product link, whereas standard pins require the user to enter the price and the link only pops up when someone hovers over the image. Therefore, Product Pins should certainly help increase traffic to your website, which should hopefully correlate to an increase in conversions.

The ultimate goal is obviously conversions, however there are also other benefits for businesses using Product Pins. Thanks to the extended information these enhanced Pins can then appear more relevant and useful to Pinners – which of course should result in an increase in Pin clicks, repins and likes. Heightening your Pinterest credentials and brand awareness.

It is also worth mentioning here that the business benefits of Product Pins are not only for the big boys within the retail industry. Smaller stores and sellers can also benefit from using these enhanced pins. For example businesses that sell products via Etsy or eBay will also have product Pins with extended information – all having a positive effect on your bottom line.

 

How Do I Get Rich Pins?

Ok, so I’ve convinced you that you’d be mad not to give Rich Pins a try – but how do you go about implementing these? Pinterest has a developer’s page that covers the process by which you can enhance your own website with Rich Pins. Your website will need to be prepared with meta tags, so if you're not technical you might want to ask a developer to help get you started.

Then hey presto, watch the magic happen as Pinnners start sharing your products, recipes and movies and possibly more!