Rich pins

What are rich pins?

Rich pins are Pinterest's enhanced pin format that automatically syncs additional information from your website directly to your pins. 

Unlike standard pins, rich pins extract and display metadata from your source website, providing pinners with valuable context and details without requiring them to click through. 

This feature creates a more informative and engaging experience for Pinterest users while helping businesses and content creators drive more qualified traffic to their websites.

If you're looking to optimize your Pinterest strategy, rich pins should be an essential part of your toolkit. They represent one of the most effective ways to stand out in Pinterest feeds and deliver key information to potential customers or readers.

Types of rich pins

Pinterest currently offers three main types of rich pins, each designed to showcase specific kinds of content:

1. Article rich pins

Article rich pins are perfect for bloggers, publishers, and content marketers. These pins automatically display the article's headline, description, and author name directly on the pin itself.

These details give pinners a preview of what they'll find when they click through, making your content more attractive and increasing the likelihood of engagement. 

2. Product rich pins

Product rich pins are a game-changer for e-commerce businesses and online retailers. These pins automatically pull and display real-time product information, including:

• Current pricing
• Availability status
• Where to purchase the item
• Product ratings (when available)

The beauty of product rich pins is that they update automatically when you change information on your website. If you modify a product's price or update its availability, your pins will reflect these changes without requiring manual updates. This feature is especially valuable for businesses using social media for e-commerce.

3. Recipe rich pins

Recipe rich pins are essential for food bloggers, recipe sites, and culinary brands. These rich pins display comprehensive recipe details directly on the pin, including:

• Ingredients list
• Cooking times
• Serving information
• Nutritional details

By providing this information upfront, recipe rich pins help food-related content perform better on Pinterest, which has a massive audience of food enthusiasts and home cooks. If you're managing social media for a restaurant or food business, recipe rich pins can significantly enhance your Pinterest presence.

Benefits of using rich pins

Implementing rich pins offers numerous advantages for businesses and content creators looking to leverage Pinterest as part of their social media strategy. Here's why they're worth the effort:

Enhanced visual appeal and engagement

Rich pins stand out in Pinterest feeds because they contain more information than standard pins. The extra details make your pins more eye-catching and compelling, increasing the likelihood that users will save and share your content. This visual distinction can be particularly valuable in competitive niches where standing out on social media is challenging.

Improved credibility and brand recognition

By displaying your website name and logo alongside detailed information, rich pins help establish credibility and reinforce your brand identity. This consistent branding can contribute to better brand authenticity on social media and increased trust among Pinterest users.

Real-time updates

One of the most powerful features of rich pins is that they update automatically when you change information on your website. For example, if you update a product's price or an article's title, your pins will reflect these changes without requiring manual intervention. This automation ensures your Pinterest content remains accurate and up-to-date, which is crucial for maintaining social media engagement.

Enhanced searchability

Rich pins provide Pinterest's algorithm with more context about your content, potentially improving your pins' visibility in search results. The additional metadata helps Pinterest understand what your content is about, which can lead to better placement in relevant searches. This SEO benefit aligns perfectly with broader strategies for social media and SEO integration.

Higher conversion potential

By providing key information directly on pins, rich pins help users make more informed decisions before clicking through to your website. This pre-qualification can lead to higher-quality traffic and better conversion rates, as visitors arrive at your site with clearer expectations and stronger intent. For businesses focused on social selling, rich pins can be particularly effective.

How to enable rich pins on Pinterest?

Setting up rich pins requires a few technical steps, but the process is manageable even for those without extensive technical knowledge. Here's a step-by-step guide to enabling rich pins for your Pinterest account:

1. Create a Pinterest business account

Rich pins are only available for Pinterest business accounts. If you're using a personal account, you'll need to convert to a business account or create a new one. Business accounts also provide access to Pinterest Analytics and advertising features, making them essential for serious marketers.

2. Add appropriate metadata to your website

Rich pins work by extracting metadata from your website, so you'll need to ensure your site includes the right metadata tags. The specific requirements depend on the type of rich pins you want to enable:

• For article-rich pins: Add Open Graph or schema.org Article markup
• For product-rich pins: Add Open Graph or schema.org Product markup
• For recipe-rich pins: Add schema.org Recipe markup

Many content management systems and e-commerce platforms include built-in support for these metadata formats. If you're using WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO can help you implement the necessary markup without coding.

3. Verify your rich pins

Once you've added the appropriate metadata to your website, you need to verify your rich pins using Pinterest's Rich Pin Validator. This process confirms that Pinterest can correctly read and display the metadata from your site.

Important note: As of 2021, Pinterest no longer requires formal validation and approval for rich pins. If your website has the correct metadata, Pinterest will automatically display your pins as rich pins. However, it's still useful to check your pins with the validator to ensure everything is working correctly.

4. Start pinning content from your website

After setting up the necessary metadata, you can begin creating pins from your website content. Pinterest will automatically transform eligible pins into rich pins based on the metadata it detects. For optimal results, make sure your Pinterest content strategy includes consistent pinning and strategic use of keywords.

Managing rich pins efficiently with ContentStudio

While rich pins are powerful, managing a comprehensive Pinterest marketing strategy alongside other social platforms can be time-consuming. ContentStudio offers robust tools to streamline your Pinterest marketing workflow:

Schedule Pinterest content in advance

With ContentStudio, you can schedule pins for Pinterest with descriptions, titles, and destination URLs. This advance planning saves time and ensures consistent posting, which is crucial for Pinterest success.

Manage Pinterest alongside other platforms

ContentStudio allows you to manage your Pinterest account alongside other social networks in a unified dashboard. This integration makes it easier to maintain a cohesive social media presence across multiple platforms.

Track performance with analytics

Understanding how your rich pins perform is essential for refining your strategy. ContentStudio's social media analytics features help track engagement, clicks, and other key metrics for your Pinterest content.

Create visually appealing pins

The visual quality of your pins remains crucial even with rich pin functionality. ContentStudio includes design tools and templates to help create engaging images for social media, which can enhance the effectiveness of your rich pins.

Best practices for rich pins

To maximize the benefits of rich pins for your Pinterest marketing efforts, follow these proven best practices:

Ensure complete and accurate metadata

The effectiveness of rich pins depends on the quality of your website's metadata. Make sure your metadata is comprehensive, accurate, and properly formatted. For product rich pins, include details like pricing, availability, and product features. For article rich pins, focus on compelling titles and descriptions that encourage clicks.

Combine rich pins with strong visuals

While rich pins provide additional information, the visual appeal of your pins remains crucial on Pinterest. Invest in high-quality images that align with Pinterest best practices, such as vertical orientation (2:3 ratio) and clear, attractive visuals.

Use keyword-rich descriptions

Even with rich pins, the descriptions you add to your pins still matter for searchability. Include relevant keywords in your pin descriptions to improve visibility in Pinterest search results. This approach supports broader social media optimization efforts.

Pin consistently and strategically

Like other social media platforms, Pinterest rewards consistent activity. Develop a regular pinning schedule that includes a mix of your own content and curated pins from other sources. Tools like ContentStudio's content planner can help maintain this consistency.

Monitor performance and iterate

Track how your rich pins perform compared to standard pins, and use these insights to refine your strategy. Pay attention to metrics like saves, clicks, and conversions to understand what resonates with your audience. This data-driven approach aligns with best practices for social media analytics.

Rich pins vs. standard pins

Understanding the differences between rich pins and standard pins can help you make strategic decisions about your Pinterest content:

Information display

• Standard pins: Display only the image, title, and description you manually enter
• Rich pins: Automatically pull and display additional metadata from your website

Update requirements

• Standard pins: Require manual updates if information changes
• Rich pins: Update automatically when you change information on your website

Visual prominence

• Standard pins: May blend in with other content in Pinterest feeds
• Rich pins: Stand out due to additional information and formatting

User experience

• Standard pins: Provide limited context before users click through
• Rich pins: Offer more details upfront, helping users decide whether to engage further

For most businesses and content creators, rich pins offer significant advantages over standard pins. However, both formats have their place in a comprehensive Pinterest marketing strategy.

Common challenges with rich pins

While rich pins offer numerous benefits, they can present some challenges:

Technical implementation

Adding the necessary metadata to your website may require technical expertise or the use of specialized plugins. If you're not comfortable with code, consider working with a developer or using user-friendly tools like Yoast SEO for WordPress.

Metadata consistency

Ensuring consistent metadata across your website is crucial for rich pins to work effectively. Inconsistent implementation can result in some pins displaying as rich pins while others don't, creating an uneven user experience.

Limited control over displayed information

Rich pins automatically pull information from your website, which means you have less control over exactly what appears on your pins. Ensure your website's metadata accurately reflects how you want your content to appear on Pinterest.

Platform changes

Like all social media features, Pinterest's rich pin functionality may change over time. Stay informed about platform updates by following Pinterest's business blog or using a social media management tool that keeps track of platform changes.

Future of rich pins

Pinterest continues to evolve its platform, and rich pins will likely see further enhancements. Potential developments might include:

New rich pin types

Pinterest may introduce additional rich pin formats to support different content types or business needs, expanding beyond the current article, product, and recipe categories.

Enhanced interactive features

Future rich pins could include more interactive elements, such as shoppable features directly within pins or enhanced video capabilities.

Deeper integration with e-commerce

As Pinterest strengthens its position as a social commerce platform, rich pins may gain new features specifically designed to facilitate purchases and drive conversions.

AI-powered personalization

With advances in artificial intelligence, rich pins could become more dynamically personalized based on user preferences and behavior, showing different information to different users.

Staying current with these developments will help you maximize the effectiveness of your Pinterest marketing strategy and maintain a competitive edge on the platform.

Conclusion

Rich pins represent one of Pinterest's most valuable features for businesses and content creators. By automatically displaying additional information from your website, these enhanced pins improve the user experience, increase engagement, and drive more qualified traffic to your site. Whether you're promoting products, sharing articles, or publishing recipes, rich pins can significantly enhance your Pinterest marketing efforts.

To take full advantage of rich pins, ensure your website includes the appropriate metadata, maintain consistent visual quality in your pins, and consider using a social media management tool like ContentStudio to streamline your Pinterest workflow alongside your other social channels. 

With the right approach, rich pins can become a powerful driver of engagement, traffic, and conversions for your business.