Pinterest has been attempting to rebrand itself as a platform for creators rather than merely a shopping inspiration site. Today, the company announced its latest efforts in this area, including more Snapchat and TikTok-inspired features including a vertical video feed and promises to invest $20 million in “Creator Rewards.” It’s also announcing the introduction of original content, as well as a slew of new creator tools, including the ability to reply to videos with “Takes,” compatibility for the Amazon Associates affiliate program, and more.
Idea Pins, a video-first tool geared for creators that are a cross between TikTok and Stories introduced earlier this year. Pinterest users can utilize these Pins to shoot and edit creative films utilizing features that are comparable to those found on other short-form video platforms, such as background music, transitions, and interactive components. The Idea Pins can be up to 60 seconds long, but unlike traditional short-form video, video can be just one aspect of what the Pin has to offer – it can also have up to 20 pages of material, which you can tap through like in Stories. This may allow a creator to describe the many steps necessary in reproducing a dish or DIY project.
Pinterest’s home page is getting a makeover to better display these Pins in a TikTok-style manner. When looking for inspiration, users can choose to “browse” or “watch” the Pins by selecting the appropriate option on the home feed. The new Watch tab takes visitors to a full-screen feed of Idea Pins, which you can browse vertically through and interact with by leaving likes and comments, or by storing the Pin for later access. Though watching some video-enabled Pins feels similar to perusing TikTok or Instagram Reels, you can still swipe through to see more of the Pins’ pages, just as you can with Stories.
(The bottom progress bar will dash instead of displaying the video’s progress if the Pin includes more pages.) TikTok heavily influences this Watch feed’s style, with full-screen videos and interaction buttons piled vertically on the right. While Pinterest is experimenting with the structure by adding support for more pages, the result looks and feels like a Pinterest-fied TikTok feed. Pinterest, on the other hand, may have an advantage in that it allows viewers to save Pins and arrange them into Pinterest Boards. In the meantime, TikTok’s ability to save and organize the content you enjoy and want to refer back to is insufficient, prompting many users to download videos to their phones instead. If TikTok does not fix this error, it may gain a competitive advantage, as many users want to save items like beauty tutorials, recipes, housekeeping tips, décor ideas, and other content that overlaps with Pinterest.
