Pinterest Algorithm Changes of the Fourth Quarter of 2020

Over the past few months, there have been noticeable changes to the Pinterest algorithm. It shouldn’t come as a surprise - all social media platforms change their algorithms constantly.

I’ve seen tons of posts in Pinterest Strategy Facebook groups from frustrated content creators wondering why their Pinterest impressions have decreased dramatically. If you are reading this, then you’re probably in the same boat. That’s why I decided to put together this blog post sharing my findings of the new Pinterest algorithm.

I started noticing a change in the algorithm back in the third quarter of 2020. It was clear that Pinterest was placing a huge emphasis on fresh pins. Fresh Pins are defined as “images or videos that they haven’t seen before. You can create several images that link to the same blog post, page, or product listing, and each of those would be fresh when saved to Pinterest for the first time.” [https://support.tailwindapp.com/en/articles/3702827-pinterest-best-practices-faq]

I changed my clients’ pinning strategy to accommodate this new change on Pinterest. However, I saw that it wasn’t helping with my own Pinterest strategy, so I decided to focus only on fresh pins and stopped re-pinning. Even so, my fresh pins were showing up with the bare minimum of impressions. I knew I had to investigate further. I found out several surprising things. 

1. Pinterest might be trying to encompass being more of a social media platform

Pinterest has begun introducing new features that lean towards a traditional social media platform such as story pins, live reactions to pins, comments, and followers. For a while, followers didn’t seem to matter much on Pinterest. It was still easy to get attention on Pinterest without a large following. With the new Pinterest algorithm, followers are playing a huge part in your pins’ reach. When you first upload a new pin, your Pinterest followers are the first to see it. How they react to your pin will determine how your pin is pushed out to a larger audience. 

However, you can still get engagement, impressions, and blog traffic from Pinterest with a small following if you practice proper Pinterest SEO. You can find out more about Pinterest keywords and SEO in this blog post.

2. Story Pins

According to the Pinterest Creators Festival as well as top Pinterest influencers, one thing that Pinterest is prioritizing is the story pin feature, which is still in beta mode. I used to have access to creating story pins but the option seems to come and go on the accounts I work in.

From what I have gathered, it seems that by using story pins, you’ll be able to increase your Pinterest audience and engagement dramatically. However, story pins don’t allow you to link to your blog post or website, which is one of the main reasons my clients and I use Pinterest.

3. Video Pins 

I am still finding that video pins outperform static pins which indicates that video pins are prioritized with the new Pinterest algorithm. So if you don’t have access to story pins, you can look into creating more video pins. You can easily create a video pin using Canva Pro - just take your static pin and turn it into an animation on Canva with one simple click!

4. Pinterest wants Users to Stay Longer on their Platform

This new algorithm is also indicating that Pinterest wants its users to spend more time on its platform for several reasons:

• You can’t link out from a story pin

• Video pins are becoming more difficult to navigate for users to find the “visit website” option 

• Static pins are no longer getting the instant viral activity they used to get 

• Promoted pins are showing up in the smart feed more 

• There are hints that Pinterest is evolving into more of a social media platform

What could your future Pinterest marketing look like? 

Just like any other social media platform you need to learn to work with the new algorithm and not against it.

For now, I would say create more video pins, but don’t completely abandon creating fresh static pins. Just keep in mind that they will take longer to take off - keywording is important here. Pinning on-trend can also be beneficial - you can find more about using Pinterest trends here. 

Tips for Working the New Pinterest Algorithm 

Move into the mindset of using Pinterest as a social media platform, have fun with creating new content and engaging with your audience, and embrace story pins when they get rolled out for your account. 

What we could consider not giving as much attention to would be group boards, constant re-pinning, and pinning over 30 times a day. 

Don’t give up and don’t stress the dips. Consistency will bring the best results. 

➡️ Do you want to outsource your daily pinning to a Pinterest manager and concentrate more on other things in your business?

➡️ Do you need more traffic to your website, leading to more sales? Did you know that you can hire me to bring more traffic to your site with Pinterest marketing? Check out my range of services here.