Thursday Press #162: Pinterest news you should know about
[12 DEC 2024]
What’s poppin’, what's new?
Most of the world seems to be winding down heading into the holidays…
Holiday movies & matching PJs on, lights and notifications off.
We’ve even made it through some of the biggest (and most stressful) sales weeks of the year!
Give yourself a pat on the back for that one.
Lately I’ve been finding myself telling people the same thing — a boring life is a good life.
I don’t need something new or crazy or exciting going on all the time. In fact, that sounds really freaking overstimulating.
Hopefully all’s perfectly pleasantly boring on your side of the screen!
Someone — *cough cough* Pinterest *cough cough* — didn’t get the memo though.
Pinterest is wayyy leaning into the new year new me vibes and while I love that for her, it’s not quite my vibe.
Before you lay your head to rest and wait for dreams of dancing sugarplums, let’s debrief some of the changes and updates on Pinterest. →
What's New on Pinterest
First up, you may or may not have noticed that your Pinterest profile has a new look.
From the accounts I’ve been in, I think most people are seeing this view as opposed to the old profile layout.
I truly have no clue why they changed it, and I don’t like it, but for now, it’s here to stay.
A few things to note with the new layout:
Your header image isn’t covered by your profile picture anymore on desktop, but it probably still is on mobile, so design accordingly
The displayable space in your title is much smaller, despite the character limit remaining the same
Make sure the most relevant info is visible in the new layout!
This is more of a stylistic than functional change, so don’t stress too much about it!
Next, I’ve got some pretty cool & exciting insights to share from the Q3 Pinterest Investors Call —
📈 Pinterest reports more than 530 million monthly active users
This is a big jump from the traditionally quoted number of 400+ million users, and the user base is continuing to grow!
I know plenty of people have complaints about the amount of ads, AI, and other things, but despite that, people are still on Pinterest.
⏰ Pinterest is deprioritizing time spent on the platform as a measurement of success
When Pinterest initially introduced idea pins several years ago, the only logical reasoning was to increase time spent on the platform.
Okay, makes sense, most social media platforms monetize based on that.
However, in this call, the CEO pointed out that ⅔ of the time spent on Pinterest is search-based.
And if a user is spending more time searching for the relevant info or products, that’s actually a negative signal, because it means the algorithm is having a hard time surfacing what the user is looking for.
Instead, CEO Bill Ready emphasized the importance of engagement like clicks, saves, and “actionability” (shopping) as positive algorithm signals.
So what does this mean?
More than ever, Pinterest is quite definitively telling you to create content that prompts users to take an action — not just watch a video or look at something.
It signals an alignment of Pinterest’s goals as a business with your goals as a business marketing on Pinterest. HUGE WIN! 🎉
The last update isn’t necessarily something new…
Seasonal Content and Increased Ad Spend
If you’ve been seeing your Pinterest stats decreasing or traffic dropping, it’s most likely because of the time of year.
Around October, Pinterest starts changing its algorithm to prioritize holiday content.
If you don’t have holiday or seasonal content to promote, you’ll probably see lower stats through the end of the year.
The other factor at play is that a lot of companies typically increase their ad spend around this time of year.
Add that to the increased amount of ads on Pinterest, and you’re going to notice more difficulty getting your pins seen with that competition.
Neither of these things is a reason to change your Pinterest strategy. They’re a normal and expected event, and most things return to business as usual in January.
If you’re still worried about decreasing stats, check out this blog post, which has a few other potential culprits and what to do about them…
Why Are Your Pinterest Views Dropping?
Pinterest isn’t the only gal with something new going on…
Introducinggggg — The 12 Days of Christmas Deals!!
That’s right, it’s your own virtual advent calendar!
This Saturday, I’m kicking off a daily email series counting down to Christmas.
Each day will have a new discount for either something in the shop or a resource from one of my pals! 👀
I wanted to give you the heads up so that:
a) you know to keep your eyes out for it, annnd
b) if you already know you want your inbox spared from the daily emails, just clickity-click right here and Santa Sarah will fly right on over your inbox (without missing out on the normal issues of the Thursday Press!)
See you Saturday for the first day of deals!!
& in case you haven’t heard it lately, you’re doing a great job 🫶
Sarah