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  • Kristie Hill

Create Pins for Pinterest’s Visual Recognition

February 15, 2017

It’s no secret around here that I have yet to decide on my “pin style.” I have done a lot of experimenting (yeah, we’ll call it that) on the type of pins I create for my blog posts. It’s actually going to prove beneficial for today’s blog post.

I went through one phase where I used creative pictures to convey the message of my article. Take this one, for example. In my head, we were all sitting down in a “Facebook Group” for lemonade. I don’t know, don’t ask. When I saved it to Pinterest on May 12, 2015, I was shocked to see that all the related pins below it were for lemonade or ice tea.bad pin example

Just a little over a week later, the Pinterest engineering blog announced that they have been building (since January 2014) machine vision: “Discovery on Pinterest is all about finding things you love, even if you don’t know at first what you’re looking for. The Visual Discovery engineering team at Pinterest is tasked with building technology that will help people to continue to do just that, by building technology that understands the objects in a Pin’s image to get an idea of what a Pinner is looking for.”

I promise that I am going to get to the tips for creating pins that show up. First, I want to get a little nerd talk out of the way about Pinterest’s visual recognition tools. Pinterest is one smart cookie. Anyone watch Person of Interest. It kind of reminds me of the Machine. Creepy…

Take note: Pinterest uses many ranking factors. Visual recognition is just one of the first things it can detect. Your titles, descriptions, rich pins and boards that the post go on will all play a major role on how and where your pins show up on Pinterest. For this article, I am only focusing on visual recognition.

Understanding Pinterest’s Visual Search Tools

Visual Search

When you see something on Pinterest that you want to know more about, but just don’t have the right words, you can use Visual Search. In the top right corner of a pin there is a magnifying glass (more commonly known as a search icon now) in a square box. Click it to open up the visual search. You can select the object you’d like to search Pinterest for by changing the size of your selection box.

Pinterest visual search is a visual recognition tool

Lens

Pinterest lens is still in beta mode and not released to the general public yet. It sounds exciting, though. Basically, while using the Pinterest app, you will be able to take a picture with your phone camera of something in-real-life, and then Pinterest will show you pins related to your picture.

Pinterest Lens

Shop the Look

Shope the look is also still rolling out. You can check it out in action here. Pinterest is using the object detection from visual search to detect products and then link you to similar pins. As shop the look develops, it will be a great tool for fashion and decor bloggers especially. Tip: make sure you include affiliate links for people to purchase! If they are going to be using the shop the look feature, they already want to buy. Easy commission.

So what do these features mean for you as a content creator and pinner? Having relevant images for your blog posts can help you be successful on Pinterest.

Relevant Images for Pinterest

“One of the most popular ways people find ideas on Pinterest is through Related Pins” – Pinterest

If you want to show up in related pins, having super relevant images will help increase your chances.

What we can learn from my Facebook lemonade pin, and this broom one and this bouncy ball one is that ambiguous pins aren’t necessarily the best route to go. (Unless you think that it will get you more clicks. Clicks are important too!) Try to include a pin for each post that clearly represents what the post is about. You’ll notice that my recent pins all include some sort of blogging tool (camera, phone, computer, etc) to help my pins relate to blogging.

When you’re photographing your posts, think of the products you are using. Maybe try a cast of characters picture like the Pioneer Woman.  With Pinterest View, pinners will be taking pictures of the ingredient and products they want to find ideas on.

My initial hypothesis was that since Pinterest has visual recognition, creating pins with the same colors and fonts would help relate your own pins together. In my head, it makes sense. After analyzing way too many pins, I found this is not necessarily the case. The visual search works by recognizing objects. If you use the visual search to inspect the whole pin, it will usually say it is a poster. If you inspect just the font, it will register as a font or quote. Still, those that had branded pins did usually have 2-3 of their own pins show up as being related pins. There are too many variables to know if this is because all of their pins match or if it’s just because their content is indeed relatable.

More tips for creating great pins

Use text on pins when they need more clarity.

Pinterest, as of right now, doesn’t read the words on pins. Text heavy pins are associated as being quotes. Which means that text doesn’t necessarily make your pin better. 

Here’s what Pinterest has to say about text:

“Consider text overlays for clarity Only use text overlay if the image doesn’t give enough context on its own.”

“Text overlays designed for clicks lead people to action. Include information that will help a close-to-deciding Pinner see that your brand or product is a fit. Highlight elements of the Pin that aren’t obvious from the image, like a special feature of a product.”

“You don’t always need a text overlay. But there are times when the image itself isn’t perfectly explanatory…

Use tasteful branding.

“Add tasteful branding. Your brand stands for something, so find a way to incorporate it into your Pin. Tasteful branding conveys credibility and helps people understand what your brand is about. It’s best to include your product or packaging in the image, but sometimes you’ll need to use a watermark logo instead. Don’t overdo your branding: you can choose between a product shot or a logo, but never use both in the same Pin.” Pinterest guides

Choose stock photos carefully

There are a lot of people that make a living selling stock photos, so I don’t want to totally bash them. I use stock photos all the time. Stock photos are super valuable for those of us that aren’t photographers. However, using a stock photo puts you at risk of being grouped with articles that used that exact same image. Take this one for example:

Stock photos relate to each other

Not to worry, Pinterest is more than just visual

As I mentioned earlier, Pinterest uses more than just visual recognition to serve pins. Descriptions, boards, titles, etc. all play a significant role in how pins are related. Over time my Facebook Group Lemonade picture has shown up in the right searches. As people have pinned it to relevant boards, pins about Facebook groups are now associated with it (There are still a few beverage related pins associated with it, though).

Go experiment with your pins

Head over to your own Pinterest account and inspect a few of your pins. First, what is showing up underneath as being a related pin? Is it on par with your pin or way off base? If it’s off base, how can you fix the title, description, or image itself to be more relateable?

Next, use the visual search tool on the Pin to see what terms your image is being associated with. How is your image doing and how can you improve future pins? If you’re a blog+biz blogger like me, you’ll have a hard time creating images that are visually associated with your image.

Save this post to your Pinterest or Blogging Tips board.

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Filed Under: pinterest, Popular Posts, Social Media Conversation: 30 Comments

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Comments

  1. Lisa Bonner says

    August 8, 2018 at 6:12 am

    I’ve read hundreds of posts on creating Pinterest images. This one, by far, had the best explanations, and imagery that makes it all make sense! Totally sharing with my readers!

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      August 8, 2018 at 9:08 am

      Thank you Lisa! I’m glad this has helped you know how to best create Pinterest images. 🙂

      Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      August 13, 2018 at 9:33 am

      So glad this one is helpful for you Lisa and thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  2. pranav phogat says

    July 21, 2017 at 8:56 am

    Hope your post will help me, I am a beginner at Pinterest and trying to attract traffic from Pinterest !

    Reply
  3. Saurav Bansal says

    May 18, 2017 at 12:22 pm

    I never understood Pinterest like how to operate ….. But after reading this i feel like trying again… Much clear now.. Thanks

    Reply
  4. Angie says

    February 24, 2017 at 12:44 pm

    A good looking pin can make a lot of difference whether or not someone clicks through… I want to know I’m getting quality, and sometimes the pin is the first place I’m checking for that. Great tips!

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 28, 2017 at 9:17 am

      Yes! The pin creative is definitely the main show on Pinterest.

      Reply
  5. Jitendra Dabhi says

    February 21, 2017 at 2:37 am

    Perfectly writen post. I am using pinterest and trying to getting traffic on my blog. Hope your post will help me.

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 28, 2017 at 9:18 am

      Me too! Pinterest is a gold mine for traffic. It takes a bit of chugging at first, but you can get it rolling.

      Reply
  6. Danielle Greco says

    February 17, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    This is interesting! Thanks for sharing. I didn’t know Pinterest had a visual search, good to know!!

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 28, 2017 at 9:20 am

      Yep, their visual search is a big part of how searching on Pinterst works.

      Reply
  7. Brittany N says

    February 17, 2017 at 2:28 pm

    Thanks for sharing, I just (yesterday) started making Pinterest pins for my blog posts. Before, I had just been pinning all of my photos from the post, and I would get some traffic, but not much. Thanks for sharing these tips!

    Reply
  8. Willow says

    February 17, 2017 at 8:44 am

    I think I heard somewhere else that Pinterest did a visual search, but I didn’t think much of it. I post mainly recipes, so my photos are always relevant, but it is good to know for other pins. Pinterest is my top source for traffic, so these things are good to know!

    Reply
  9. Mary says

    February 16, 2017 at 3:38 pm

    Wow, so much I had no idea about! I am definitely Pinning this post. : }

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 9:58 pm

      Thanks for pinning Mary!

      Reply
  10. Sam @ The Haunted Housewife says

    February 16, 2017 at 2:41 pm

    I just discovered the visual search on Pinterest about a month ago, and I absolutely love it. It’s genius. I’ve also been experimenting with my pins, sizes etc. to see what works best!

    Reply
  11. Lindsay says

    February 16, 2017 at 1:39 pm

    So interesting! I never knew Pinterest had visual recognition of images like that, but it makes total sense. Merci! xo, Lindsay | Paris, Meet Boston | http://www.parismeetboston.com

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 2:20 pm

      It does make sense for a visual platform to have recognition, doesn’t it? Good luck with your pins!

      Reply
  12. Lauren says

    February 16, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    I had no idea Pinterest had so much in the works! Very interesting post!

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      As a new-ish platform, I suspect we’ll keep seeing new developments from Pinterest.

      Reply
  13. Chrissa - Physical Kitchness says

    February 16, 2017 at 1:01 pm

    This comes at the perfect timing for me!! Doing a zoom call with some other bloggers this Friday about how I grew my Pinterst account so quickly and definitely mentioning all these new features. Thanks for making me look good (always)

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      You’re welcome. As always. Put in a good plug for me? 😉

      Reply
  14. Maggie Unzueta says

    February 16, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    Great article! I love Pinterest. It’s my number 1 source of traffic.

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 2:18 pm

      I think Pinterest is a #1 for a lot of bloggers. My blog would die without Pinterest.

      Reply
  15. Flavia Andrews says

    February 16, 2017 at 9:55 am

    The lemonade/ice tea pin is such a fun story, but like you said, with the right description Pinterest places your article in the correct search. Live and learn right? I try my hardest to convey my message in the title, description, and overlay, however, I must pay attention to this since I just posted an article with a stock photo that does not convey the message at all. It will be interesting to watch what happens next!

    Such valuable information Kristie. Thank You!.

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 16, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      Yep, the descriptions/boards did help it get to the right place. However, bloggers are always complaining that new posts don’t take off very fast on Pinterest. Having the image tell Pinterest where you fit could help.

      Reply
  16. Sarah Althouse says

    February 16, 2017 at 8:44 am

    articles like this show me how much more I have to learn about Pinterest!

    Reply
  17. Alysa Villelli says

    February 16, 2017 at 7:36 am

    This is a great post for bloggers and social media people. It’s important to know how to pull people in

    Reply
  18. Valerie Hansen says

    February 15, 2017 at 12:29 pm

    Wow excited about the shop feature! Also I had no idea about the visual search..this is all excellent info..now my head is swimming…lol

    Thanks for sharing..

    Valerie

    Reply
    • Kristie Hill says

      February 15, 2017 at 9:59 pm

      Shope the look is going to be perfect for you fashion bloggers. Thanks for stopping by Valerie!

      Reply

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