Social Media Tips: How To Increase A YouTube Audience With Pinterest

This Pinterest Board, featuring an embedded Google Hangout Video, is an example of what Pinterest users typically discover and how unique content can make a difference

Pinterest is widely known for sharing images, but video is fast becoming a great second option. Adding YouTube videos is at the heart of that second option. Doing so has the potential to strength a YouTube audience, building subscribers, as well as adding variety to a Pinterest account.

The steps are simple. First upload the video you intend to share in a YouTube account - the video can then be pinned to a Pinterest board. To share on Pinterest, look for the share option and click the Pin It button to share it to one of your Pinterest boards. If you have added a Pin It button in your browser, you can use that as an alternative.

One tip: ensure that the thumbnail for the video is complementary and flattering to the video subject (or even existent - many videos are uploaded willy-nilly with no consideration of what appears when a video is part of a menu). In short, select a thumbnail image for your video, since Pinterest relies heavily on imagery to capture visitor interest.

After pinning a video to a board, you can optimize the entry with the following updates:

• Update the description to add keywords to help make it more searchable on Pinterest. Tailoring the description for your Pinterest fans is a great touch.
• Add the word “video” to the beginning of the description. Doing so adds extra attention for Pinterest followers accustomed to images.
• As an option, you can add the URL of the page or blog post where the video has been embedded in the pin’s description.

Once a video is pinned, you have the option to edit the link so that the pin directs to the website. Consider which metrics you are seeking to build - YouTube subscribers or analytics goals associated to the main website.

Now see how adding video impacts your metrics. For more on this, check out this Zimana post on Pinterest Analytics.