When it comes to adapting your existing content to an ever-growing list of social media platforms, we know that it can be a challenge. 

From formatting differences that vary from platform to platform, and overall content creation fatigue, it’s more vital than ever to find a way to do as much as you can with what you’ve got, before shelling out money for fresh product shoots and video footage. 

That’s why this week, we’re focusing on Pinterest ‘Idea Ads’, and walking you through how to make old content fresh so that you can get the most out of this useful business tool! 

What are ‘Idea Ads’? 

An ‘Idea Pin’, as Pinterest calls it, is an organic format that features multiple pages of video & image content, created natively on Pinterest to tell a story and inspire Pinners.

What’s great about these pins, is that they allow for multiple pages as well as different combinations of photo and video footage.

If businesses like the pins and want to push them out to a wider audience, they can take them a step further and turn them into ‘Idea Ads’ which encourage action from viewers by offering a destination URL, and the option to follow a business account. 

As you can see in the image above, the fresh formatting for Pinterest is eye-catching and sleek, but it does come with the requirement for solely vertical content. 

How do I convert my content into vertical format?

Overwhelmed with the concept of transforming all of your content into a vertical format? We get it. No one wants to have to reshoot product images when they already exist! 

Here are our best recommendations:

1. Crop the photos and videos that you already have using an external editing tool.  For those who are tech-savvy, externally editing your current content to fit into the vertical limitations of Pinterest is a decent (albeit time consuming) option. Trim the fat of  oversized content and focus on the most important product-driven parts of the photos or videos. While this option greatly depends on the limitations of your current content, if you have the time and capacity to do it, it’s worth a shot. 
   
   Note: Be careful of zooming in on product images too closely, which can lead to stretching, pixelation and decrease the overall quality of the ad.   
2. Utilize the built-in creation tool that Pinterest offers to edit your existing content. Of the two options, this is certainly our favorite! Using the features that exist within the Pinterest app allows for a lot of creativity and fun. You have the freedom to add stickers, logos, text overlays to diversify your content, and even background images or colors. The built-in tools also allow you to remove watermarks, and use approved music. Using the tools within Pinterest allows for a dynamic, more interactive user experience, and mimics trends that users are already adapted to through platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Here's an example we found from Pinterest of a simple ad that was totally transformed through the use of their in-app tools: 

Conclusion

In the ever-expanding world of digital advertising, marketing trends will continue to shift and and grow. Stay on top of the latest offerings from different social media platforms and don’t be afraid to reuse existing content in fresh, new ways!