As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases.

Last updated on December 23rd, 2023

Have you been spending more time than you ever imagined possible filming 15-second videos? How bizarre. Yep, I’m lookin’ at you, Instagram reels. But don’t sweat it, because you can transfer all of that hard work from Instagram to Pinterest.

Instagram and Pinterest are a match made in heaven! You put a lot of effort into your content generation, and as long as it’s value-packed, there’s no reason you can’t spread that value from Instagram to Pinterest.

As a Pinterest manager and coach, I’m going to be explaining this process of converting your content from Instagram to Pinterest from the Pinterest end.

Pause now and save for later!

Have a question, comment or thought to add? Leave a comment at the bottom and I’ll reply right away 🙂

1. Saving Posts From Instagram To Pinterest

This is effective at garnering repins of your content and sending people to your Instagram. This is most powerful for influencers, photographers and creators who share beautiful imagery that has vibes or an aesthetic that people love.

If you want to save your Instagram posts to Pinterest, the process is very simple.

This process works because each Instagram post has a unique URL. Pinterest loves new URLs (versus creators who have a few URLs and repeatedly upload new content leading back to the same destination).

This process is so straightforward that you can even do it on mobile:

  1. Open Instagram
  2. Copy the link of the post you want to save
  3. Open Pinterest, and you’ll be prompted to save the link
  4. Save it to a board
  5. Go to the pin and edit the description and add a title (learn how to correctly optimize on Pinterest here)

This may seem obvious, but remember this: pinning your Instagram posts will drive pinners to your Instagram account, not your website. If you’re only using Pinterest to drive website traffic, then linking Instagram to Pinterest may not be for you.

You may also like: How To Automate Pinterest Follower Growth

2. Turning Instagram Reels Into Pinterest Idea Pins

Idea pins were previously called “story pins,” just so you know! You can learn everything there is to know about them in my complete idea pins guide. I also have templates specifically made for idea pins that will help you get publishing ASAP:

This process is straightforward but had a number of steps. After you do it once, you’ll be able to effortlessly replicate it.

Important (!) Tidbits About This Instagram To Pinterest Propagation Technique

Propagating content from Instagram to Pinterest is smart. It conserves your energy when generating content and spreads your value out across platforms.

Pinterest actually recommends that you don’t propagate content from other platforms for idea pins. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t perform well in the algorithm.

In fact, my Instagram reels saves were pretty decent when I published them on Pinterest.

You may also like: How To Troubleshoot Pinterest

Given my testing, and what I’m seeing Pinterest share in the smart feed, the algorithm does not punish content that’s been propagated.

You may also like: 30 Pinterest Marketing Strategy Ideas

I don’t think you need to care about this, because frankly, Pinterest doesn’t seem to care. The Pinterest Creators account has a board called “Story Pins Inspiration” and to that board, they’ve saved pins that are blatantly propagated from other sources.

They’ve also shared content that seems to go against their best-practice recommendations. How bizarre.

I’ve seen many Instagram or TikTok videos do really well on Pinterest, but it’s not the ideal format. If you’re starting from scratch and making content specifically for idea pins, follow this guide.

The most important thing to remember when uploading your reels from Instagram to Pinterest is to make it make sense for the viewers and provide value.

Quick Idea Pins FAQ

How Do I Create An Idea Pin?

Idea pins are still relatively new (born in 2020), and depending on where you live they might not be available yet.

To see if idea pins are available for your account, open Pinterest and click “create.” Do you see the option to create an idea pin?

This is a screenshot of my Pinterest account (@WritingFromNowhere); feel free to come look at the dozens of idea pins I’ve published since the feature was released.

If you don’t have idea pins yet, you can apply with this form and Pinterest may give your account beta access.

How Is An Idea Pin Different From A Normal Pin?

In Pinterest’s own words, idea pins give creators more ways to share ideas. Specific, eh?

Here’s what you really need to know:

  • Idea pins are swipeable and have multiple pages or slides (these terms can be used interchangeably) that display text, photos and/or videos
  • Idea pins do not have a link to click on
  • Therefore, they must give pinners all of the information necessary to understand the point being made
  • They’re just like any other type of content marketing: to succeed, you need to be clear and provide value to the viewer

Pure imagery (like wanderlust photos, fashion, makeup styles, etc.) is not the goal with idea pins on Pinterest. Your opportunity here is to share something informative, which is the direction all content should be pointing, anyway!

iPhones with idea pin templates on the screens
Idea pins from my template shop.

My very first Pinterest idea pins were simple: easy DIY plant fertilizer and 5 steps to reducing your laundry’s footprint. Now, I’ve taken on more complex ideas like how to know if your career was the wrong choice and 4 things hurting your odds of living your dream life.

As long as it’s well explained, you can tackle any idea.

Why Bother With Pinterest Idea Pins If There’s No Website Traffic?

The point of a blogger using Pinterest is to direct users to their website, so without that potential, it’s fair to wonder why you should even bother.

You may also like: Real disadvantages of Pinterest

I have 2 points to convince you to give Pinterest idea pins a roll:

1. Content propagation, my friend

Take one piece of content and spread it far and wide for your audience to read, watch, listen to, etc.

It maximizes your efforts, and serves your audience as well: some individuals will prefer to consume your content via a podcast, while others would be better served by a written explanation or a YouTube video. Not everyone is on Instagram, so by taking your content from Instagram to Pinterest, you’re gaining exposure to a whole new audience.

Want recommendations on how you can work smarter not harder with your content? Get a Pinterest account audit:

Screenshot of Pinterest analytics up 485% with text that reads "1-on-1 Pinterest audit"
2. Being an early adopter Has advantages (serious ones)

In 2020, creators who embraced TikTok and Instagram reels saw *massive* brand reach, website traffic and seriously capitalized on being one of the first to the party.

They experimented, grew an audience around those specific features and were prominently featured on the platform because there were so few people generating that type of content.

Don’t sleep on new platform features. Idea pins have been around for a while now, but I still think there’s time to reap the benefits of being an early adopter.

I manage my own Pinterest account and a handful of client accounts as a Pinterest manager, and all accounts across different niches are seeing unprecedented initial reach with idea pins.

You are leaving money on the table if you’re executing Pinterest and Instagram strategies and are ignoring these new features.

Do you need a refresher course on Pinterest marketing? Consider getting a done-for-you strategy in Pinterest Popular, the ONLY Pinterest course that I recommend:

Flat lay of Pinterest course materials: a computer screen with course modules, an iPad with a workbook, an iPhone with a video. Text on the image reads "Learn from Pinterest Popular, the only Pinterest course I recommend."
Use my link and get $200 off.

What Are Instagram Reels?

Instagram reels are the latest shiny opportunity to go viral on IG. Reels are videos that last for 15 seconds or less, and yes, it was indeed a blatant attempt at keeping up with TikTok.

It’s a much different pace than IGTV videos, which need to be at least 1 minute long to qualify.

To understand what kind of opportunity there really was down the Instagram reels rabbit hole, I did an A/B test between IGTV and Instagram reels.

Two days in a row I uploaded two similar videos:

One was an Instagram reel of my bike ride through the Netherlands { reel }

The next day, I shared an IGTV of (hold onto your hat) my bike ride through the Netherlands { IGTV }

With similar hashtags, posted at the same time of day, in the first 48 hours, my IGTV got about 100 views, and my IG reel gathered 500+.

There seems to be a clear favoring of reels while it’s still new, which means there’s no time like the present to jump in and try them out. The exact same sentiment is true about Pinterest idea pins.

It makes perfect sense to marry these two new features and dive in while they’re hot.

Quick Note: Anatomy Of A Normal Idea Pin

Idea pins can include up to 20 pages. You don’t have to use all of them, and Pinterest encourages creators to use at least 5 of the 20 pages is preferred. (source)

Simply uploading Instagram reels into idea pins will break the normal convention, but I see Pinterest pushing propagated idea pins on the smart feed daily.

How To Turn Your Instagram Reels Into Pinterest Idea Pins

It will not take much work to convert your Instagram reels into idea pins on Pinterest. Follow these 7 simple steps.

Step 1: Export Your Instagram Reel

Inside of Instagram, save your reel to your camera roll. The audio won’t save (and if it does, DON’T use it unless you created the audio yourself). Don’t do it the backward way, where you record your screen watching the video so that you can use the audio (I see you!).

IG is protecting you from copyright infringement by doing this. Be cool.

Step 2: Go To The Idea Pins Creation Button

Open Pinterest and click “create,” the select “create idea pin.”

Reminder: if you don’t see the idea pin option, you simply don’t have access yet as it’s still in beta and you can apply here.

Step 3: Upload Your File

Drag and drop your saved Instagram reel.

Resist the urge to create a curated cover image for your idea pin: Pinterest has said that using a video as your first page gives you the best chances of sticking out of the feed (more on all of the best practices in my complete idea pin guide).

Another important reminder: edit your mp4 file name to include your keywords. Pinterest takes the name of your files into consideration with its SEO rankings. This goes for everything you upload to Pinterest.

Learn more about Pinterest SEO in my blog post with 30 quick Pinterest marketing tips.

Step 4: Design Your Idea Pin

Configure the Pinterest idea pin with any necessary text, background color, etc.

Step 5: Add Details

Write out the steps or bullet points that will give the information they need to complete this.

Step 6: Adding Details

Give your idea pin a title, assign it to a board and add tags. You can add up 10 tags per idea pin, but, as always with Pinterest tags, the options are limited.

Don’t use all of the tags unless they’re all relevant. Oftentimes, I only use 3 tags, and the reach doesn’t seem to be dictated by that number.

Step 7: Publish Your Idea Pin! Instagram To Pinterest Conversion Complete

Send your Pinterest idea pin out in the world and see what kind of results you get!

Keep an eye on the impressions within the first 12 hours – your idea pin will see much higher initial stats than a static pin or video pin in this timeframe.

If you’re already making informational Instagram reels, then you have nothing to lose by uploading that video as a Pinterest idea pin.

3. Instagram Stories To Pinterest Idea Pins

Instagram stories and Pinterest idea pins are already the same size: 1080×1920 pixels. Follow this exact process outlined above to convert your stories from Instagram to Pinterest.

4. Instagram To Pinterest Carousel Posts

Carousel posts on Instagram are the swipeable posts that you see in your feed. You can identify them on your feed when you see the little square icon in the right-hand corner:

Carousel pins are very similar. It makes perfect sense to convert your carousels from Instagram to Pinterest.

If you have a relevant URL on your website, such as a blog post or product page, consider uploading the same images as a carousel pin and uploading that to Pinterest.

Benefits of carousel pins on Pinterest:

  • There is another opportunity to engage with pinners: let them swipe through multiple images on a carousel before they decide to click through, or share so much value that they want to save. Just like Instagram, Pinterest loves the engagement
  • In my A/B tests, carousel pins seem to perform better than static pins (a standard pin) in terms of reach. The difference isn’t massive, but it’s noticeable.

Instagram To Pinterest Final Thoughts

Which type of content are you most excited to propagate from Instagram to Pinterest? I was most excited about the idea pins feature myself.

Then the next question is, what will you do with the time you save propagating your content from Instagram to Pinterest?!

Text on image reads "1-on-1 Pinterest audit" with a screenshot of Pinterest analytics up 485%, a keyword bank, a Pinterest audit intake for a a PDF checklist