Pinterest is reinventing its app for the TikTok era. To meet Gen Z’s demand for video-centric features, the company announced Tuesday that it will now allow users to create short videos of their curated Pinterest boards, designed for sharing on social media.
The new addition was inspired by the video sharing activity that was already happening on apps like TikTok. In 2022, for example, Pinterest introduced a new collage-making app called Shuffles that quickly took off among Gen Z creators on TikTok. The app, still in invite-only mode at the time, went viral when Pinterest users posted their so-called “aesthetic” collages and mood boards set to music and posted them to TikTok. Shuffles later inspired an official Pinterest feature for shoppable collages.
Additionally, Pinterest users have been sharing their boards on apps like TikTok using more manual methods, such as posting screenshots or using the app’s green screen effects to share their curated collections, styles, and individuality. Pinterest calls this type of sharing the “mecore” trend, noting that it has seen a 565% year-over-year increase in searches related to this activity on its platform. So-called “mecore” directories are also up 255% since last year, he said.
By sharing boards, Pinterest users will be able to share their boards in a more creative way on social networks. Shared boards will also include links that, when clicked, will take viewers to the full board on Pinterest, where they can browse or purchase the collected content. To date, Pinterest users have created more than 10 billion boards.
The addition may inspire greater social sharing among Gen Z users, who are already attracted to Pinterest, and could serve as a way to increase traffic back to the Pinterest app by taking advantage of the viral mechanics of platforms like TikTok and others.
The company partnered with power users and recording artists. Avril Lavigne and Earth Blow at launch to showcase the new functionality while helping position the feature as a way for creators to reach their fans in new ways. Lavigne’s board includes fashion inspiration and promotes her tour, while Whack uses Pinterest for her eclectic interests and to gather inspiration for her creative projects.
To use the feature, simply tap the share icon at the top right of any of your public boards to automatically generate a video. You can then click the “Add to Story” button or the “Download” button to share the video anywhere else, like TikTok. If you share to Instagram Stories, use the stickers icon to find the link sticker and then paste it into the board URL.
You can also edit Pins on the board or choose a different template before sharing them, the company said.
“Gen Z represents more than 40% of our global monthly users on Pinterest and is our most engaged generation, with a significant increase in the number of boards created by Gen Z Pinners compared to last year,” said Rachel Hardy, director of consumer products. marketing at Pinterest, in a statement about the new addition. “We’re improving the board’s features based on user feedback, and this year, board sharing is one of our critical investments as users value the ability to share their creative processes across different platforms and find inspiration from others. “.
