Pinterest introduced new article pins Tuesday; links to articles you’ve pinned can include a story’s headline and byline, plus a description as well as a link. The site says its users share more than 5 million articles each day. In that description, you can also throw in a photo credit.
News organizations with the right code should start seeing “rich pins” Wednesday, Pinterest spokesperson Malorie Lucich told Poynter in an email. Pinterest is making the change because it’s “seeing a growing number or journalists and media sites use Pinterest,” Lucich wrote.
- Some rich pins from Men’s Journal
The site’s ability to drive Web traffic may be a draw for news organizations and journalists. BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said in his interview for the “Riptide” project that Pinterest sends more traffic to his site than Twitter does. (The service is also a great way to search for images, BuzzFeed’s Ashley McCollum wrote in May.) Articles shared on Pinterest have an especially long “half-life,” John Koetsier wrote in June:
The key difference is that while Pinterest is a social network, it’s also an ideas-and-inspiration website, whereas Twitter and Facebook are social networks with a massive emphasis on immediacy. When people visit Pinterest, they browse, they search, they surf, and they uncover more pins.
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann recently announced the company would introduce “promoted pins.” Such ads “should be about stuff you’re actually interested in, like a delicious recipe, or a jacket that’s your style,” Silbermann wrote.
Pinterest has put together a guide for media people on how to use the service:
Tips for writers and media organizations on Pinterest by Malorie_Pinterest
Related: Why it’s time for journalists to pay attention to Pinterest & what you can do there | 5 ways journalists are using Pinterest
