How to Repurpose Your Instagram Posts on Pinterest

Last updated on 13 February 2023

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One of the best things we can do as bloggers is work smarter and not harder. Repurposing our content across the platforms we use not only saves us time and sanity, but it also allows us to connect with different people across those platforms. And when you know how to repurpose your Instagram posts on Pinterest, then a whole new world opens up to you.

Instagram is one of the world’s leading social media platforms. And Pinterest, despite people’s misguided understanding of it (sorrynotsorry), is one of the most popular search engines.

The combination of the two is a match made in heaven, and in this post, we’re going to take a look at all the ways you could be utilising Pinterest to grow your Instagram account.

2 ways to share your Instagram posts on Pinterest

There are two ways to share your Instagram posts to Pinterest. The first is by simply using the ‘Share To’ function on Instagram, and the other way is to create a brand new Pin and link it back to your Instagram. Let’s look at both ways.

“Share To” function on Instagram

You can share your Instagram posts straight to Pinterest. It’s really simple too: simply select the top 3 dots on your post, select ‘Share To’ and then select Pinterest. You can then choose an image that you want to Pin, and which Board you’d to save it to.

Pros: Super easy and quick, takes people straight back to your Instagram post

Cons: You have to go back into the Pin once it’s published and add a description with keywords otherwise, Pinterest will just pull the first line or two from your caption and it’s not going to be optimised for Pinterest and it’s just a bit of a faff.

It’s also the wrong size for Pinterest. One of the best sizes for Pinterest is a 2:3 ratio, but your Instagram posts are too short and stubby, even if you use a ‘tall post’ at 4:5 ratio. Use a website such as Canva Pro to quickly and easily resize your Instagram images to suit your Pinterest Pin.

Create a new Pin for Instagram

In my opinion, the best way to share your Instagram posts to Pinterest is actually by creating a Pin that can look the same but is the correct ratio. This way you have more control over what it looks like, you can write a great caption using keywords, and you can still link back to your Instagram URL.

This option is going to be a lot better for repurposing your Instagram posts on Pinterest because you can make more Pins, schedule them out over time, and cater to a different audience.

So that’s what I suggest in terms of getting your Instagram posts onto Pinterest, and seeing as we’re talking about repurposing, then the second option is going to be a lot better for you because the first is just like sharing on another platform, like you would on Facebook.

But Pinterest acts very differently from those platforms, so we need to think about it differently. It’s a search engine more than it is a social media platform.

Keeping that in mind, we’re going to take a look at the three different types of Pinterest Pins and then how you could repurpose your Instagram posts into Pinterest Pins.

What Pins can you create on Pinterest?

There are 3 main types of Pinterest Pin you can create, and they all act a little bit differently. It’s important to know the difference between the 3 so that you can use them effectively when you’re growing your account.

Here are the 3 types of Pinterest Pins:

Standard Pins
Video Pins
Idea Pins

1. Standard Pins

Standard Pins are ones you’re probably the most used to. They’re usually the 2:3 ratio (Pinterest’s recommended ratio), and they link out to wherever you want them to. This is great for sharing your Instagram posts because you can do whatever you like.

Within the Standard Pin, you can also upload Normal Pins and Carousel. The Normal Pin (not the actual name, but it’s just one image that doesn’t have any video or animation – think Instagram Single-Image Grid Post) allows you to create a Pin that is eye-catching in itself. People will be enticed to click if you’ve created it well.

A Carousel Post is just like your Instagram Carousel: you can create a Pin that has multiple slides, both video and image, and also link out to an external source, or back to your Instagram.

2. Video Pins

A Video Pin is exactly what it sounds like: a Pinterest Pin that is a Video.

The Video Pin can also be linked to a URL of your choosing which means if you’ve posted a video on Instagram, you can easily repurpose it for Pinterest and link it back to your IG.

3. Idea Pins

Idea Pins are the newest member of the family on Pinterest, and you want to think of them sort of like Stories, sort of like Instagram Guides. You can create slides of context which will automatically scroll through when viewers are checking them out, and it can be a mix of Image and Video. You can create Idea Pins using the Pinterest Idea Pin Creator, add text over the top, stickers, and link up affiliate links.

Speaking of linking, you can’t at the moment, link to anywhere you like, like you can with the other Pins types. Some accounts allow you to link to Affiliate links like Amazon through Idea Pins, but it doesn’t seem to be available on my account, so bear that in mind.

How to effectively repurpose your Instagram posts on Pinterest

So now you know the 3 main types of Pins, you’re ready to repurpose your Instagram posts on Pinterest! As Pinterest allows us (mostly) to link up whatever URL we’d like, we can easily start making use of Pinterest and growing our Instagram account through the platform.

In this section, I’m going to give you some ideas as to how you can effectively repurpose your Instagram posts on Pinterest, using the 3 different Pin types we talked about before.

Remember: You need to resize your Instagram images to fit Pinterest 2:3 ratio for Standard and Video Pins, and a 9:16 for the Idea Pin (like Facebook and Instagram Stories and Reels). Use a programme such as Canva Pro to quickly and easily resize your image.

4 Ways to Use Instagram with Pinterest Standard Pins

Your Post on Instagram	Turn it into this on Pinterest
A static image of you with a killer caption	Resize it then add a hook or a title on top with Canva or another design programme. Tell the people on Pinterest what your post is about.
A Live video, by yourself or with others	If you’ve created a cover for your Live on Instagram, this is a great opportunity to post it on Pinterest too. Adjust the size if need be, and make sure the new Pin is descriptive for people to find.
A Guide with super helpful tips	Create a Pin on Pinterest that links back to your Guide. You might call it something like ‘Top Tips on using Social Media as a Busy Mum” or “The Best Content Creation Tips” … or whatever your IG Guide is about.
A Carousel you’ve posted	Perfect for Pinterest! Simply resize with Canva and upload to Pinterest as a Carousel. If you have any Calls to Action on your final Instagram slides, just make sure they’re relevant for Pinterest.

3 Ways to Use Instagram with Pinterest Video Pins

There are 2 ways you could repurpose your Instagram posts on Pinterest as a Video Pin. The first is to take any of your Instagram static posts and add a fun moving element to them on Canva. Then download that new Pin as an mp4 and then upload it to Pinterest as a Video Pin!

The second way is to use Video content you’ve already created on Instagram and upload it to Pinterest. Here are some more specific ideas.

Your Post on Instagram	Turn it into this on Pinterest
A Reel on Instagram	Share your Reel on Pinterest, but only if it’s relevant and helpful to your Pinterest audience. People don’t go to Pinterest to be entertained; they go for inspiration. So if your Reel inspires, educates or shows off a product, go for it!
Any static post	Like I mentioned above, add a moving element to your static post and save it as an mp4. Link back to your original IG post.
Your account	You could create a montage of your top posts on Instagram, a snapshot of your account, or even your Guides. If you think your account can inspire and educate people over on Pinterest, why not showcase it? Link back to your IG account.

4 Ways to Use Instagram with Pinterest Idea Pins

Idea Pins were released in 2020, and as I mentioned, they’re sort of like Stories over on Instagram. The ideal ratio is different for an Idea Pin than the other pins, but it’s the same as Stories and Reels. A reminder that you can add multiple slides to Idea Pins, a mix of video and images, but you can’t currently Link to anywhere you like, as you can with the other types of Pins. So just bear that in mind.

But what you CAN do is add a slide at the very end of the Idea Pin that says something like “Come hang out with me on Instagram … here’s my handle” or something like ‘check out the link in the comments to find me on Instagram” … because you can add links in comments.

Your Post on Instagram	Turn it into this on Pinterest
A Reel on Instagram	Again, only if it’s going to work with your Pinterest audience. If it’s an educational Reel, or it showcases your products, post it! If it’s just motivational or if it’s you dancing around, then just discern whether it’s going to be a good idea. You can always post it and see how it does, and if it does well, amazing! If not, stick to the inspo and educational content.
A Carousel	Take one of your Carousels from Instagram and resize it for a Pinterest Idea Pin. This is super easy to do, and won’t take long at all. Remember the Idea Pins automatically scroll through, so keep any text on your slides short and snappy.
A single post with multiple points	Create an Idea Pin from your single IG post by breaking up any points from your Instagram post into 1 x slide each. For example, if I wrote a post on 7 great email providers to check out, I might start with a cover image on my Idea Pin, and then for the next 7 slides I’d share 1 of the email providers, and finish up with a Call to Action that was something such as ‘Follow me on Instagram for More! Link in Comments!’
A Guide with helpful tips	We underutilise Guides on Instagram. But if you have one that showcases some of your posts, why not turn that into an Idea Pin! Call it something like “10 Posts on How to Create Great Copy” or “10 Best Posts on Travelling to England”. Or whatever your Guide is about.

At the end of the day

There are so many different ways you could be repurposing your Instagram posts for Pinterest. You just have to think a little creatively.

At the end of the day remember these things:

Pinterest is a search engine, so we need to think about it differently
We should be using keywords in our pins, and tweaking our Instagram captions to suit Pinterest
The image sizing for Pinterest is different, so it’s best not to just share straight from Instagram

So what are you waiting for? Go create some Pinterest Pins and let’s grow your Instagram account!

Which one of these ways will you try?