03.11.2021 at 05:00 pm

Pinterest is getting into direct shopping as part of its transformation into a content creator’s home rather than just an inspirational shopping site.
The company announced a new feature on its app called Pinterest TV, a series of live, original and shoppable videos focused on areas such as food, home, fashion, beauty, crafts and more.
Episodes arrive starting November 8, and are available to view on demand. The platform’s content creators host the shows. It includes a chat feature where viewers can ask questions and participate in the experience.
The first set of Pinterest TV shows includes:
- Christian On by American fashion designer Christian Siriano.
- Unfail My by director and screenwriter Monica Surage, who is joined by food makers across the site to serve up dishes for the chefs.
- Tom Tries featuring Olympic gold medalist in diving, Tom Daley, who is also a sewing instructor plans to learn new skills.
- Manny Does from beauty entrepreneur Manny Moa who focuses on common holiday beauty needs.
- Buy This by comedian Robin Schaal, who along with creators showcases products from brands like Patagonia, Melody Ehsani and Crown Affair.
To support the creative process, the platform is also launching a virtual studio, where producers work with content creators to help them develop content and provide audio and video support, so they can go live more easily.
New episodes will start streaming November 8 via the platform app for iOS initially. The products join the direct shopping experience where platform users are offered discounts from participating brands.
These presentations are 30 minutes long, and the platform explains that the idea is to create a new way for its users to become inspired.
Rather than simply browsing through images for products and ideas, as before, Pinterest TV allows the company to move into the video and content creator economy.
Pinterest must prove that it is worth the time and effort of the creators:

Pinterest is working to make video more meaningful to its platform. And earlier this month it introduced a viewing tab that resembles TikTok.
Users can scroll vertically through the creators’ video feed. They can also like, comment and save them to Pinterest boards.
These videos are a new type of content that Pinterest calls Idea Pins, a video-based feature that allows content creators to showcase some kind of idea or craft.
To encourage creators to create videos, the platform is investing $20 million in Creator Rewards. It also offers other tools to allow them to monetize content. Including affiliate links and partnering with brands in sponsored content and product labeling.
Pinterest TV is currently available to select creators. But the company is offering a subscription model for others interested in creating TV episodes through the new service.
Written by:

CEO of OTTO Magazine