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A few weeks ago, I was creating advertising graphics for my new course, How to Design SVGs. I wanted to make a few animated graphics, since they tend to perform well across my most popular social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram.

Honestly, I dread tasks that I consider ‘time sucking’ – like making animated graphics. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t take too long when I used a few of Canva’s newer templates. I made a mental note to come back to the blog and share a tutorial so you could make some animated graphics as well. Let’s take a look at it today.

How to (Easily!) Make Animated Graphics for Social Media

1. Head over to canva.com. Then, click the ‘Video’ icon on the home page.

2. Once on the Video Tab, select a template size. In this case, I’m choosing ‘Video Collage’.

3. Now, you’ve got video templates on the left hand side of the screen.

4. Choose a template and click on it. When selecting a template, look more at the layout of the template than anything else. The words, fonts, and colors can be changed. Also, you’ll notice that some of the templates are slideshows; while others are animated graphics. You can also use one of the animated graphics in a slideshow template. For this tutorial, I chose a real estate themed animated graphic that is part of the slideshow, but I am only using one slide.

5. Click the text to edit it. Change any colors as desired. Remember, you’ll want to make it match your brand colors.

6. Next, we need to add a video. Navigate to ‘Uploads’ on the left hand side and upload your video. I used my favorite screen recording program (Loom) to record a section of my website while I scrolled through some of the free SVGs on Cutting for Business. A short video of one of your products, a video of your workspace, or a video of your packaging all work well.

7. After your video is uploaded, click the video in the template and add your video.

8. Last, double click the video to resize it if needed.

9. As an optional step, you can adjust the video transparency if you’d like. I prefer to make it slightly transparent so that the text overlay jumps out a bit more. Click the checkerboard icon near the top, then use the slider to adjust the transparency.

That’s it! Save and download your video (Canva account required). The final video is ready to post to social media and looks like this:

The goal with animated graphics is to use a short background video to catch the eye of someone scrolling through their social media feed. Give it a try and spice up your customer’s feed!

It has always been difficult to convert Instagram posts to actual traffic to your website or shop. This is because you can only post a single link in your profile bio to direct shoppers. I’ve been using Linktree for a bit now without any problems, so I’m confident enough in the service to offer you the recommendation to use it. Today, I’ll share a quick tutorial on how to set it up.

What is Linktree?

Linktree is a third party service that adds a page to your Instagram profile that directs social media users to links and pages that you set up.

Tutorial: How to Set Up Linktree

1. Visit linktree.com and click the ‘Get Started for Free’ button, then complete the quick form. I’d recommend that your username be your business name (example: cuttingforbusiness).

2. On the next page, choose your categories. For most Silhouette and Cameo businesses, ‘Brand’, ‘Creative’, and ‘Ecommerce’ should work fine. Click the ‘Save Details’ button when you are finished.

3. Choose a plan. The Pro plans gives you additional features. It’s well worth the $6, but the Free plan may work for you as well.

4. If you are new to Linktree, you’ll need to verify your email address. Quick and easy, click the link on the email they send to you.

5. Now is the fun part! You’ll add links to places you want to direct Instagram users to. I think that the first link you enter should be your website or shop’s home page. For the other links, consider adding to a sale you are promoting on Instagram, a popular product in your shop, your About Me page, or anything else.

To add links, click the ‘Add New Link’ button, then fill in the details. Be sure to click the button to switch the link on to be viewable on your Linktree (this is the yellow switch on the right side).

6. Click the ‘Appearance’ link at the top of the page and take a minute to style your Linktree landing page. First, enter a short biography and upload a profile picture. Then, choose a background. On the Free plan, many of the background options are busy. I’d recommend a simple page that doesn’t distract from your links AND that matches your branding.

Advanced: On the Pro plan, you can add button effects, a thumbnail, scheduling, and more.

7. Finally, take your Linktree link and add it to your Instagram profile page. (Tip: You don’t have to include the ‘https://’ part. Example in your Instagram bio: linktr.ee/cuttingforbusiness.)

That’s it! You can get your Linktree up and running on Instagram in about 15 minutes. If you want to see mine: Click here.

Don’t Forget to Update It

If you are going to use Linktree, don’t forget to regularly update that links. I mean, no one wants to see links to your Halloween products in April!

You Can Create Your Own Link Page on Your Website

Oh! If you are pretty tech savvy, you can create the same kind of landing page from your website. Simply create a new page (make sure it is mobile friendly!) and add your links. Then, add your page to your Instagram bio.

Use it in Other Places

You can also use your Linktree on TikTok (or anywhere else)!

I recently talked about Pinterest Story Pins. Today, I’m sharing some ideas I’ve come up with to utilize the new format for your craft business.

10 Ideas for Using Pinterest Story Pins

• Share a step-by-step tutorial related to what you sell. This is particularly useful if you sell supplies like vinyl or blanks.
• Show your Pinterest followers how to use your product. For example, if you sell digital cut files, show your followers how to edit or personalize your cut file.
• Take your followers through a journey of creating one particular product. For example, if you sell greeting cards, show yourself designing the card, cutting out the pieces, gluing them down, packaging them, then shipping them.
• Use Pinterest Story Pins to share collections of products. For example, if you sell shirts, put together all the holiday shirts you sell into one Story Pin. You could do the same if you sell ornaments, wood signs, or anything else that can be grouped around a theme, season, or holiday.
• Show the flexibility of your products. If you sell cut files or digital papers, show a single product being used in various different ways or on several different products.
• Use Pinterest Story Pins to tell the story behind your business. This is a great opportunity to show off your workspace, you working, or other behind the scenes clips.
• Offer several different views of a particular product using short videos and still images tied together in a Pinterest Story pin. I think this is a great idea for products that are difficult to photograph, like an epoxied tumbler.
• Highlight happy customers in a Pinterest Story Pin. You can include customer submitted pictures along with screenshots of positive feedback.
• Collaborate with another maker and you can both post the same Pinterest Story Pin around the same time. You can show your products, the other maker’s products, and both of your products together.
• Use Story Pins to create a modified time lapse of anything. Establish the time of day in the first few pins, then work through the day in the rest. Or, start with hour 1, hour 2, hour 3, and so on. This would work well to show your day, or the creation of a product that takes a long time.

Remember, work smarter – not harder. The easiest way to get started with Pinterest Story Pins is to reuse the pins you’ve already made.

Pinterest has been testing Story Pins for several months, but they’ve only just officially been released as a beta test about a week ago. Story Pins are available to those with Pinterest Business Accounts, but you may or may not have access to them at this time.

What are Pinterest Story Pins?

Pinterest Story Pins are collections of up to 20 related pins. Unlike regular pins, Pinterest Story Pins do not allow a spot to include a link (for US based accounts). (Note: Pinterest Story Pins in other countries do allow you to add links, so this feature may be coming to the US.) Some social media commentators are stating that Pinterest is using Story Pins to promote users staying on Pinterest and not clicking to outside websites.

If you are thinking about Story Pins being similar to Stories on say Instagram or Facebook, they aren’t. They are permanent pins that do not disappear after a period of time.

How Do I Create a Pinterest Story Pin?

Pinterest Story Pins are created in Pinterest, either using the Pinterest App or the website. Here is a quick walkthrough using the Pinterest website:

1. From your profile page, click ‘Create’ along the top. Then, select ‘Create Story Pin’.
   

2. The pin builder will launch and you can drag and drop or upload your images or videos into it. The recommended image size is 1080×1920.

3. After uploading, the pin builder will switch views and you’ll see all the images you just uploaded.

4. A few things to know about the pin builder:

• You can change the order of the pins by dragging them around. You can add up to 20 images.
• In the ‘Layout’ tab, there are two layouts to choose from. One allows you to add text under it.
• The ‘Image’ tab allows you to edit the image.
• From the ‘Text’ tab, you can overlay text onto your image.

Click ‘Next’ when you are happy with your arragement.

5. Choose a theme for your Story Pin. You can choose from: Recipe, Crafts, or Blank. Then, add details about your pin. For my pins, I’m choosing ‘Blank’, and then adding details. It is important to put a link to where the buyer can buy your products in the details section. (Alternatively, you can also put your shop link on the images… or both!)

Click ‘Next’ after you’ve added the details.

6. Finally, add the audience details. Give your Story Pin a keyword rich title, choose a board, and add related tags. (Note: Tags are populated in Pinterest and there aren’t a lot to choose from.)

Last, click the ‘Publish’ button to put your Story Pin on Pinterest.

Are Story Pins Worth It on Pinterest?

So, are they worth it? In my opinion, it depends on your goal.

• If you are looking to drive traffic to your website directly from your Story Pin – then no, Pinterest Story Pins are not worth your time right now. They may be worth your time if links are allowed at a future date.
• If you are looking to drive traffic to your Pinterest account – then yes, Pinterest Story Pins are worth it. See, Pinterest has recently rolled out Story Pins and they are putting a lot of effort into promoting Story Pins throughout the network. Accounts using Story Pins see a lot of views on their Story Pins – and quickly. This may lead to new followers on Pinterest. Additionally, what I’ve personally seen is that it also leads to increased views on the pins I upload immediately before and after the Story Pins.

Example Story Pins

Interested in seeing some Story Pins live on Pinterest?

• Story Pin 1
• Story Pin 2
• Story Pin 3
• Story Pin 4

Next time, I’ll share ideas for using Story Pins in your craft business.

Need help using Pinterest in your Silhouette or Cricut business? Check out my book.