Later & Pinterest Integration Guide

Overview

Later is a social media management platform that helps teams plan, schedule, and publish content across multiple channels. Pinterest is a visual discovery and bookmarking platform where businesses drive traffic and build brand awareness through curated pins. The integration between Later and Pinterest lets you manage your Pinterest strategy from a unified dashboard, eliminating the need to switch between platforms for scheduling and publishing.

This integration is particularly valuable for e-commerce businesses, lifestyle brands, and content creators who rely on Pinterest as a traffic driver. Rather than logging into Pinterest separately to schedule pins, you can batch-create and schedule content in Later, then push it directly to your Pinterest boards on your preferred schedule.

How the Integration Works

• Authentication: Connect your Pinterest business account to Later by authorizing the Later app within your Pinterest account settings or through Later’s integration dashboard. This establishes a secure API connection between the two platforms.
• Content Creation: Upload images and write pin descriptions directly in Later’s content editor. You can organize pins by board, add hashtags, and set custom URLs that drive traffic back to your website or other destinations.
• Scheduling: Choose your publish date and time for each pin. Later queues the pin and publishes it automatically to your selected Pinterest board at the scheduled moment.
• Board Management: View and select from all your Pinterest boards within Later’s interface, making it easy to organize pins across multiple boards without leaving the platform.
• Analytics Integration: Later provides performance data on your scheduled pins, though detailed engagement metrics may require cross-referencing with Pinterest’s native analytics for comprehensive insights.

Key Features & Capabilities

• Batch Scheduling: Create and schedule multiple pins in advance, allowing you to plan your Pinterest strategy weeks ahead and maintain consistent posting frequency without daily manual uploads.
• Visual Content Calendar: View all your scheduled pins across all connected social platforms in a single calendar view, helping you avoid content overlap and maintain a balanced posting schedule.
• Multi-Board Publishing: Organize pins across different Pinterest boards directly from Later, useful for brands managing multiple product categories or audience segments.
• Hashtag and Link Management: Add relevant hashtags and custom URLs to each pin within Later’s editor, ensuring your pins are discoverable and drive traffic to your intended destinations.
• Team Collaboration: Invite team members to Later to collaborate on pin creation, scheduling, and approval workflows, streamlining content management for larger teams.
• Content Reuse: Schedule the same pin to multiple boards or reschedule previously published pins, maximizing the value of your visual content library.

Setup Difficulty: Easy

Connecting Later to Pinterest takes approximately 5–10 minutes and requires no coding or technical configuration. You’ll need a Later account (free or paid tier), a Pinterest business account, and administrative access to both. The process involves clicking “Connect Pinterest” in Later’s social account settings, then authorizing Later to access your Pinterest account. Once connected, you can immediately begin scheduling pins.

What You’ll Need

• A Later account (free plan available; paid plans unlock additional features like team collaboration and advanced analytics)
• A Pinterest business account (free; conversion to a business account is required for Later integration)
• Admin or editor permissions on your Pinterest account
• At least one Pinterest board created before connecting to Later

Common Use Cases

E-commerce brands use the Later–Pinterest integration to schedule product pins weeks in advance, ensuring consistent visibility for new collections and seasonal campaigns. A fashion retailer, for example, might batch-create pins for spring products in January and schedule them to publish throughout the season.

Content creators and publishers leverage the integration to drive traffic from Pinterest to blog posts and articles. By scheduling pins that link to their latest content, they maintain a steady stream of referral traffic without manual daily uploads.

Marketing agencies managing multiple client Pinterest accounts benefit from Later’s centralized dashboard, which allows them to schedule pins for several clients simultaneously and maintain approval workflows before publishing.

Limitations & Considerations

The Later–Pinterest integration handles scheduling and publishing, but real-time analytics and engagement metrics are limited within Later. For detailed performance data on impressions, clicks, and saves, you’ll need to review Pinterest’s native analytics dashboard. Additionally, some advanced Pinterest features—such as Idea Pins (multi-page video pins) or Shop Pins—may have limited support in Later, so verify current capabilities before relying on Later for these content types.

Later’s free plan includes Pinterest integration, but advanced features like team collaboration and extended scheduling calendars are available only on paid tiers. Consider your team size and content volume when evaluating which Later plan best fits your needs.

Alternatives to the Native Integration

If the native Later–Pinterest integration doesn’t fully meet your needs, consider these alternatives:

• Zapier: Automate workflows between Later and Pinterest using Zapier’s pre-built connectors. For example, you could automatically create a Pinterest pin whenever a new blog post is published, or send pin performance data to a spreadsheet for tracking.
• Make (formerly Integromat): Similar to Zapier, Make offers automation scenarios that connect Later to Pinterest and other tools, with more granular control over data mapping and conditional logic.
• Buffer: An alternative social media management platform that also integrates with Pinterest and may offer different scheduling or analytics features if Later doesn’t fully align with your workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I schedule pins to multiple boards at once in Later?

No, Later requires you to select a single board for each pin. However, you can duplicate a pin and quickly reassign it to another board, making it fast to distribute the same content across multiple boards if needed.

Does Later support Pinterest Rich Pins?

Later supports standard pins with titles, descriptions, and links. Rich Pins (which display additional metadata like recipe ingredients or product prices) require specific formatting on your website. While you can schedule pins that link to pages with Rich Pin metadata, Later’s editor doesn’t provide a dedicated Rich Pin creation tool.

What happens if I delete a pin from Later after it’s been published to Pinterest?

Deleting a scheduled pin in Later before it publishes prevents it from being posted. However, once a pin is live on Pinterest, deleting it from Later does not remove it from Pinterest. You must delete it directly from your Pinterest account if you want to remove it.

Can I use Later’s free plan to schedule Pinterest pins?

Yes, Later’s free plan includes Pinterest integration and basic scheduling. Paid plans unlock additional features like team collaboration, extended scheduling calendars, and advanced analytics, but the core Pinterest scheduling functionality is available on the free tier.

Disclaimer

Integration features and capabilities are subject to change as Later and Pinterest update their platforms. This guide reflects the integration as of the publication date. Always verify current features and requirements on Later’s official integration documentation and Pinterest’s business resources before implementing this integration in your workflow.