How Pinterest works in Heropost#
On Pinterest you publish Pins to boards, so in Heropost every board you add becomes its own account. If you add three boards, you'll see three Pinterest accounts in your workspace, and you choose which boards each post goes to.
Up to 250 boards are listed. Heropost lists the first 250 boards Pinterest returns; boards beyond those can't be added. Heropost doesn't ask Pinterest for access to secret boards, so they may not appear.
What you need#
- A Pinterest account with at least one board.
- Pop-ups allowed for app.heropost.io.
- The owner or Admin role in your Heropost workspace.
Connect your boards#
- Click your workspace name at the top of Heropost, then Accounts.
- Press Add Profile and choose Pinterest.
- Pinterest opens in a small window. Log in to the Pinterest account that owns the boards and press Give access.
- Back in Heropost, the Add Social Account window lists your boards under Pages. Tick the boards you want, or press Select All.
- Press Done. The boards appear on your Accounts page, ready to post to.
What you can post#
| Post | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Single image Pin | Yes | One JPG or PNG, up to 20 MB and at least 200 × 300 pixels. |
| Multi-image Pin | Yes | 2 to 5 photos, all the same shape (the same width-to-height ratio). |
| Video Pin | Yes | One MP4 or MOV, 4 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 2 GB. The cover is taken from the video. |
| Mixed photos and video | No | Use photos only, or one video. |
| Text only | No | Every Pin needs a photo or a video. |
| Board sections, alt text | No | Pins go to the board itself. |
| Text | Limit |
|---|---|
| Title | Optional, up to 100 characters |
| Caption (the Pin's description) | Up to 800 characters and 10 hashtags |
Each Pin has a title and a description. Write them in the Pinterest tab of the post editor.
Options in the Pinterest tab#
- Title: the Pin's title, up to 100 characters. Optional. It stays on the Pinterest tab even when the tab takes content from the All tab.
- Caption: the Pin's description, up to 800 characters. Use 10 hashtags or fewer.
- Take media, caption from the All tab: switch it on to reuse the All tab's photos or video and text.
There's no board picker on the tab: each Pin goes to the boards whose avatars you select in the editor. The Media Requirements link in the upload box lists Pinterest's rules. Photos get your watermark, if you set one for the board or the workspace.
Limits and holds#
- Pinterest's own limits. If Pinterest asks Heropost to slow down, or flags a Pin as possible spam, Heropost waits and tries again a few times before the post fails.
- Video processing. Heropost waits up to 5 minutes for Pinterest to process a video, then publishes the Pin.
- Connections expire. Pinterest sets how long Heropost's access lasts. Heropost renews it automatically every night in the week before it expires. If Pinterest refuses, or the access lapses anyway, Hero_Agent on Home lists the boards as needing attention: reconnect them.
Analytics and the Social Inbox#
- Analytics: Heropost doesn't collect analytics for Pinterest.
- Social Inbox: Pinterest isn't part of the Social Inbox.
The board list is empty#
If the Add Social Account window opens with nothing to tick, Pinterest sent no boards for the account you logged in with. The usual reasons:
- The account has no boards yet. Create a board on Pinterest, then add Pinterest again in Heropost.
- Its boards are all secret. Secret boards may not be listed. Try making one board public (edit the board and switch off Keep this board secret), then add Pinterest again.
- You're logged in to a different Pinterest account. Pinterest uses the account your browser is signed in to. Log out at pinterest.com, log in to the right account, then add Pinterest again.
Still empty? Contact support with a screenshot of the window, and we'll look at your attempt.
Errors and fixes#
When you connect or reconnect#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Authentication cancelled" | Pinterest's window was closed or blocked, or you didn't give access. | Allow pop-ups for app.heropost.io and try again. |
| Add Social Account is empty | Pinterest sent no boards for this account. | See The board list is empty. |
| A board is missing | It may be secret, or it's beyond the first 250 boards. | Try making it public. Boards beyond the first 250 can't be added. |
| "Selected account not found" | When reconnecting, Pinterest didn't return this board: you logged in to another Pinterest account, or the board is now secret or deleted. | Log in to the account that owns the board, and check the board still exists and is public. |
In the post editor#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Media is required" | Every Pin needs a photo or a video. | Add one. |
| "You can upload up to 5 images or 1 video" / "You can upload up to 5 files" | Too many files, or photos mixed with a video. | Keep up to 5 photos, or one video. |
| "Please select only one video file at a time" | You added a second video. | Use one video. |
| "Images must have the same width/height ratios" | The photos in a multi-image Pin have different shapes. | Crop them to the same shape. |
| "Wrong file format. Please upload JPG, PNG, MP4 or MOV" | Pinterest takes JPG and PNG photos, MP4 and MOV videos. | Convert the file. |
| "Image size limit: 20MB maximum" / "Video size limit: 2048MB maximum" | The file is too big. | Compress it. |
| "Duration of the video must be between 4 seconds and 15 minutes" | The video is too short or too long. | Trim it, or use a longer clip. |
| "Codec is not supported. For more information please check requirements" | Your browser can't read the video. | Export it again as an H.264 MP4. |
| Incorrect Image — "Oops, your image does not correspond to Pinterest requirements: This image is too small. Make sure your images are at least 200 x 300 pixels. Current image is {w} x {h}" | The photo is smaller than 200 × 300 pixels. | Use a larger photo. |
| "You can have up to 800 characters in caption" / "You can have up to 100 characters in title" | The description or title is too long. | Shorten it. |
| "An unexpected error occurred while processing your request." while you edit the description | Often, the description has more than 10 hashtags, which Pinterest descriptions can't take. | Use 10 hashtags or fewer. |
| Hovering Schedule All shows "Please select accounts for Pinterest" | Pinterest is on for this post, but no board is selected. | Select a board, or switch Pinterest off for the post. |
When a post fails#
Failed posts are listed under Content → Posting Errors. Pinterest's own messages start with "Pinterest error."
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Pinterest error." followed by a message ending "is too long (constraint: maxLength=800)" | The description is over 800 characters, usually from an automation or an AI tool. | Send the post again with Duplicate Failed, and shorten the description on the copy's Pinterest tab before you schedule it. |
| "Pinterest error." followed by Pinterest's message | Pinterest refused the Pin and gave its reason. | Read the reason, then send the Pin again with Duplicate Failed and fix the copy. If it's about access or the token, reconnect the board first. |
| "The media {id} failed to publish." | Pinterest couldn't process the video. | Export it again as an H.264 MP4 within the limits above, then send the Pin again with Duplicate Failed. |
Failed posts aren't sent again by themselves. After fixing the cause, open the post from Content → Posting Errors and choose ⋮ → Duplicate Failed: you get a draft with only the accounts that failed, ready to schedule. See The Posting Errors page.
Questions#
Can I add more boards later?
Yes. Add Pinterest again (click your workspace name at the top of Heropost, then Accounts, then Add Profile) and tick the new boards.
Does each board count as an account on my plan?
Yes. Each board you add is one social account in Heropost.
Why don't I see all my boards?
Heropost lists the first 250 boards Pinterest returns, and secret boards may not appear. Try making a secret board public, then add Pinterest again.
Can I post the same Pin to several boards?
Yes. Select every board you want in the post. Each one gets its own Pin.
Can I choose the cover of a video Pin?
No. The cover is taken from the video automatically.