Pinterest Advertising

Pinterest has more than 450 million active monthly users worldwide, making it a prime platform for businesses to showcase their products and services. Unlike other social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Pinterest is often used by individuals who are in the research or planning phase of their buyer journey. Users come to Pinterest to discover new ideas, find solutions to their problems, or seek inspiration, which makes it a powerful space for businesses looking to advertise.

As a platform, Pinterest is based on the idea of “pins” that allow users to save images or videos they find interesting, often linking them back to websites. Advertisers can leverage these “pins” to promote their products or services through targeted campaigns. Pinterest advertising includes promoted pins, video ads, and carousel ads, among other formats, which are designed to blend seamlessly with the platform’s user-generated content.

Why Pinterest Advertising?

Pinterest offers a unique set of advantages for advertisers. Here’s why brands should consider using Pinterest as part of their marketing strategy:

1. Highly Engaged Audience
   Pinterest users are actively searching for inspiration or solutions. This means that your ads are shown to an audience that is more likely to be interested in what you have to offer. According to a study by Pinterest, 85% of weekly Pinners have purchased a product or service because of the platform.

2. Visual Appeal
   Pinterest is a visually rich platform, which makes it ideal for brands with products or services that can be showcased through high-quality imagery or video. Since the platform is based on visual content, ads blend naturally into the browsing experience, making them less intrusive than traditional display ads.

3. Targeted Advertising
   Pinterest’s targeting features allow advertisers to reach the right audience based on interests, demographics, search behaviors, and more. This ensures that your content is seen by users who are actively looking for content related to your industry, making your ads highly effective.

4. Long-Term ROI
   One of the unique features of Pinterest is the longevity of pins. While posts on other platforms like Instagram or Facebook tend to have a short shelf life, a pin on Pinterest can drive traffic to your website for months or even years after it is published. This is because pins are indexed by search engines and can be discovered years after they are first uploaded.

5. Shopping Features
   Pinterest has integrated shopping features that allow users to purchase products directly from pins. This is a powerful tool for businesses selling physical goods, as it streamlines the buying process and reduces the friction between discovery and purchase.

Types of Pinterest Ads

Pinterest offers several types of advertising formats, each designed to cater to different marketing goals. Here’s a breakdown of the most popular ad types:

1. Promoted Pins

Promoted Pins are the most common type of Pinterest ad. They are essentially regular pins that are paid to appear in users’ feeds or search results. They blend seamlessly with organic content, making them less intrusive than other types of display ads. Promoted Pins can be either image-based or video-based and are a great way to increase brand visibility and drive traffic to your website.

• Advantages: Native feel, higher engagement, greater brand visibility.
• Best for: Product launches, promotions, blog content, and e-commerce.

2. Video Ads

Video ads on Pinterest are a dynamic way to capture users’ attention. With the growing popularity of video content across all social platforms, Pinterest offers a great opportunity to showcase products or services through short-form video ads that autoplay when users scroll through their feeds.

• Advantages: High engagement rates, excellent for storytelling, great for showcasing product use.
• Best for: Tutorials, product demonstrations, events, or brand stories.

3. Carousel Ads

Carousel ads allow advertisers to showcase multiple images or videos in one ad. Users can swipe through the carousel, providing more interactive and dynamic engagement with the content. This ad format is great for brands with multiple products or services to showcase in a single campaign.

• Advantages: Increased engagement, ability to tell a more detailed story, versatile for showcasing a range of products.
• Best for: Catalog-based businesses, product comparisons, event marketing.

4. Shopping Ads

Shopping Ads are designed to promote e-commerce stores directly on Pinterest. These ads display products and their prices within the pin itself, allowing users to click through and make purchases directly on the brand’s website or Pinterest. This ad format is perfect for brands with online stores, as it simplifies the purchasing process for users.

• Advantages: Streamlined purchase process, higher conversion rates.
• Best for: E-commerce brands and retailers.

5. Collections Ads

Collections ads allow businesses to showcase a variety of products through one ad. When users click on a collection, they are taken to a landing page featuring all the products in the collection. These ads are particularly useful for businesses looking to promote product sets or themed collections.

• Advantages: Increased product visibility, highly engaging.
• Best for: Product bundles, themed collections, seasonal promotions.

6. Idea Pins

Idea Pins are Pinterest’s answer to Instagram Stories and TikTok. These full-screen videos or images allow brands to share creative and interactive content with their audience. Unlike traditional Promoted Pins, Idea Pins do not have a direct link to a website, but they are excellent for brand storytelling and increasing engagement.

• Advantages: Engaging, great for brand storytelling, building a community.
• Best for: Tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, influencer marketing.

Creating Effective Pinterest Ads

To create successful Pinterest ads, it’s crucial to understand the platform’s nuances and how to design ads that resonate with Pinterest users. Here are some tips for creating compelling Pinterest ads:

1. Use High-Quality Images

Pinterest is a visual platform, so your ads must be visually appealing. Use high-quality images that align with your brand’s aesthetic and are relevant to the products or services you are promoting. Vertical images perform best on Pinterest, as they take up more screen space.

2. Keep It Simple

Users scroll quickly through their feeds, so your ads need to capture attention instantly. Keep the text minimal and focus on strong, clear visuals that communicate your message quickly.

3. Incorporate Keywords

Pinterest is a search engine in itself, and pins are often discovered via keyword search. Use relevant keywords in your pin titles, descriptions, and alt text to improve your chances of appearing in search results.

4. Be Authentic

Pinterest users are looking for inspiration, and authenticity goes a long way. Be genuine in your messaging and ensure that your pins reflect your brand’s true voice. Avoid overly sales-driven content and instead focus on how your product or service can enhance the user’s life.

5. Use Rich Pins

Rich Pins are a feature that allows advertisers to add extra information to their pins. This could include pricing, availability, or product details. By using Rich Pins, you make it easier for users to learn more about your products without leaving the platform.

6. A/B Test Your Ads

Just like with any form of advertising, A/B testing is crucial to improving the performance of your Pinterest campaigns. Test different types of visuals, copy, and targeting strategies to see which ones resonate best with your audience.

Targeting on Pinterest

One of the standout features of Pinterest advertising is its robust targeting options. Pinterest provides several ways to target users based on their behaviors and demographics:

1. Demographic Targeting

Pinterest allows you to target users based on their age, gender, location, language, and device. This can be especially useful for local businesses or businesses that cater to a specific age group.

2. Interest Targeting

Pinterest offers a range of interests for advertisers to target. These include categories like fashion, home décor, food, and health. By selecting relevant interests, you ensure that your ads are shown to users who are most likely to be interested in your products or services.

3. Keyword Targeting

Pinterest is a search engine, which means users often search for products, services, or ideas by typing in keywords. Targeting keywords related to your business allows you to reach users who are actively searching for content like yours.

4. Behavioral Targeting

Behavioral targeting allows you to reach users based on their past activities on Pinterest. For example, if a user has been searching for or saving content related to home improvement, you could target them with ads for furniture or renovation services.

5. Lookalike Audiences

Pinterest allows you to create lookalike audiences based on your existing customer base. This is a powerful tool for reaching new customers who exhibit similar behaviors and interests to your current audience.

Measuring Pinterest Ad Performance

Once your Pinterest ads are live, it’s important to track their performance to ensure you’re getting the best possible return on investment (ROI). Pinterest provides a range of analytics tools to help you monitor the effectiveness of your campaigns:

1. Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest provides built-in analytics that shows the performance of your pins, including impressions, clicks, saves, and engagement rates. This data allows you to assess how well your ads are performing and make adjustments accordingly.

2. Conversion Tracking

Pinterest offers conversion tracking to help you track actions taken by users after interacting with your ads. This could include purchases, sign-ups, or other key actions. Setting up conversion tracking allows you to measure your ROI and optimize your campaigns.

3. A/B Testing

As mentioned earlier, A/B testing is an essential strategy for optimizing Pinterest ads. Pinterest’s platform allows you to test different variations of your ads to determine which one performs best.

Conclusion

Pinterest advertising is an incredibly powerful tool for brands looking to reach an engaged audience, particularly those in the discovery or inspiration phase of the buying journey. With its visually rich platform and robust targeting features, Pinterest offers businesses a unique opportunity to showcase their products and services in a way that feels organic and natural.

By understanding the different ad formats, creating high-quality content, and leveraging Pinterest’s targeting tools, brands can drive significant results through this platform. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, Pinterest has something to offer to everyone looking to connect with users in a meaningful and visually engaging way.