Pinterest is known as thé platform for finding inspiration. Pinterest has no less than 250 million monthly users, of which 3.5 million are in the Netherlands. Pinterest is mostly used as a source of inspiration. This makes Pinterest different from other social media platforms and it is therefore called the visual search engine. The intention for which Pinterest is used is more in line with the orientation phase of the purchasing process. On Facebook or Instagram, people do not search for a new sofa that fits perfectly in the living room. This is what people do on Pinterest. So a perfect place to be present in the customer journey.
In addition, Pinterest research shows that they have 2 types of users. 10% of users, use Pinterest for inspiration and mainly follow and view brands they already know/use. But as many as 90% of users, use Pinterest for inspiration and in doing so, are willing to purchase products from new brands, which they have not encountered before. Pinterest also adds that 60% of its users use the social media platform for shopping.
In this blog, you will find out how Pinterest Ads work, what the benefits of Pinterest Ads are and we will give you important tips and tricks so you can get a jump start on Pinterest Advertising!
Are Pinterest Ads right for your business?
To start at the beginning, it is of course important to investigate whether Pinterest Ads fit within your marketing strategy and/or your (potential) customers can be found on Pinterest. Pinterest currently consists primarily of female users (over 70%), but there has been a large increase in male users. This is because Pinterest is a quick go-to site for finding and storing ideas and inspiration of any kind! Pinterest ads, or Promoted Pins, generally work best for businesses that sell products in those industries that dominate the Pinterest feed. These are:
- Home furnishings and decorating
- Cooking
- Fashion
- Hair & Beauty
- DIY (Do-It-Yourself) and
- Sports
This does not mean that only businesses within these industries can use Pinterest campaigns and get great results. With a well-aligned targeting or creative angle for the product or service, other businesses can also get great results. You can think of companies in education, photography, marketing, etc. In fact, it may just be that the target audience is on Pinterest and the company wants to remarket them so that the target audience is directed back to the website.
What exactly do Pinterest ads look like?
Pinterest Ads are really just sponsored Pins displayed on Pinterest to their users. Pinterest Ads can be shown in different places, namely on the home page, between search results, and with related Pins. There are four different types of Pinterest Ads. But what are the differences?
Sponsored Pin
Sponsored Pins look just like regular pins, but include a "sponsored" tag. This type of pin comes up faster and is shown to more users than other (nonsponsored) pins. When potential customers tap on the pin, they are redirected directly to the advertiser's website.
Furthermore, users can also pin, share and comment on these pins on other social media. This gives the following advantage: when others share the pin, the "sponsored" label disappears.
Sponsored Videos
It is also possible to advertise with videos. Two types of videos are possible:
- Sponsored videos at standard width are the same size as a normal pin.
- Sponsored videos at maximum width are double the width of a normal pin.
Thus, the video pin gets extra attention, especially in the Pinterest app. This is because the video takes up most of their app screen, reducing distractions from other pins.
Sponsored App Pins
Promoting an app? This can be done quickly and easily through sponsored app pins. In fact, this pin contains a button that allows users to install the app in an instant without leaving the Pinterest app. Therefore, these ads are only shown in the Pinterest app.
Sponsored carousel
A sponsored carousel contains 2 to 5 photos that users can "swipe" through. It is basically a bundle of different ads, as each photo gets its own title, description and landing page. Thus, a carousel is the perfect Pinterest Ads format to promote different products!
Pinterest Ads is a solution for any purpose!
When you create a campaign, an objective is also attached to it. Perhaps you want to gain a loyal group of followers. If so, an increase in consideration is the perfect objective. Or you want visitors on Pinterest to discover and buy your products. In that case, it's best to choose the goal "Generate Conversions.
Above all, choose a goal that aligns with your company's goals. The goal determines which bids and ad types are available. With the right goal, you will soon get great success.
Awareness
Increase reach and raise awareness of the brand or product
Consideration
Attract more Pinterest users to content on or off Pinterest
Conversions
Drive actions such as online sales, sign-ups and subscriptions
Offline sales
Encourage in-store sales
Targeting options with Pinterest Ads
For each ad group you create on Pinterest, you can target your ads to reach people interested in your products and ideas. You can combine the targeting criteria to create a targeting group as you wish.
- Targeting group: Create audiences based on your customer lists, people who have visited your website, or people who have previously done something with your content on Pinterest.
- Actalike targeting group: Reach new people who behave similarly to one of your existing audiences.
- Interests: Choose topics related to your ad to reach people with similar tastes.
- Keywords: You can use or exclude specific keywords or phrases to target people searching on Pinterest.
- Demographics: Choose gender, age, location, language or device to refine your target audience.
Additionally, Pinterest allows for audience expansion. This means reaching even more people on Pinterest by automatically targeting your ad to people searching for similar keywords or interests as the one you chose.
Tracking conversions with the Pinterest tag
When someone does something on your website, such as signing up for a newsletter or buying a product, this is called a conversion. You can get conversion reports for nine types of activity on your Web site, and you can view these conversions in ad management:
- PageVisit: measures views of primary pages, such as product pages and article pages
- ViewCategory: measure views of category pages
- Search: measures searches on the website
- AddToCart: measures when items are added to the shopping cart
- Checkout: measure completed transactions
- WatchVideo: measure video views
- Signup: measure signups for products or services
- Lead: measures interest in products or services
- Custom: records a special event unique to the website that is included in the report.
How much does advertising on Pinterest cost?
It depends on the target audience, type of ad and budget. In fact, certain types of Pinterest Ads are more expensive than others. For example, it is cheaper to sponsor a video at standard width than one at maximum width.
Furthermore, like other social media platforms, the platform works with minimum bids per ad type. That is the amount you are willing to spend on a Pinterest Ad per:
- Clicks on your ad (CPC or Cost Per Click).
- 1,000 impressions of your ad (CPM or Cost Per Mille).
Tip: If you are worried about spending too much on each campaign, you can set a spending limit per day. This will ensure you don't overspend!
All the benefits of Pinterest at a glance!
Brand new advertising opportunity
Advertising on Pinterest is brand new! This ensures that there is not yet much competition as on other platforms.
Added value for your audiences
Pinterest is one of the few platforms where sponsored content from companies does not bother. On the contrary, research has shown that the vast majority of pinners find that sponsored content adds value to the platform.
Unobtrusive marketing
Because companies have a central presence on Pinterest, a sponsored pin is much less noticeable. As a result, users are much more likely to click through to the advertiser's website.
Measurable success
Pinterest offers handy tools to measure the success of Pinterest Ads. For example, you can see at a glance the total number of impressions, the engagement rate and the average amount paid per conversion. This data can be used to adjust campaigns.
More brand awareness
Pinners mainly use Pinterest to find inspiration and ideas for future purchases. If potential customers are already convinced of your product or service in this phase, they will think of you more quickly when they really want to make a purchase. This puts you in the potential customer's Top of Mind!
Targeting
With Pinterest Ads, targeting can be done very precisely. For example, you can use your customers' gender, location, language, and usage devices.
Furthermore, Pinterest Ads have a unique advantage over platforms such as Facebook and Instagram: namely, they can be targeted by keywords. This gets ads to the right person much faster!
Tips for advertising on Pinterest!
Want to make your Pinterest campaigns even more successful? Then read our tips below!
Use storylines in video ads
Pinterest research shows that storylines in video ads do up to 32% better than a video with photos or a gif image. Make sure people can follow a story, this way your potential customers will have their attention with your ad much longer and are many times more likely to click through!
Note! Make sure the videos do not exceed 20 seconds. Otherwise, your potential customer will lose attention very quickly.
Show the product or service in action
People watch longer videos in which a demonstration is given. Videos that teach people how to use a product also do well. So: show your product or service in action!
Add the brand
75% of the content on Pinterest is posted by businesses. Therefore, for Pinterest Ads, it is quite normal to add the brand to your sponsored pin. This increases visibility and brand awareness.
Note! Do not put your brand/logo in the bottom right corner. This is because there will be a button that gives users more product information. It's a waste if your logo is covered by this button.
Target Pinterest Ads for special moments
Pinners are on Pinterest to plan their lives. Therefore, make sure you are featured at the right time.
Our conclusion: advertise on Pinterest? We say go for it!
Pinterest Ads is the perfect tool to drive more traffic to your website. Looking at where Pinterest appears in the customer journey, the extensive possibilities, and the relatively little competition, advertising on Pinterest can be very interesting for your business. And we say above all; GO FOR IT!