After an 18-month beta period, Pinterest has opened its self-serve ad platform for Promoted Pins, Pinterest Ads Manager, to all advertisers including small businesses. This will allow anyone to advertise through Promoted Pins, which can generate impressions and engagement for brands. Along with the news, Pinterest has also updated and enhanced capabilities in interest targeting, keyword targeting, customer database targeting, and conversion tracking.
According to Pinterest, the ad manager is “a simple, do-it-yourself ads tool designed for small and mid-sized businesses. It includes a bulk editor, so businesses can manage more campaigns at once, and advanced measurement, so you can accurately track the impact of your Promoted Pins.”
What’s New IN Pinterest Advertising?
1. Interest targeting
The number of interest-level targets expanded from 30 to 420 interests. Previously, Pinterest offered broad level interest targeting such as “fitness” or “food” but now they’ve expanded to include more specific interests such as “healthy drinks” or “runway fashion”.
This targeting can be useful as it reflects what searchers want to explore in the present and perhaps what to engage with in the future. Advertisers can leverage the extensive interest data on Pinterest users. Pinterest is unique in that Pinners plan and discover ideas early on this platform. This can be extremely powerful for brands that want to create awareness and visibility early on in a consumer journey.
2. Keyword targeting
In the past, keyword targeting was the only option available outside of basic demographic targeting (location, gender, device, etc.) Advertisers now have the ability to combine interest and keyword level targeting enabling better targeting towards audiences.
This targeting capability is beneficial because searchers use Pinterest while in the ‘consideration’ phase of the consumer journey – they might be more open to perspective products that looking for a specific brand or item. This targeting could increase leads by capturing potential (or current) customers in the beginning of their search.
3. Customer database targeting
Following Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn, Pinterest will allow brands to upload lists of customers’ email addresses for targeting purposes (note that the minimum amount of addresses to upload is 100).The platform will then allow advertisers to match their own customer database to its Pinners’ database, to target and/or exclude customers.
By using current customer data, this targeting capability could help drive brand awareness and lead to higher converting consumers.
4. Conversion Tracking
Pinterest has enhanced its conversion tracking. Advertisers can now return order value and quantity in conversion tag to track and optimize performance against revenue goals. Pinterest can measure the following conversions: pages visits, sign ups, and checkouts on advertisers’ sites as well as custom conversions.
The enhancement will help advertisers better understand how Promoted Pins are performing and what they are doing for businesses’ bottom lines. The tracking can guide advertisers in planning, assist in-market decisions, and inform annual budgeting. The enhancements signify how increasingly important it is to identify common purchase path, the most profitable channels, and how other forces affect revenue.
MOVING FORWARD WITH PINTEREST ADVERTISING
Early advertisers who have tested Promoted Pins state that ads have a longer shelf-life compared to other social media platforms. A promoted pin lasts forever if a user pins that promoted pin to their board or re-pins it. Advertisers have seen up to 20% additional free clicks from promoted pins after the campaign has ended.
Advertisers should be aware that they need to set up a business account (similar to Facebook Business Manager) and have pins created or readily available to promote (no dark pin feature). It will be much easier and faster to test Promoted Pins for brands that already have an organic Pinterest presence.
Even with updates and open access to the platform, there are still limitations (like all new social platforms) including a lack of audience reach and performance estimates or placement level reporting.
Digital audiences are increasingly drawn and influenced by visual platforms. Pinterest is expanding the ability to engage with consumers and gain reach through its shareability.
Photos: Pinterest for Business
