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Pin It to Win It: The Dos and Don’ts of Pinterest Advertising
Pinterest ad options can help you raise awareness, drive sales, and increase conversions.
Consider the most popular digital media platforms when developing a paid content promotion strategy. You could, for example, use Facebook marketing tools, Instagram posts, or a Google Ads campaign. However, there are compelling reasons to think about advertising on Pinterest.
Pinterest has a large and active user base, and Pinterest ads can frequently lead to purchases. With some knowledge and planning, Pinterest advertising can become an essential part of your marketing plan, despite its unique requirements and restrictions.
We’ll go over Pinterest’s advertising options and how a Pinterest ad campaign can help your digital marketing strategy.
What exactly are promoted pins?
While browsing Pinterest, you may notice a variety of pins, including pins from people you know and suggested pins.
Another type of pin is promoted pins. They are essentially paid Pinterest ads that target specific demographics, locations, keywords, devices, and other factors, assisting brands in increasing visibility and driving sales.
What other advertising options does Pinterest have?
Pinterest has expanded its advertising options beyond promoted pins.
- Idea pins: Idea pins are short videos or a series of up to 20 graphics that are used to demonstrate something. They are similar to Instagram Stories in format, but they provide more opportunities to convert viewers into potential customers, such as user tagging, interactive stickers, topic hashtags, and detail pages. A creator must tag an advertiser as a “business partner” in order to create an Idea ad with a paid sponsorship. The Idea pin can then be promoted by the brand.
- Try-on-product pins: These pins use augmented reality to allow users to try on cosmetics and accessories using their smartphone’s camera. This pin type requires an uploaded product catalog, a Pinterest business account (which is free to create), and a Pinterest account manager.
- Collection ads: These ads are ideal for e-commerce brands in the fashion, home decor, and beauty industries because they include a large featured video or image as well as three supporting images. When a user clicks on an ad, the ad detail page can display up to 24 images, exposing a potential customer to your product line. Pinterest can create this ad for you by selecting relevant products from your uploaded product catalog.
- Carousel ads: Carousel ads resemble regular pins but allow users to swipe through up to five images per ad. When a user pins your advertisement, all images are saved to their board. They can show related items or a single item used or worn in a different way.
- Shopping ads: These ads pull from your catalog and display a single image to the audience determined by the platform to be most interested in that specific product. Many e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, integrate with this feature directly.
- Product-rich pins: Product-rich pins pull and display detailed information from your websites, such as price, stock availability, name, and description. They are constantly updated as your website is updated. Another useful feature is that this pin appears in the Shop tab of Pinterest search results, increasing the visibility of your products. For this to work, you will need to add some additional code to your website.
The Advantages of Advertising on Pinterest
Pinterest has some distinct advantages for brands that use it as part of their marketing strategy.
- It’s all about exploration. While Facebook’s primary goal is to connect with others and Twitter is primarily used to make short comments, Pinterest was designed to help people discover new products and ideas. It’s a cross between a visual search engine and a digital bulletin board. As a result, users on Instagram are more receptive to advertising than users on other types of social media.
- Users are open-minded. When searching on Google, users frequently enter the name of a company or brand. According to Hootsuite, almost all Pinterest searches are unbranded. This means that smaller and lesser-known brands will have more opportunities to generate attention and interest on a more level playing field.
- It is inexpensive. Pinterest ads have a higher ROI than other digital platforms and are 2.3 times less expensive. According to WebFX, the average cost per click on Pinterest was $1.50, while LinkedIn cost $5.26, Instagram cost $3.56, and YouTube cost $3.21. Facebook was less expensive, at 97 cents, but Pinterest makes up for it in effectiveness. Half of Pinterest users say they bought something after seeing a promoted pin (Pinterest advertisement) for it.
- It has a sizable audience. Pinterest is used by over 478 million people each month, with roughly half of them residing in the United States. If your target audience is female, you are likely to find them on Pinterest, as more than 77% of Pinterest users are female, with women ages 25 to 34 constituting the largest demographic (30.4% of users). Pinterest users have money to spend as well: Pinterest is used by 45% of people in the United States with an annual household income of $100,000 or more, according to Pinterest demographic data.
The Dos and Don’ts of Pinterest Advertising
Consider the following best practices to get the most out of your Pinterest advertising budget.
- Make constant changes to your campaigns.
Pinterest is a visually driven site, and you never know which images will resonate with your target audience unless you experiment with different images. Don’t just leave your campaigns running once they’re up and running. Experiment with different variations, such as different imagery, photos with or without text, new keywords, higher or lower bids, and new audiences.
You’ll eventually find that sweet spot where you’re getting exactly what you want.
- Include CTAs in your description.
In the description of a pin, you can use direct calls to action (CTAs), such as “sign up today” or “download the free guide.” However, if you are too “salesy,” your pin will not receive clicks. Pinterest users come for appealing imagery and creative ideas, not to be bombarded with advertisements.
- Make use of relevant keywords.
The platform allows you to associate up to 150 keywords per promoted pin, but you don’t have to use all of them. Most users recommend including at least 30 keywords, all of which should be relevant to your pin and the page where users will land if they click. Irrelevant keywords will reduce your click-through and conversion rates, resulting in wasted ad spend.
- Use specific audiences.
While not as sophisticated as those found on other social media platforms, Pinterest’s targeting options enable you to show pins to users based on their location, device, gender, and language. Use these different audiences to your advantage, and send your pins to the right users at the right time. With the keywords you’ve chosen, you’ll be able to reach the people who are most likely to convert.
- Make an aggressive bid.
Because you only pay for clicks, it’s not a bad idea to bid a little higher when you first start so you can see your return. You’ll be able to start with a higher number of conversions, which may increase the relevance of your ad even if you lower the bid. Experiment with various options to improve your clicks and conversions.
The Dos and Don’ts of Pinterest Advertising
Along with best practices for Pinterest advertising, you should be aware of what not to do when advertising on Pinterest.
- Avoid using CTAs in the image.
While direct CTAs are permitted in the description, they are not permitted in the image. You can, however, include a “soft” CTA as an overlay on the image. “Check one more thing off your list,” for example, or “make today count.” You’ll want to be cautious here because Pinterest may reject your pin if it’s too direct.
- Do not use a landing page with a “hard wall.”
It’s tempting to direct users to a conversion page, but Pinterest will not approve your pin. According to its guidelines, the platform values the idea that when users click on a pin, they can find the information they’re looking for without having to enter any personal information. Instead of a landing page, direct them to a blog post that includes a link to the landing page.
- Avoid using horizontal images.
The way Pinterest is set up almost guarantees that you will never see a horizontal or landscape image. Long, vertical images complement the platform’s design, so the longer the better. Make sure users don’t have to scroll down to see everything. Upload vibrant, eye-catching images that convey a message about what users can expect if they click.
- Avoid using redirect links.
If Pinterest detects that you are redirecting users to a page, they may remove your pin. The goal is to make the user experience as smooth and simple as possible; redirects disrupt the flow when a user clicks. Before you order your ad, double-check the URL to ensure it leads directly to where you want customers to go.
- Avoid using hashtags.
Although hashtags are permitted on Pinterest, the platform is not fond of seeing them in advertisements. They appear spammy, and since you can add keywords to your campaigns, they are unnecessary. Pinterest will allow you to have a few, so adding your company’s specific hashtag or promoting one with your campaign should be no problem.
How Pinterest can help you with your marketing campaign
Pinterest advertising isn’t as prevalent as Facebook and Twitter advertising, but the platform has seen exponential growth and may be an untapped space for brands looking to reach new audiences interested in specific contact types.
Pinterest’s user base will continue to grow as the platform expands, adds new features, and enhances its capabilities for advertisers and users alike.
The nuances of Pinterest advertising necessitate an eye for design and an understanding of its users, but you can drive qualified leads to your site by utilizing effective Pinterest advertising strategies and tactics.
About the author
PAUL SMITH - For over 20 years I have worked with businesses, enterprises and brands in Australia, NZ, UK and US to drive digital marketing growth using organic and paid traffic strategies. No fluff or BS, just straight-forward return on investment.
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