Pinterest is getting ready to launch its advertising platform, Promoted Pins, which is currently in beta. Businesses will be able to use Promoted Pins to show their best Pins to a targeted audience, gain more Pinterest followers and drive more traffic to their website.
With an estimated reach of 47.1 million U.S. users by the end of 2015 and an estimated 59.3 million U.S. users by 2019, Pinterest is a social media force to consider when planning your social media advertising strategy.
How Promoted Pins Work
Promoted Pins will show up in relevant search results and category feeds on Pinterest based on a company’s selected targeting. Pinterest will offer Promoted Pins on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, so businesses will only pay for clicks on the Pin, not Likes or Repins. The Pinterest community is very consumer-oriented, so B2C businesses would best benefit from this platform.
Determine Your Goal
In order to have a successful Pinterest advertising campaign, you must first understand why you’re advertising on Pinterest. Do you want to increase your brand recognition? Increase product or service sales? Grow your email marketing list? Improve website traffic? Having a defined goal will help determine which Pin to promote and which audience to target.
Select the Right Pin
The Pin you choose to promote is critical. Pinterest is very visual, and the image needs to appeal to your target audience and engage people to read the text below it. It must also follow Pinterest’s Advertising Rules. The combination of image and text should be engaging and should compel your audience to click on the Pin.
For example, let’s say you own a bakery. Your Pin should consist of a beautiful, professional photo of a delectable baked good. The text should include a captivating name and mouth-watering description. It should also include a call-to-action, such as “Bite into one of these and visit Deb’s Delicatessen today!”
Most importantly, your Pin needs to be relevant to your business. For example, if your Pin featured a photo of a cute kitten with text saying, “Cute little fur ball!” it may receive a number of Repins and Likes, but it would most likely not receive many clicks and will not help achieve your business goals.
It’s also essential to add relevant terms to your Promoted Pin that will help it show up in search results, category feeds or other pertinent places.
Choose the Right Audience
Pinterest allows you to decide who sees your Pin. You can target your audience based on location, language, device and gender. The terms and keywords added to your Pin will also help further target the audience by interest.
Many people believe Pinterest is for crafty moms, fashionistas and aspiring chefs. However, according to a study by Pew Research Center, Pinterest saw a significant increase in male users in 2014. There’s now an estimated 6.6 million male users on Pinterest. There was also a significant increase in adults over 50.
According to DMR’s “By the Numbers: 90+ Amazing Pinterest Statistics” article, there are about 53 million unique monthly users on Pinterest in the U.S. And 23% of Pinterest users visit it at least once per day.
Let’s Get Started!
Pinterest is currently only allowing select business accounts to use the beta version of Promoted Pins. However, companies can request priority access.
Contact GREENCREST for more information about Promoted Pins or for help on setting up your Pinterest advertising campaign strategy!