Pinterest is different than any other social media network. While other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter focus on news updates and your friend’s statuses about how they need another cup of coffee, Pinterest users log on to find inspiration for a new recipe, place to travel, craft to make, or product to buy. Users can also see advertisements from their favorite brands and companies automatically in their feed thanks to what is known as “Promoted Pins.” However, smaller companies have not been able to apply for this feature on Pinterest until recently.
On January 1st, 2015 Pinterest announced that anyone can now apply to use their Promoted Pins. Advertisers who want their target consumers to try something new, whether its a product, event or anything else need to apply for Pinterest’s Promoted Pins. While Pinterest’s competitors have been advertising for years, Pinterest has the upper-hand because it provides it’s users the ability to create boards for products they want to buy, or information on places they want to travel. These advertisments work just like regular pins, only they have a special “promoted” label, along with a link to learn more about what that means.The best part is that they look exactly like regular pins on Pinterest (see below). This way users do not become frustrated with annoying pop-up ads that open to a new tab.
According to Cnet.com, Joanne Bradford, Pinterest’s Head of Partnerships, said a test was ran in June on a handful of companies using the Promoted Pins.
“Tens of millions of people have added more than 30 billion Pins to Pinterest and brands are a big part of this…Brands help people find inspiration and discover things they care about, whether it’s ideas for dinner, places to go or gifts to buy. We hope Promoted Pins give businesses of all sizes a chance to connect with more Pinners.”
Different brand advertisers see Promoted Pins “re-pinned,” or shared by users, an average of 11 times per advertisement. That means that every advertisement will be seen, on average, by 30 percent more people than the brand had originally paid to show it because users have shared the advertisement with friends by “re-pinning.”
Long story short – If you want to reach out to potential consumers, Promoted Pins are the way to go. You can target certain demographics and reach customers who are searching for or have shown some type of interest in what your company offers.
You can apply to advertise through Promoted Pins on Pinterest here.
