Pinterest advertising and the possibilities

Nakoa.Digital – Pinterest advertising and the possibilities

Pinterest is a visual search engine with a focus on images and videos and is used as a source of inspiration and to search for ideas and information. Users collect images and videos of ideas, products and services that interest them on their virtual pinboards. Articles on the topics of do-it-yourself (DIY), sport, living, nutrition as well as beauty and fashion/art are particularly popular. The number of users currently consists of about 80% female users. However, the ratio between female and male users in the daily new registrations is already balanced. Over 400 million people use Pinterest worldwide. About 15 million of them in Germany and 1 million each in Austria and Switzerland. So it only makes sense to use Pinterest to place advertising.

 

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Why use Pinterest for advertising?

  • Strong visual marketing thanks to expressive ads
  • Proactively target users with a high willingness to buy
  • 93% of “Pinners” use Pinterest to collect information and ideas in connection with a purchase decision.
  • Promoting awareness and sales of the products
  • Reach a tailored audience using the targeting options
  • Based on demographic data, interests and keywords, specific target groups can be defined and the right users can be reached.
  • Better search engine visibility
  • A company’s Pinterest presence is also indexed by Google. With the right SEO optimization , you benefit from two search engines at the same time.
  • Increase in website traffic
  • The desired website traffic can be generated quickly with visually appealing ads.
  • Promoted Pins are marked quite subtly on Pinterest and therefore look like normal Pins at a cursory glance.
  • 77% of active Pinterest users have discovered new products or brands on Pinterest.
  • The reason for the strong and trusting bond that users build with Pinterest could particularly lie in the relatively scandal-free and controversy-free existence of the platform.
  • Pinterest is used for the decision phase when it comes to buying a product.

Pinterest advertising offers a wide range of possibilities

Promoted App Pins

  • hassle-free finding and downloading of apps directly from the platform
  • if the user clicks on a promoted app pin, he downloads the respective app without leaving Pinterest and being redirected to an app store
  • This is ideal for promoting your own apps.

Default/Promoted Pin

  • Actually like an ordinary pin
  • Difference: is marked as Promoted Pin
  • Companies can set links to their own website or landing page with a stored company account.
  • Strengthening brand awareness
  • Interactions and traffic can also be generated via promoted pins

Promoted carousel pins

  • Similar to Facebook
  • Several images (currently 5) can be stored in a promoted carousel
  • Possibility to let off steam visually and creatively are, for example, the presentation of a product that requires explanation as well as a look behind the scenes of a company or an event

Promoted video pins

  • Video clips: your own products or services can be attractively presented in the form of moving images
  • Great for branding or engagement

Targeting options of Pinterest Ads

Interests
When playing out according to interests, the Pinterest algorithm is based on the interests of the user . In doing so, he records his previous interactions with certain topics. These include, for example, travel, housing or prescriptions.
Keywords
Pinterest users search for keywords on the platform . Advertisers have five individual types of keyword or search expression matches available here.
Exact match
Pins are shown to users who search for the exact same keyword or very similar terms.
Negative Exact Match
In contrast, ads of this type are not displayed for searches in which the stored keyword is used.
Broad Match
This type targets the respective keyword as well as synonyms, alternative words and similar spellings of the search term.
Negative Phrase Match
Similarly, in this type, a Promoted Pin will not be displayed for user searches if the full keyword phrase appears in the search term.
Phrase match
Here, advertisements are controlled if the respective expression is contained in the keyword. This also applies to alternative spellings and very similar variations of the phrase.
Demographics
Ad control is also possible based on demographic information. Age targeting is currently only available in the US. Current: Target group recording via location, language and gender
Retargeting/Remarketing/Audience Targeting
Users who have previously consumed the advertiser’s content and may have interacted with it can be specifically addressed. (Act-a-Like Audience)
The following are currently possible: 4 retargeting categories:

  • Customers who have already engaged with one or more Pins
  • Users of an email customer list
  • visitors to their own website
  • Act-a-like audiences : These are audiences that are very similar in behavior to the targeted customer (similar to lookalike audiences on Facebook).

What are the bid models for Pinterest advertising?

Similar to Google or Facebook, the Pinterest Ads take part in an auction when the ad is delivered. The platform aims to create value for both users and advertisers by delivering the highest quality ads to the right person at the right time and helping advertisers achieve their goals.
The auction mechanism decides which ad is served when, how likely user action is, and how much the action is worth to the advertiser. At a minimum, the advertiser pays only what is needed to outbid the next best ad in the auction or to win the auction. It is therefore quite possible that the fees are lower than the advertiser’s specified bid.

How much does advertising on Pinterest cost?

The costs depend on many factors, but first of all on your own budget.
The advertiser tells Pinterest how much they want to spend on advertising.
Pinterest then tries to get as many results as possible for that amount.
There are three different campaign types for Pinterest Ads:

  • increase awareness
  • establish brand preference
  • increase conversions

Due to the different goals, there are different billing models.
For each campaign type, you enter a maximum bid that you’re willing to pay for the action you’ve chosen – max CPC, max CPE, and max CPM.
These are rough values. These differ from industry to industry.

What campaign goals are available?

  • brand awareness
  • video views
  • traffic
  • App installations

Are there ad tracking options for Pinterest advertising?

There are many parallels to the Facebook pixel.
Pinterest also offers comprehensive tracking as an ad solution with the so-called Pinterest tag . After installing the Pinterest tag in the JavaScript code of the website, conversions can be tracked.
In this way, the actions of website visitors can be tracked after they have clicked on the promoted pins, campaign results can be measured and special target groups for remarketing can be built up.
The Pinterest tag measures 9 conversion activities:

  • PageVisit: Views of primary pages, such as product or article pages
  • ViewCategory: Category page views
  • Search: Search queries on the website, for example to search for specific products or branch locations
  • AddToCart: Items that have been added to the shopping cart
  • Checkout: Completed transactions
  • WatchVideo: Video playbacks
  • Signup: Website registrations
  • Lead: Contact requests/downloads on the website
  • Custom: definition of own events (creation of custom conversions)

Intelligent Pinterest algorithm

In addition to the image, users can include a description. So far, both together – image and description – were considered essential information for the Pinterest algorithm.
In this way, the Pinterest algorithm filtered out the appropriate images.
For more than a year, Pinterest has been able to recognize items and objects in images itself thanks to integrated artificial intelligence and can personalize its users’ requests independently.
In addition, this not only helps users, but also Pinterest itself. Like any other social media channel, users can promote images and place ads themselves. Image recognition enables precise targeting so that topic-related ads also appear in the hit list.

Important Ranking Factors

Similar to Google, the order of the results depends on certain ranking factors and the Pinterest algorithm. At Pinterest there are essentially four:
1. The quality of the domain
Like Google, Pinterest evaluates the domain, i.e. the user’s website, and offers relevant and appealing content for its users. However, this takes time, as the algorithm only gradually learns and evaluates the content and the reactions of the users to it . However, it is beneficial to verify its website .
2. The quality of the pin
The quality of the image and the image description are also analyzed by the Pinterest algorithm. Poor rankings go to images that are neither fresh nor particularly exciting for their users, so you should know that freshness and popularity are factors that also have a finite half-life in search results. That means even a pin that went viral a few months ago disappears from the coveted hit list after a certain amount of time.
3. The quality of the user and user behavior
Hard-working pinners are also an indication of the relevance of the Pinterest algorithm.
If the user’s pins receive a lot of attention , many save clicks and comments , this also increases the pinner quality. The Pinterest algorithm also evaluates the repins accordingly.
4. The relevance
Even if this factor is difficult to grasp, it can be influenced with the right keywords . Because the better a company is set up in terms of search engine optimization and conducts keyword research, the better the ranking on Pinterest will be.
Because the algorithm assigns a topic to each individual pin based on the keywords.

Tips for Pinterest Ads

  • Check and optimize Pinterest Ads regularly
  • Use demographics in Promoted Pins
  • Avoid using hashtags in Pinterest ads
  • Search for relevant keywords on Pinterest advertising
  • Horizontal images and Pinterest Ads do not work
  • Link Pinterest Ads to a suitable landing page
  • Avoid redirects in the Pinterest ad
  • Add call-to-actions to Pinterest ads
  • Do not use call-to-actions in ad images
  • Update Pinterest Ads bids regularly

Design your Pinterest profile correctly

High quality and aesthetic images
Pin high-quality images with high resolution and good lighting, and always have an eye for aesthetics.
The right aspect ratio
Select only portrait format images, two by three aspect ratio, 600 by 900 pixels.
The correct font
Pay attention to legible fonts and be sure to test it yourself on a smartphone, since 80% of users use Pinterest on the go.
Image descriptions and tonality
Don’t neglect the descriptions below the pictures. Even if Pinterest is seen as a digital photo book, the descriptions of your company can be helpful. Regardless of whether they are your own pins or repins: give your company a voice and choose a tonality that authentically represents the company and transports its values.

Pinterest SEO

Since SEO also plays a relevant role in Pinterest, not only the keywords and descriptions should be chosen on the basis of a communication strategy. A corresponding keyword should also appear in the file name of the pin.

Continuous activity encourages community building

Just pin and go: Neither social media in general nor Pinterest in particular works that easily. Continuous activity is therefore required. Network yourself and your company with interested parties, partner companies and well-known companies. The principle of reciprocity also applies here: If followers share or even comment on pictures, they will do the same. This not only attracts interested parties, but also increases the chances of ending up higher in the search results, because Pinterest is a channel in social media – and not in Media Social.

Evergreen content as an important element

Pinterest attaches great importance to current images, so you should try to pin long-lasting images – i.e. evergreen content . References to events or snapshots of meetings should therefore be avoided.

Leverage Rich Pins

Depending on the industry, use so-called Rich Pins from Pinterest. These offer additional information that you can integrate directly into the pin. There are currently three Rich Pins available: Product, Recipe, and Article Pin.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Pinterest leads to higher acceptance among advertisers. The diverse targeting and tracking options also show that Pinterest should not simply be dismissed as a branding channel or as a source of inspiration for housewives, but rather aims at marketing goals and can also lead to concrete conversions.
Pinterest is definitely competitive and can become an extremely exciting platform. Would you like tips for successful Pinterest campaigns ? Then read on here .

Need help?
Robin is founder and CEO of Nakoa Digital. With over 15 years experience in international e-commerce he is your expert for digital marketing. Contact him by mail or by phone at+49 89 215 276 60.