Pinterest went public in April of this year, showcasing the strength of the social media discovery platform. Except for one little blip, it has since traded above its opening price.
This isn’t necessarily because Pinterest is already a popular social media platform; it could also have as much to do with the platform’s unique business model. At a time when personalization drives the marketing conversation, Pinterest is perfectly poised for personalized ads.
93% of Pinterest users say they use the platform to plan for their purchases or research, and 87% of users have made a purchase because of a specific pin.
“All kinds of people with all kinds of interests visit Pinterest. And more importantly, people come to Pinterest to shop.”
~ Sleeknote
These numbers show that Pinterest has some staying power, both for users and for brands. What can marketers be doing to boost their eCommerce brand on the platform?
Pinterest: Real Engagement and Valuable Content
Pinterest offers a unique opportunity for both users and brands.
“The company is unique in what does, acting as a virtual pinboard to inspire users looking to do things like redecorate their homes, cook a new dish for dinner, or plan a wedding or vacation,” writes Jeremy Bowman at The Motley Fool.
“That uniqueness gives the company a cushion against competition and a distinct value proposition for advertisers,” he adds further.
Bowman goes on to write that Pinterest is unique because it offers users the value of discovery and brands the opportunity to influence that discovery process.
“Users, which the company calls Pinners, come to the site to scour images as they search for something new like a dress for a big event or a new landscaping design. These kinds of searches represent high value for advertisers as Pinners often come to the site with the intent of purchasing something,” Bowman concludes.
In other words, Pinterest presents brands with the opportunity for real engagement with their audience by providing valuable content in their feed. Here are a few numbers that showcase the reach:
- A huge reach: Pinterest reaches 83% of US women aged 25-64, and 50% of new signups in 2018 were men.
- The deciders: 85% of women use Pinterest to plan ‘life moments’ and 6 out of 10 millennials have found products using Pinterest.
- Visualized: Interest in visual search is more pronounced than ever, and Pinterest holds the keys to meeting that demand.
Pinterest Campaigns: Highly Targeted
Marketing is a constant balancing act between scale and relevance. And more than ever, consumers want relevance.
One study found that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy something when the selling brand gives them a personalized experience. A modern audience wants fewer ads that are personalized to their interests, browsing habits and preferences.
As eMarketer recently reported, this personalization (read: highly targeted ads) is precisely what Pinterest offers: “47% of social media users saw Pinterest as the platform for discovering and shopping for products — more than three times higher than those who cited Facebook or Instagram.” The number is triple that of Facebook and more than four times that of Instagram.
Despite this impressive number, just around a third of marketers plan to use Pinterest in their marketing plan, compared to nearly 90% who plan to use Facebook in their mix.
As of now, that may be due to the platform’s limitations when it comes to tracking conversion. With the last click model for attribution, Pinterest may not get credit for sales — even if a customer spends months adding content to their pinboard closely associated with a brand. That may very well change, particularly as Pinterest explores the introduction of shopping ads and new ad formats post-IPO.
Right now, there are three main ways to target ads on the Pinterest platform:
- Interest targeting: Get promoted pins in front of your audience based on where they are most active. This can be a good opportunity to loop in a larger audience, since targeting is based on broad criteria, like home decor or cooking.
- Keyword targeting: Promote your pins based on specific keywords, driving traffic and conversions more directly.
- Audience targeting: With a defined audience, you can reach them where they are already searching for images and products.
The Pinterest IPO hasn’t changed much yet in the way of operations and Pinterest’s ad platform, but it does signal to eCommerce marketers that the opportunity to advertise on Pinterest will most likely only grow.
