If you have an ecommerce site and you want to reach more people and target a specific audience on Pinterest one of the best ways to do that through Promoted Pins.
The DIY Promoted Pins is an ad that you pay for on Pinterest. Don’t even second guess whether you think this is worth your money. It is and I’ll tell you why later.
Pinterest has become a marketer’s gold mine. Why? Because people are pinning stuff they love, want and need. No need to create focus groups. Pinners are literally telling you what they want to buy.
So far Bradford, a Pinterest executive, revealed some impressive data gathered from the Promoted Pins beta launch:
1) Pinterest claims the average promoted pins are shared 11 times, on average, meaning advertisers get about a 30% bump in earned media for their campaigns. What that means is for every $1,000 in advertising dollars the brands received $300 more worth of free impressions.
2) Like other Pinterest content, promoted pins also have a long tail, Bradford. Promoted Pins got a 5% increase in earned media a month after a campaign ended.
3) Brands both in and out of Pinterest’s core categories found success. From financial services to food to automotive, brands from a wide array of industries saw results, according to Pinterest’s research.
Plus the power of the Promoted Pins just got stronger, in 3 ways:
- On Jan. 21 2015 Pinterest announced that they have acquired a company called Kosei. Kosei helps personalize product recommendations based on likes and wants. What that means to businesses who buy Promoted Pins is that their ads will now be shown to more of the right people to help them get an even bigger ROI. And that is Pinterest’s stated goal. They will also be bringing on more types of ads in the near future for all sizes of business
- Related terms
You’ll see a change in the way related terms are offered to you on the Pinterest ads manager. Pinterest will now suggest other related words for you to use to target a wider audience in order to drive more traffic sooner. For example, if you select golf clubs as a term Pinterest might suggest you consider also placing your ads under drivers and irons or golf vacations. You decide to use or not use these related terms.
- Expanded Inventory
This is a program that Pinterest is now using to show your Promoted Pins to a wider audience to help you get more traffic sooner. The reason they are showing your ads in other areas os to reach people who might now find your search term and who are now using the Pinterest search tool. Bottom line Pinterest is now going to take the initiave to show your ad to more of the right people on their own. The goal of course is to give you the largest possible ROI.
To ensure advertisers see an even greater return from Promoted Pins Pinterest is rolling out a new program called Pinstitute for businesses. The Pinstitute will focus on two tracks: creative and measurement. Advertisers will learn what pins perform well, how to connect with Pinners and what Pinners care about.
Unfortunately, at this time Promoted Pins are only available to U.S. based businesses and you have to apply for them. This process can take some time so be patient with it. Once you’re approved you’ll get an email from Pinterest and the process is very simple. However, Pinterest is not just going to let you promote a pin however you want.
They have very strict guidelines which does not surprise me because they want these ads to be relevant & a great experience for everyone. Pinterest can reject your ad and if your ad receives any negative feedback they can remove it as well.
I highly recommend that you apply for the Promoted Pins if you haven’t done so already.
There’s not a lot of competition right now and I believe this is the most cost effective way to reach your target audience. This to me makes more sense that spending your dollars on Pinterest contests. After all the Promoted Pins are in the hands of Pinterest and they know how to reach your target audience on your behalf. Click here to learn how to use Promoted Pins.
Over to you
Have you tried the Promoted Pins? If so, did it generate ROI for you?
If this is overwhelming for you and you feel like you are going around and around with Pinterest and not getting anywhere contact me about my Pinterest account management services or to learn more about my Pinterest Marketing Course for Business.
