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Pinterest has traditionally been known as the visual discovery platform for consumer inspiration, but it has undergone a metamorphosis – and brands are taking notice.
Pinterest has developed tools and functionality to transform the consumer experience into a shopping channel where people can increasingly buy the things they see.
According to Matt Siberry, lead client partner at Pinterest, consumers are more intentional than ever about what they buy and Pinterest provides the tools to help.
“People think a lot about purchases. Does it match my wardrobe? Can I afford this kitchen? Part of the boom in online is people looking to do more research. We’re not as flippant with our purchases anymore,” he says.
Once seen as a great way to build awareness, Pinterest now offers a range of performant solutions for brands to move customers right through to conversion.
The all-important inspiration factor, allowing users to research, curate and consider their passions hasn’t disappeared, but shoppers can now actually come with the intention to buy.
For brands, the platform that was once seen as a great way to build awareness alone now has the performance capability to create a full-funnel solution for moving customers right through to conversion.
A growth market
According to Pinterest, monthly average users (MAUs) are up 12% year over year to 518m globally and more than 40% of them are GenZ. The UK market has 16m MAUs.
Gen Z is Pinterest’s largest, most engaged and fastest-growing audience, saving two-and-a-half times more ideas compared to other generations on the platform. They are primed to shop, too, with half of Gen Z weekly users saying Pinterest is one of the first services they use to shop or browse. 1
Inspired to buy
Consumers now look to platforms such as Pinterest to help them research products and projects. In total, 96% of Pinterest searches are unbranded 2 and advertisers can reach people that are ready to act by targeting specific search terms. With improved shoppability, brands can now close out a sale on Pinterest. There has been a 50% year-on-year increase in buyable items saved to boards.
Jessica Whitney, managing partner, Total Social, says Pinterest is a multifaceted platform that not only serves up brand discovery, but it is also a powerful tool for advertisers.
“With its expanded shopping capabilities, advanced visual search technology, and support for content creators, Pinterest has evolved into a comprehensive platform that offers both utility and entertainment,” she says.
Pinterest’s expanded suite of shopping tools
• Shopping ads – Details such as pricing and availability are included in the ad
• Carousel ads – Multiple images displayed in a single unit
• Collections ads – A mix of images and video for greater impact
• Mobile deep links – Taking customers directly to a URL can improve conversion by up to three times 3
• Direct links – Streamline the customer journey with a single click from Pinterest to a site or store
• API for conversions – Conversion data is sent directly for a more complete representation of Pinterest’s impact
• Third-party ecommerce integrations – Connect an existing storefront to Pinterest
5 ways to get the most out of Pinterest’s shoppability
1 Measure campaign impact
Implement the API for Conversions to see the true impact of Pinterest ads. Once campaigns are live, Pinterest Analytics provides gut checks and campaign wrap reports.
2 Experiment and optimise
Adopt a test-and-learn mindset. Advertisers who take a multi-objective approach see more success than those who hone in on a single media objective.
3 Assess channel impact
Develop a measurement system of truth that shows Pinterest’s impact relative to other touchpoints. Its measurement partner can help run studies such as multi-touch attribution or media mix modelling.
4 Act on the insights
Make emerging trends work for you by finding out more about the Pinterest Predicts report highlighting the trends of tomorrow.
5 Follow creative best practices
Give Pinterest ads a clear text overlay, sync with a moment or trend, and showcase your product or service in ways that your target audience imagines your product in their lives. And always have a clear call to action.
Pinterest success stories
Malibu’s fringe benefits
To drive awareness and consideration among Gen Z, Malibu’s ‘Do Whatever Tastes Good’ campaign developed a suite of assets based on the Pinterest Predicts trends report. The agency MG OMD created video and static ads featuring fringe-wearing drinkers enjoying Malibu cocktails.
As a result, 18-24-year-olds said they were more likely to purchase Malibu with a 2.3pt lift in action intent, and there was a 6.3pt improvement in brand favourability among men.
Boursin serves up inspirational Pins
Soft cheese brand Boursin wanted to inspire foodies to experiment with it as an ingredient for cooking.
The agency Spark Foundry cooked up an awareness and consideration campaign targeting inspiration-hungry consumers.
Using the Pinterest Trends tool, the media plan sought specific search terms and keywords to target Pinterest users who searched for food and drink, and those who loved entertaining and hosting events.
The creative featured Boursin recipes in a mix of static ads, and standard and max-width videos showing users how to replicate the dishes at home.
Boursin reached more than 3m shoppers, generating 71% more clicks above benchmark, at 42% lower CPC than anticipated.
For more, go to the Pinterest Predicts report and catch the special Campaign podcast, in partnership with Pinterest: “Where are all the shoppers?”
1 Talk Shoppe, US, Power of intentional shopping study commissioned by Pinterest, April 2023
2 Pinterest Internal Data, Global, as of June 2023 | Note: US; calculated as % of the top 1000 most popular searches
3 Pinterest analysis, global, comparing ads between March and May 2023. Beta results comparing shopping oCPM ads with mobile deep links (n =7) vs. shopping oCPM ad without mobile deep links (n = 40). Conversions attributed using a one-day click attribution window.