In a blog post by company CEO Ben Silbermann today, Pinterest announced that they are going to be rolling out advertising with select partners.
The announcement comes as no surprise, more of an “it’s about time” actually. Pinterest currently has around 70 Million total users, with roughly 80% of those users female. Though they have done partnerships in the past, they have never before offered a true native advertising platform.
In a rather light-hearted post, Silbermann explains that “I know some of you may be thinking, ‘Oh great…here come the banner ads,'” but assures that they will be working to make these promoted pins a truly native experience for users.
While Pinterest admits they haven’t figured out all the details yet, they make a few promises to be:
- Tasteful. No flashy banners or pop-up ads.
- Transparent. We’ll always let you know if someone paid for what you see, or where you see it.
- Relevant. These pins should be about stuff you’re actually interested in, like a delicious recipe, or a jacket that’s your style.
- Improved based on your feedback. Keep letting us know what you think, and we’ll keep working to make things better.
The first set of Promoted Pins will target searches and categories feeds, for example, Cabot Cheese (one of my favorite brands on Pinterest) could promote this recipe pin about Sports Night Pretzel Crisps to users who are searching for tailgate recipes.
What’s interesting about this tactic is that Pinterest has been promoting their “rich pins” which were introduced in May of this year with additional information contained inside each pin. For food and beverage companies, this might be particularly impactful around seasonal campaigns like The Super Bowl and family-centric holidays to connect with consumers without forcing a click-through to a website.
What do you think about Promoted Pins, and would you be interested in running a campaign with them? Let us know in the comments.