Are Pinterest Ads Right For My eCommerce Business?
So many businesses are investing in Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads and yet, there is another far less utilised platform that’s fantastic for eCommerce businesses.
Pinterest is a huge image and media sharing platform with 478 million users (as of 2021). Used primarily for inspiration, people source recipes, home decor ideas and even use it to assist with wedding planning. Therefore, Pinterest has the potential to cultivate mass interest in your products.
Naturally, there are pros and cons to the platform. So, if you’re wondering if Pinterest is right for your eCommerce business, here are a few things to consider.
Searching for a Pinterest Ads manager on Google?
Here are six names you might find them under: Pinterest Ads Manager, Pinterest Ads Strategist, Promoted Pins Manager, Pinterest Media Buyer, Pinterest Ads Specialist, Pinterest Ads Expert.
All these job titles do the same thing. They manage ad campaigns in Pinterest Ads Manager for businesses. Pinterest ad campaigns are most common for eCommerce businesses or service-based providers, however, brick and mortar stores with online delivery capabilities are also becoming more visible on the platform.
I specialise in running ads for indie eCommerce businesses and most ads managers will have a niche or preference (ecomm vs lead generation ads) so this is a good place to start your search.
Pros
If you have a product that people aspire to own, will make their lives easier in some way or that will teach them how to do something, you’re onto a winner. Here are some reasons why:
Product Tags
The option to add product tags to your ads is priceless. Similar to collecting ads on Facebook, your future customers can click on products they see featured in your ads and it takes them straight to the relevant page on your website. Some have commented how the addition of product tags as an option in Instagram ads, was an idea ‘borrowed’ from Pinterest. The recent Shopify integration has also made selling your products on Pinterest easier, with less glitches from catalogue feeds reported and increased visibility on which sales channels are having the most success selling your products.
Longevity
One of the most genius things about Pinterest is the longevity of your ads. No other platform allows your ads to continue converting once the ad spend is switched off. However, on Pinterest, your advert exists forever. Pinned to boards with the opportunity to be found, reshared and clicked on.
Tracking and Remarketing
Now, I’m a massive stickler for tracking your ads, and with good reason. Not only do you learn from the data you collect and, if you’re smart, use this to continuously improve your strategy, but you can also remarket to those you’ve shown interest in your products.
Pinterest is one of the best platforms to reach a new audience and raise the profile of your business. With the correct Tags and tracking in place, you will be able to monitor pinners (who opt in to having their data tracked) who click on your ads and visit your website, even which products they view.
Even without making a purchase, you will be able to then retarget them on other platforms such as Facebook and Google with your ads, with a higher chance of a conversion, as they have come across your brand before.
Exposure
Since Pinterest users are seeking ideas and inspiration you may find that clicks through on your ads don’t convert straight away. You’ll want to think of your Pinterest campaign as the Top of Funnel part of your strategy. You’re hooking them in with your fabulous product images but they may not be ready to buy straight away.
So, recognise that Pinterest may be the beginning of your customer’s journey. Then you need to be reminding them of your brand by retargeting with Facebook or Google Ads. Ingenious, right?
People on Pinterest are 3x more likely to say they are always shopping.
People on Pinterest have 30% bigger basket sizes than those on other platforms.
People on Pinterest spend 40% more than people on other platforms.
Cons
Browsers and planners
Users of Pinterest are generally there to get inspiration and discover new brands they may not know about. For this reason the customer buying journey can be longer. Pinners may come across your ad, pin it to a board and save it for later before buying. Pinterest is, in many ways, a wish list.
I recommend approaching your Pinterest campaign with an attitude that it is about accumulating fans who aspire to own your products. This is why the data element and remarketing is so important, but we’ll come to that shortly.
Turnaround
Pinterest is one of the smaller, newer kids on the block when it comes to online advertising. The platform behaves differently to Facebook in how it collates data and so you’ll need to adopt different techniques and allow your ads to run for at least three weeks in order to understand how to optimise your performance.
Leaving ads untouched for three weeks is not an approach I’d recommend for Facebook but on Pinterest, your ads will take longer to learn who in your audience is most likely to buy from you. Not to worry, there is an upside to this covered in our Pros section further down!
Behaviours
Another thing to consider is, unlike its social platform rivals, Pinterest is visited by its users less frequently. However, when it is used, people are on a mission and in full planning mode. They aren’t there to socialise but are there to browse through and pin items they love. So, from the point of view of a user’s openness to purchasing, the platform sits somewhere between a search engine and an online shop.
Image Quality
If you’re considering Pinterest then the quality of your images is going to be highly important. You’re going to be competing with many other products in your niche so you’ll need to ensure you’re presenting yours in the best possible light.
Lifestyle shots do particularly well as pinners can start visualising how products will look as part of their lives. Video promoted pins are also prioritised by Pinterest as they are deemed as more engaging content. So think about how eye catching your content can be.
The aim as with all advertising (especially on small mobile screens) STOP THE SCROLL.
So, are Pinterest Ads right for your eCommerce business?
Honestly, I’m astounded that more eCommerce businesses are not utilising Pinterest more in their marketing strategies. It’s often coined as the visual Google, so the ideal platform to be found on for your products.
I first began managing Pinterest ads whilst working for a specialist eCommerce ad agency. The head of media buying and Pinterest themselves trained me in best practice and I was hooked.
There’s no doubt that Pinterest Ads work best when they’re being used to collect data and when integrated into a wider advertising strategy. If that’s all a bit overwhelming then you’re not alone. That’s why many eCommerce brands hire experts like myself to run their Pinterest Ad Campaigns and ensure they’re driving sales.
Find out more about my Pinterest Ad services here and see if we would be a good fit working together here.
