Pinterest isn’t just a space for inspiration; it’s where people actively discover products and plan their next purchases. And, with over 537 million monthly active users, Pinterest is a powerful (yet often underrated) ads platform for boosting brand awareness, driving traffic and increasing conversions.
We’ve been running Pinterest digital marketing campaigns for our clients with great results – but what is it that makes this platform so special?
Why advertise on Pinterest?
Pinterest is a visual discovery and bookmarking platform, meaning it’s primarily search-driven with users actively searching for content that aligns with their interests. This intent-driven behaviour makes it an ideal space for brands to connect with potential customers at every stage of their buying journey.
Pinterest is a visual first platform, and users save Pins to boards they can revisit later. This means pins and ads can stay relevant for months (if not years) after being posted.
Pinterest’s audience is also growing fast, particularly among Gen Z, who make up 42% of the global user base.
In the UK specifically, Pinterest reaches:
- 39% of people ages 18–24
- 31% of people ages 25–34
- 29% of people ages 35–44
- 30% of people aged 45+
Unlike most other social media platforms, Pinterest seems to have a relatively even split across age groups. However, 70% of Pinterest’s UK audience is female, and it reaches 28% of high-income earners, making it a valuable platform for brands targeting these demographics.
What ad formats are there on Pinterest?
Pinterest offers a variety of ad formats across the different campaign objectives. These include:
- Standard pins (image-based ads that blend into organic content)
- Standard video (video-based ads that blend into organic content)
- Max width video (video that spans two columns in the grid)
- Carousel ads (multiple images in one ad)
- Shopping ads (directly showcase products from a catalogue)
- Collections ads (feature multiple products in one Pin)
- Idea ads (ads to tell a story)
When activating a full funnel media strategy on Pinterest, it’s recommended to use a variety of ad formats across campaign objectives, ensuring users are experiencing your brand in new ways each time they see you on their feed.
You can choose to make a Pin an ad-only Pin when setting up your campaign, meaning it can’t be saved or re-pinned. This is useful for time-sensitive promotions or when you only want the content to be seen by a specific audience.
How does Pinterest use AI in its campaigns?
Pinterest has recently stepped up its game with AI-powered campaigns, launching Performance+ campaigns for consideration, conversion and catalogue sales objectives. They use machine learning to optimise performance and require 50% fewer inputs than standard campaigns, making them easier to set up.
If you want more control than a Performance+ campaign but still want to use AI, you can use Performance+ products, which allow you to toggle AI-driven features on and off. These include:
- Performance+ Creative, which automatically creates shopping collection ads from your catalogue and ensures they reach the right audience. It can also use AI-powered background generation to replace plain product imagery with lifestyle imagery.
- Performance+ Bidding, which dynamically adjusts bids for lower costs and maximum results.
- Performance+ Budgets, which optimises your daily or lifetime budget to maximise results.
- Performance+ Targeting, which expands reach beyond keyword or interest targeting, using visual search technology to match your ads creative context with relevant users.
- Performance+ ROAS, which prioritises high-value purchases to improve return on ad spend.
Overall, Pinterest is an ads platform that is sometimes overlooked but can drive great results throughout the customer journey. With lots of new features and updates, such as Performance+, Pinterest is definitely worth considering if you are looking to mix-up your ads strategy.
Need some help with Pinterest ads?
If you need help with your Pinterest strategy or wider ads strategy, we can help! Get in touch with our Digital Marketing team to find out more about the services we offer.