New Pinterest ads should look a lot like regular pins only with one minor exception. They will have a small label that reads ‘Promoted Pin,’ and the ads include an icon that’s clickable. AdAge recently reported that Pinterest will likely seek spending commitments that range between $1M and $2M. Unfortunately due to Pinterestâs advertising infancy, it has yet to be seen how small businesses with limited budgets will be charged. For now, Pinterest is only working with a select few large businesses. The report also included speculation that Pinterest will likely look to price CPMs around $30. Information from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the first dozen Pinterest Ads are currently scheduled to launch in beta version sometime soon.
Current and Future Pinterest Ad Strategies and Targeting Capabilities
After the initial launch of about a dozen brands, many anticipate that Pinterest will launch a new ‘Video Pins Strategy’ in June, and ‘Holiday Launch Initiatives’ in September. Limited details on the specifics are available about future Pinterest advertisement initiatives.
Pinterest ads for search keywords will use a pay per click or PPC model, and ads displayed in ‘Everything and Popular Feeds’ will use a CPM model for pricing. Marketers can target specific demographics on Pinterest in several of the following ways:
- Promoted Pins can be displayed in 32 different Pinterest categories.
- A U.S.-only audience can be targeted.
- Ads can only be shown to users at a metropolitan city level.
- Ads can be displayed based on type of device used.
- Age will not currently be a targeting option
How SMBs and Enterprise Marketers Can Drive Returns From Pinterest Ads
Pinterest naturally works better for certain brands than it does for others. Typically, brands that are more consumer-oriented and approachable to the average social media user are a better fit for Promoted Pins.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
It is important to learn how to optimize returns on new social media sites. Business owners do not need to worry about specific paid Pinterest strategy ASAP. After all, only about 12 brands will be able to participate in the upcoming launch. However, it is highly important for business owners and enterprise marketers to be ready to form the right social media marketing strategy.
For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL's Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.
