Is Pinterest Advertising Right For You?

Digital, digital everywhere… It seems like anywhere you turn, a new social media platform or a new digital marketing tactic is popping up. It can be hard to know what’s worthwhile to include in your advertising strategy, and whether social ads are right for you. But we can help provide some clarity. In fact, you can consider us your very own advertising sherpas (complete with the fun, fuzzy hats), guiding you up the mountain of ad success. So today, let’s talk about Pinterest. Here’s what to think about with this platform, along with some Pinterest advertising tips.

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Think about your target buyer

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This is kind of our mantra, but still many business owners miss it: Every single aspect of advertising starts with your buyer. In other words, if your buyer isn’t spending time on Pinterest, you have no business advertising there. So first, you have to know your target customer… really know them. This means doing research (e.g. conducting customer interviews, consulting market research, etc.) and building out buyer personas. You should know all the nooks and crannies of your ideal buyer, which will reveal things like gender, age ranges and whether they have children. From there, consider the following:

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• More than ⅔ of Pinterest’s users are women, and eight out of 10 moms use Pinterest.

• About 50% of new accounts belong to men and nearly 40% of dads in the U.S. use the platform

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This tells you that if your ideal buyer is a woman or, better yet, a mom,  Pinterest may be a really prime advertising choice for you. But, don’t count out men either. Especially if you sell to dads, you may still want to toss your hat into Pinterest’s ring. Conversely, if your target buyer is much younger or older than the average parent, or almost exclusively men who aren’t dads, you can start looking elsewhere.

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Compare against other platforms

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Hold up, though! Before getting your Pinterest ads going, make sure you think through your other options. Just because Pinterest is a fit for your audience doesn’t mean it’s the best fit - and you have to consider your opportunity costs. You have a finite budget, so advertising on Pinterest means you can’t advertise on another platform or you have to pull funds from a different category altogether. Make sure that’s worth it.

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For example, there are 335 million people who use Pinterest every month, but Facebook has nearly 2.5 billion monthly users. If the demographics on both platforms were similar, you may get more bang for your buck advertising on Facebook. Then again, you also have to factor in each platform’s advertising algorithms (which are an entirely different beast) and saturation of ads (e.g. how many businesses advertise on each platform and therefore how many ads your ad will compete with for attention). It’s a lot to think about, but it’s your well-earned ad money so it’s important to carefully contemplate all of it.

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Consider the nuances of what you sell

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When it comes to Pinterest, the main draw is that it’s an idea site. People browse there because they want to be inspired in some way, shape, or form. Think about whether your business can provide that. Are there intangibles with your business that can draw a crowd on Pinterest, like a DIY pottery store that can play up the relational bonding of their sessions? Pictures of moms and daughters or husbands and wives who are laughing as they create pottery art could be very visually appealing and offer something beyond just a product to an audience that seeks inspiration.

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Case in point: Prophet Brand Relevance Index ranked Pinterest as the 10th most relevant brand in the U.S. last year (the only social media brand in the top ten). It was ranked first by respondents for making them feel “inspired” or engaging them in “new and creative ways.” With this in mind, think about your products or services. Are they well suited for visual advertising that inspires and engages people creatively? If not, you may be better off going a different route. While some consumers appreciate data-filled reports about financial markets, for example, that’s not what Pinterest users want. But, if you’re able to create a board with exciting, visual exercises people can use to achieve financial goals, and help them envision getting there? Now we’re talkin’.

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There’s a lot to factor in when it comes to Pinterest and your advertising strategy but start with these Pinterest advertising tips. Then, you can always test (and should)! Dedicate a month or two to testing the same investment into Pinterest and one other relevant social platform, and see which performs better. Interested in some help with your ad strategy, and better marketing success? Give us a call!