Tag Archive for: Pinterest

Pinterest Launches 4 New Features To Promote Products and Online Stores

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Pinterest is angling to make itself the leading social network for e-commerce activity with a slew of new features and advancements for shopping. 

As the announcement for the updates explains, Pinterest has seen a surge in the number of merchants listing their products on the platform (up 87% in Q1 of 2022 alone).

Now, the company is hoping to double down on this with a new Pinterest API for Shopping, Product Tagging for Pins, Videos in Shopping Catalogs, and the introduction of a Shop Tab on Business Profiles:

“At Pinterest, our goal is to turn inspiration into action, and our vision for shopping is to make it possible to buy anything Pinners are inspired by on the platform. In 2021, the number of Pinners engaging with shopping surfaces on Pinterest grew over 215%, and 89% of weekly Pinners use Pinterest for inspiration in their path to purchase. The new shopping features such as the API for Shopping allows brands and retailers to reach high-intent Pinners during the earliest stage of their shopping journey with the most updated catalog data.”

Pinterest API for Shopping

Pinterest wants to make it easy to manage your products no matter how large your inventory is. With the new API for Shopping, you can more accurately manage metadata for your products with early tests showing the tool was 97% accurate.

Product Tagging for Pins

Though the social network is leaning more heavily into the world of shopping, the main focus is still on Pins that users and brands share. With Product Tagging, you can make your pins a seamless part of your sales process. Once you have tagged your products in pins, shoppers can easily click on the tags to be immediately taken to a sales page.

Video in Catalog

The typically image-based social network is gradually integrating video. The latest move in this direction is the ability to use video assets in product catalogs to showcase your products in motion.

Shop Tab on Business Profiles

Make your online store a more prominent part of your business profile with a new tab dedicated to your shop. According to early tests, approximately 30% of Shopify merchants said they got their first attributed checkout directly from this high-intent shopping feature.

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Users Can Now Earn Money Sharing Your Products On Pinterest

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Pinterest is introducing new ways for brands and users to make money on the site through easy-to-setup affiliate links. 

By turning “idea pins” into shoppable pins, users can earn a commission when other users buy products included in the pin. 

The process is as easy as toggling a button at the top of the pin creation page and tagging the products in your pin. 

The social network and brands have had large success with shoppable pins since their launch – especially when other users have shared shoppable content. 

According to Pinterest’s data, users are 89% more likely to show shopping intent on idea posts with products tagged compared to standard product pins. Engagement is also nine times higher on idea pins compared to traditional pins. 

What Are Idea Pins

Idea Pins were introduced earlier this year and allow brands to share multi-page video posts similar to “Stories” found on other platforms except they do not disappear after a period of time. 

Idea Pins allow for:

  • Video recording and editing for up to 20 pages of content
  • Voice over recording
  • Music selection by Epidemic Sound
  • Ghost mode transition tools (perfect for those before-and-afters!)
  • Detail pages for instructions or ingredients
  • Interactive elements like people tagging and stickers
  • Multi-draft save so Creators can publish more ideas
  • Export options to share content beyond Pinterest
  • Topic tagging, a publishing feature that helps connect content to relevant interests

Once posted, users who follow you can see your idea pins in a carousel at the top of their home feed, as well as within search results, the Today tab, and at the top of a user’s profile. 

New Brand Partnership Tools

Along with these expansions to idea pins, Pinterest announced it is working on new ways for influencers to easily disclose paid partnerships. 

Pinterest affiliate or sponsored products posts

The new tool, which is being beta tested with a limited number of creators, allows users to note that they have partnered directly with a brand for content in their idea pin. Once this has been tagged, the brand can approve the idea pin before it goes live. 

Posts created this way will also receive a “Paid Partnership” label, which is legally required in the U.S. and generates a better sense of transparency from influencers. 

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Pinterest Search Trends Reveal What Post-Pandemic Marketing May Look Like

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With vaccination rates on the rise and everyone on the country itching to return to something close to “normal”, Pinterest says many are turning to the internet to help plan their upcoming adventures, vacations, and more. 

In particular, the social network says Pinterest searches by Gen Z users have shot up more than 95% year-over-year, with much of this being attributed to a rise in searches for life after Covid.

The data from the company’s Q1 search trends report reveals a lot about how people see their lives as we get back out in the world and try to make up for the lost time. Find out more below:

Vacation Searches (Up 75%)

It’s not unusual for many to start planning their spring break trips and summer vacations once Christmas is in the past. What is unusual is to the rates for these searches to shoot up three times faster than average from January 2021 to March 2021. 

Even more, the searches show that users intend to make these trips something special. 

Pinterest says it saw significant leaps in all of these search terms:

  • Searches for “dream vacation destinations”: Up 13x
  • Searches for “luxury vacation”: Up 6x
  • Searches for “vacation fashion”: Up 3x
  • Searches for “travel tattoos”: Up 45%

Eye-Popping Fashion (Up 85%)

Overall, people are tired of wearing sweats, tank tops, and hoodies every day as they work from home. Users have shown a distinct desire to dress their best as we start to get out of the house more, with searches containing the word “outfit” at an all-time high. 

Compared to Q1 of 2020, the site has seen a 26% increase in searches containing the word “outfit”. Even more, searches with that word shot up 85% in April compared to last year. 

Notably, Gen Z seems ready to really do it up, with search terms for bold patterns, retro styles, dramatic accessories, and daring makeup all showing increased attention this year:

  • Searches for “outfit”: Up 26%
  • Searches for “Y2K outfit ideas”: Up 230%
  • Searches for “60s and 70s fashion”: Up 133x
  • Searches for “zebra pants”: Up 14x
  • Searches for “plaid pleated skirt”: Up 12x
  • Searches for “clay rings”: Up 303x
  • Searches for “hippie jewelry”: Up 16x
  • Searches for “nose chain piercing”: Up 8x
  • Searches for “makeup makeover”: Up 100x
  • Searches for “alt makeup”: Up 60x
  • Searches for “puppy eyeliner”: Up 30x

Socializing and Parties (Up 64%)

Of course, you need somewhere to wear all those stylish trends, right? 

It should shock absolutely no one to see that users – especially those among Gen Z – are looking to party as larger gatherings become allowed. 

From November 2020 to March 2021, searches containing the keyword “party” have risen 64%. Year-over-year, the number of searches has doubled. 

Interestingly, the interest in parties range from extravagant affairs  to tasteful small gatherings with search rates for all these terms showing heightened interest recently:

  • Searches for “party life”: Up 3x
  • Searches for “Euphoria party ideas”: Up 43x
  • Searches for “backyard dinner party”: Up 3x
  • Searches for “party food buffet”: Up 10x
  • Searches for “dinner date outfits”: Up 30x
  • Searches for “hotel room party”: Up 8x
  • Searches for “group tattoo ideas”: Up 13x

Home Renovations (Up 28%)

While we may all be a little tired of spending too much time at home, home renovation interest appears to be at an all-time high on Pinterest. 

Similar to vacation searches at this time of the year, the platform says it typically sees spikes in home repair and renovation searches during this season. What the platform has seen this year, though, still far outpaces what they’ve observed in the past. 

Compared to Q1 2020, searches for home renovations were 28% higher on Pinterest, and 65% higher than Q1 2019. 

Specifically, the company says it saw spikes in searches for these search terms:

  • Searches for “home renovation ideas”: Up 5x
  • Searches for “grand millennial decor”: Up 3x
  • Searches for “indie room”: Up 132x
  • Searches for “sage green aesthetic”: Up 32x
  • Searches for “eclectic home”: Up 9x

For more, be sure to check out the full report from Pinterest here.

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Pinterest Search Trends For Fall 2020

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This week, Pinterest released its latest report on the most popular search trends and topics across the popular social network. 

Specifically, the search trends report shows which topics are currently seeing a significant spike in interest compared to last year, as well as trends that are expected to be popular this fall. 

The overall theme for this season, according to Pinterest, is “back to life” because autumn is like a ‘second new year.’

“Each year, the start of September and the beginning of autumn is seen by many people around the world as a ‘second new year’.

It’s a time when making small improvements, resetting goals and habits, and starting a fresh drive to create healthy routines feels more achievable and more personal than New Year’s resolutions.”

This has perhaps never been more true than in 2020 as we all gradually return to normal following the COVID-related shutdowns around the world. This may be why one of the biggest trends is a 64% increase in searches for “positivity.”

Pinterest Positivity Search Trends

Similarly, Pinterest says users are increasingly looking for activities and inspiration for around the house, rather than outside.

With this in mind, lets explore some of the finer details in the report.

2020 Pinterest Search Demographics

While Pinterest’s user base includes a wide range of people, this report simply broke users down into two categories:

  • Gen Z: Users between 18-24
  • Millennials: Users between 25-44

Gen Z Search Trends

Gen Z users are continuing to focus on self-love and creating positive spaces at home this season, as Pinterest says:

“With so much uncertainty in areas like school and work shifts, Gen Z Pinners are seeking ways to stay positive and healthy…”

This overall attitude has led to a number of increasing search trends, including these keywords:

  • Mental health check-in (up 5x)
  • Mindful eating (up 44%)
  • Photoshoot ideas (up 56x)
  • Zen bedroom ideas (up 5x)
  • Calming bedroom (up 3x)
  • Feng shui bedroom layout (up 2.5x)
  • Indie room (up 151x)
  • Hippie bedroom decor (up 19x)

Millennial Search Trends

While Gen Z is using Pinterest to improve their home spaces and spruce up their decor, Millennials are looking for ways to keep their family engaged and active.

“For the past six months, home has replaced work, school and the gym, and outdoor spaces have become one of the safest places to practise social distancing.

Millennial parents continue to prioritise keeping their families healthy and happy, while addressing their children’s mental health and self-care practices…”

This has driven an increase in these keywords:

  • Mental health activities for children (up 3.5x)
  • Occupational therapy for children (up 2x)
  • Conscious parenting (up 2x)
  • Schedule for children at home (up 20x)
  • Daily routine schedule for children (up 10x)
  • Children’s workout routine (up 88%)
  • Animal yoga poses for children (up 56%)
  • Indoor swings for children (up 3x)
  • Carnival games for children (up 3x)
  • Lava lamp experiments for children (21x)

Male Search Trends

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the report is a sizable increase in the number of men using Pinterest. Overall, the number of male users has climbed nearly 50% since this time last year. 

This is particularly interesting because Pinterest’s user base has historically leaned strongly female.

As for why men are suddenly showing an interest in the site, Pinterest says:

“The number of male Pinners has jumped nearly 50% since last year, with men searching for homeschool inspiration, as well as improvement projects and projects that also bring younger family members in on improvements around the home.”

As such, the site has seen increases in the following topics among male users:

  • Home improvement projects (up 78%)
  • DIY projector screen (up 41%)
  • Woodworking projects for children (up 2x)
  • Art therapy activities (up 65%)
  • Workout routine for men (up 3.5X)
  • Mental strength quotes (up 2.5x)
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Pinterest Mixes Up Content In Users’ Feeds With New Ranking System

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Pinterest is making some big changes to its ranking algorithm to ensure users see a variety of content in their home feed. 

Pinterest uses a ranking model which highlights content based on a click-through prediction model. What this means, is that the platform surfaces content it believes a user is most likely to click on, based on their past activity.

Although this model works to ensure users are only seeing content that is relevant and interesting to them, it can create a negative feedback loop which can limit the types of content shown. 

For example, if a user goes a while without clicking on videos, the algorithm will stop showing videos. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that person doesn’t like videos. There are a number of reasons they may have avoided videos for a period, including irrelevant content and not being in a place where it is convenient to watch videos. 

To account for this issue, Pinterest created what a new system which it is calling “controllable distribution.”

What is Controllable Distribution?

In the announcement, Pinterest clarifies that controllable distribution isn’t an entire overhaul of its ranking algorithm. Technically, it isn’t part of the core ranking system at all. 

Instead, controllable distribution is a ranking system applied after the core home feed algorithm to diversify feed content. 

This will ensure that specific content ratios are present in users’ feeds which may have become monotonous.

The system does this by comparing the types of content in your unadjusted feed with a specified ratio and adding new types of content for users which may otherwise be lacking. 

Most importantly, the company says this system can be implemented smoothly while still respecting users’ preferences. 

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How The Major Ad Platforms Are Responding to COVID-19

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Over the past two weeks, several of the largest online ad platforms have taken swift steps to address problems with advertisers attempting to profit by stoking fears during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube have all responded in unique ways to stop the flow of misinformation, prevent profiteering, and provide new resources to protect public health.

Google Ads Blocks Advertisers Capitalizing on Crisis

This week, Google Ads updated its Inappropriate Content policy to specifically disallow content which:

“…potentially capitalizes on or lacks reasonable sensitivity towards a natural disaster, conflict, death, public health emergency, or other tragic event.”

The new regulation specifically cites price gouging, selling essential supplies that are in high demand but scarcely available, or ads that use sensitive keywords to manipulate their click-through rate.

For more details about which strategies to avoid and what keywords to be careful about using during this time, check out the full help page Google Ads has created for advertisers.

Google and Bing Block COVID-related Ads

Initially, Google had introduced a policy which entirely disallowed advertising products or services related to coronavirus across the entire platform. However, recent reports suggest they have internally revised this policy to make an exception for trusted organizations like hospitals, medical providers, or other major organizations attempting to provide reliable information to the public.

The search engine is also blocking the sale of face masks on its ad platform, following similar policies from Facebook.

Bing has taken similar steps by blocking all ads related to COVID-19, except those coming from trusted sources.

As a Microsoft spokesperson explained:

“Microsoft Advertising has taken precautionary measures to block ads for delivery related directly to COVID-19 under the Microsoft Advertising Sensitive advertising policy. This precaution also applies to some COVID-19 related medical supplies. We will only allow Public Service Announcements from trusted sources, such as official Govt. agencies, to promote COVID-19 content.”

Facebook and Instagram Block COVID-19 Ads, Create New Resources

Since March, both Facebook Ads and Instagram have been blocking the sale of face masks on their platforms. The policy has since been expanded to include hand sanitizer, surface disinfecting wipes, and COVID-19 testing for children.

At the same time, Facebook has created several new resources for both businesses and the general public, many of which can be found in the new “Marketing for Uncertain Times” deck which contains industry playbooks and general advice for staying informed.

Twitter Gives Advertisers Leeway

After originally banning any and all ads which mentioned “coronavirus” or “COVID-19”, Twitter has revised its ad policies to allow some advertisers to mention the virus.

As the company explains:

“In response to the shifting advertising landscape, and in order to support helpful causes during this time, we’re now allowing managed clients and partners to advertise content containing implicit or explicit reference to COVID-19 in certain use cases, with restrictions.”

The specific cases Twitter will be allowing are:

  • Adjustments to business practices and/or models in response to COVID-19
  • Support for customers and employees related to COVID-19

Despite this, Twitter says it will continue to block ads which include:

  • Distasteful references to the virus
  • Content that may be sensational or likely to incite a panic
  • Inflated prices or products related to the virus
  • Ads for face masks, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, supposed vaccines, or treatments.

TikTok and Pinterest Partner With WHO and Red Cross

TikTok and Pinterest have taken similar steps as others by blocking ads which “reference coronavirus, including when promoting products or services, to create a sense of fear, or to cause widespread offense”, as a TikTok spokesperson said.

In addition, these platforms have also been working with major health organizations around the globe to help spread relevant information and prevent misinformation.

Pinterest has been redirecting any searches on the platform to official content provided by the WHO to prevent the chance of delivering custom results which could be difficult to monitor for disinformation.

TikTok has taken similar steps by donating in-feed ad space to notable organizations including the WHO and Red Cross to ensure users have access to helpful information.

YouTube Blocks COVID-19 Ads Except From Trusted Sources

YouTube’s ad policies have largely been in-step with Google’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially, the platform would not allow any form of monetization on content relating to the coronavirus, citing “sensitive topic guidelines.”

Since then, the company has taken some steps to loosen that policy by allowing news organizations and reputable creators to produce videos about the issue in a sustainable way.

In a letter to the community, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki explained:

“In the days ahead, we will enable ads for content discussing the coronavirus on a limited number of channels, including creators who accurately self-certify and a range of news partners. We’re preparing our policies and enforcement processes to expand monetization to more creators and news organizations in the coming weeks.”

Despite this allowance, the company stresses it will continue to remove content that violates its policies or spreads misinformation.

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Pinterest Trends provides a new way to track the most popular keywords

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Pinterest is launching a new tool called Pinterest Trends which will help you see what the hottest search terms have been over the past 12 months, along with info showing when the search terms peaked.

As the company announced, the new feature is in beta, but began rolling out earlier this week.

How Trends Can Help Your Marketing

Marketers and brands have been relying on Google Trends for years to track what the most popular search terms over time, especially surrounding seasonal events. Although Pinterest’s version of this feature doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, it does provide another set of compelling data which could be particularly useful for businesses in the fields Pinterest tends to cater to – such as cooking, decorating, fashion, and self-care.

As Pinterest continues to grow into one of the most dominant social platforms available, insights like this will be useful for brands looking to plan their campaigns ahead of time.

The company said as much when describing their goals with the tool:

“Pinterest Trends will help brands get deeper insights into planning behaviors on the platform, and allow  them to allocate budgets to campaigns during various planning stages. It will also validate assumptions about emerging trends, refine search queries with the aid of auto-complete suggestions, and help advertisers find a list of keywords to include or avoid while planning media campaigns.”

For example, the company says that Tastemade and Albertsons were given early access to the tool and have both used the data to create successful boards and campaigns on the site.

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Pinterest Announces New Design and Ad Format for Brand Profiles

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Pinterest is changing things up in a major way for brands, with an all-new design for business profiles and an entirely new ad format.

New Business Profile Design

Pinterest’s new design for business profiles puts the focus directly on dynamic content and a central view of product pins. 

Specifically, brand profiles will now include:

A dedicated Shop tab for showing users your products directly within your profile

The ability to customize profile covers with either videos or images

A streamlines navigation system making it easier to access messaging features

‘Shop the Look’ Ads

Since the launch of ‘Shop the Look’ pins, retailers have been flocking to the organic posts to showcase a wide array of their products in a single image. 

Now, Pinterest is allowing these brands to turn these organic pins into shoppable ads which can promote up to 25 products at a time. 

When these ads first appear, users will see a showcase previewing up to four items, which can be expanded to show the rest. 

‘Shop the Look’ ads are expected to roll out to US advertisers in the next few months.

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Pinterest introduces new shopping tools for retailers and consumers

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Pinterest is making it easier for brands and consumers to connect with a number of new tools aimed at getting more products in front of interested viewers.

“Shop a Brand”

The company announced a slew of new updates designed to improve personalized results for users and make browsing products and brands better than ever.

“These updates help retailers get in front of customers who are looking for related products, and Pinners to see items that match their unique style and taste,” the company said in its announcement. 

Personalized Recommendations

Here’s the quick breakdown of all the new features:

  • Shop a brand: “A new dedicated section from retailers is starting to roll out beneath Product Pins. You’ll soon be able to dive into a brand’s catalog by clicking ‘more from [brand]’.”
  • Personalized shopping recommendations: “Alongside style, home, beauty and DIY boards, you’ll see in-stock ideas related to what you’ve been saving, to match your style. Just click ‘more ideas’ then the shopping tag to start shopping ideas picked for you. Tap + to quickly add the Pin to your board, or click the Pin to go straight to checkout on the retailer’s site. “
  • Catalogs: “Brands can now upload their full catalog to Pinterest and easily turn their products into dynamic Product Pins, which means more shoppable Pins across Pinterest. A new dashboard allows businesses to organize their feed so their products can be discovered and purchased by Pinners.”
  • Shopping Ads: “We’re making Shopping Ads available to all businesses through our self-serve tool Ads Manager. Once products are on Pinterest, brands can easily promote items from their existing product feed with Shopping Ads.”
  • Shopping search: “With more in-stock Product Pins, there are more products to search. Just search for a product like ‘midi skirt’, ‘men’s watches’ or ‘outdoor furniture’ and shopping results appear on the top of home feed. To start shopping, click ‘see more’.”
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Major changes are coming to Pinterest’s Ads Manager ahead of the holiday shopping season

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Pinterest Ads

For the first time since its release in 2016, Pinterest is making major changes to its self-serve Ads Manager, including dynamic pricing and stock information.

All the changes coming to Ads Manager

Perhaps this biggest change is a new step-by-step campaign set-up tool that will walk advertisers through picking a business goal, customizing their audience, and selecting or creating Pins to promote.

Pinterest is also introducing ad placement options to select whether you want your ads to appear in feeds or search results at the ad group level.

Advertisers will also be given more control over when their ads are scheduled to run, as well as a “pause campaign” tool for reviewing Promoted Pins before they start running.

To help you better target your ads with a detailed audience, Pinterest is integrating the Audience Insights tool directly into the ad manager. This will keep you from having to switch back and forth between windows to create data-driven audiences for your ads.

At the same time, Pinterest is making some changes to its reporting dashboard to let advertisers make changes to multiple rows or campaigns at the same time.

Updates to Product Pins

As part of the revamp, Pinterest is greatly expanding the options available for Product Pins, including the addition of dynamic pricing and up-to-date stock information.

The company is also increasing the number of Product Pins that will include the shopping bag icon to directly link to a checkout page, making it easier to purchase items with just a few clicks.

The new Product Pins are replacing the Buyable Pin format and are already rolling out for both mobile and app versions of Pinterest.

New fashion and home discovery categories

Lastly, Pinterest is creating two new shopping recommendation categories for home décor and fashion retailers within the Style and Home sections. This will give these retailers more opportunities to reach new audiences and help ensure their ads are shown to the right audiences.

With the holiday season coming up, now is a good time to make yourself familiar with all the new advertising options on Pinterest. The social shopping platform is one of the biggest tools used by online shoppers to not only plan their holiday gift purchases but actively purchase new products as they browse.

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