One of the most versatile social media platforms with rapid recent growth in number of active users is Pinterest. It seemed to lose momentum after Instagram took off, but the developers managed to create a smart mix of the best practices of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook™, and created a brand new experience both for private users and for businesses promoting their products and services.
Pinterest has expressed its aim to be more than just a social media platform – to grow into a visual search engine and, ultimately, to offer its members a brand new search and shop experience. So far, it has taken baby steps in this direction. But recently Pinterest has made a decisive move by adding three powerful targeting features for business accounts, allowing them to reach out to potential customers.
Statistical data obtained by the research company Millward Brown are encouraging for businesses who decide to invest money in Pinterest ads and marketing strategies:
- 93% of Pinterest users browse the social media platform when they are planning a purchase;
- 87% of active users made a purchase after they saw a product they liked on Pinterest;
- 75% of all saved Pins are from merchant and brand accounts.
The conclusion is clear: Pinterest is a social media platform with huge potential for creating a powerful sales funnel for businesses. That being said, let us take a look at the brand new targeting tools made available by Pinterest developers to companies:
1. Visitor Retargeting
Companies are now able to place a Pinterest conversion tag on their website. This tag will determine each time a website visitor interacts with the tagged content, the way this interaction takes place and what action the user takes, does not take, or fails to complete. This tracking of visitor behaviour will provide the company with valuable information for serving them relevant ads when they visit Pinterest.
For example, if a website visitor clicks on a specific product on your page and then leaves without making a purchase, or they place the product in the shopping cart but do not complete the purchase, they will see that product featured in a Pinterest ad next time they log in to the social media platform.
This new Pinterest tag option works similarly to the Facebook™ pixel, so if you are familiar with that targeting tool you will find the new Pinterest feature very easy to use.
2. Customer List Targeting
This tool allows you to reach out to your existing customers on Pinterest. By importing your list of subscribers (emails and mobile IDs) into Pinterest, you can create a specific audience which you can target with promoted pins and ads.
This is a very effective way to maintain your brand’s relevance to them – especially in light of the statistical data proving that a lot of people browse Pinterest with the ultimate goal of making a purchase. If they are served with an ad, or see a promoted pin from your business once they log into their accounts, they will be presented with a potential purchase option at the moment when they are likely to favour such an idea.
3. Look-a-Like Targeting
This tool works just like the Facebook™ lookalike audience – it allows a company to reach out to a large audience which display similar interests and behaviours like the model audience (the customer list audience) which the company already has. In this way, companies can advertise and promote pins in a cost-efficient manner to Pinterest users who are likely to be interested in their products and services.
As a final thought, right now Pinterest does not offer a purchase or offer button or other similarly strong call to action. However, given the trend embraced by the developers of this social media platform, such an option is most likely to be available soon in the future.