Pinterest to Start Selling ‘Promoted Pins’

Pinterest has a good New Year’s resolution: make some money. They announced this week that as of January, they’ll start selling ads on their network in the form of Promoted Pins.

It’s sort of shocking that this hasn’t happened already. Pinterest’s Joanne Bradford explained in a Pinterest for Business blog post:

Millions of people use Pinterest every day to save the inspiration and things they need to carry out plans and pursue their interests. This is a huge, unmatched opportunity for marketers today—while some platforms look to the past or present, only Pinterest focuses on the future.

Eight months ago, we launched a Promoted Pins beta for our brand advertisers. Results have been promising, and we’re now ready to bring this amazing opportunity to everyone. Our reservation-based Promoted Pins (available at a CPM) will be open to all partners January 1.

Already, recipes from food companies show up searches and retailers caught on early getting in that space, like this Macy’s wedding registry board. Some retailers also already host their Pinterest board on their own websites, like Target’s “Awesome Shop.” Now they won’t be so self-contained. Marketer’s are looking forward to it:

http://t.co/VID4wUnEF0 From my limited experience with Pinterest, ads won’t change much for users since most pins already are ads.

— David A. Arnott (@ArnottACBJ) December 29, 2014

 

Pinterest opening its ads platform on Jan. 1—I think it’s a matter of time before most people think $5B val seems low http://t.co/meEfzSPaKh

— Adam Besvinick (@Besvinick) December 29, 2014

 

Can’t wait to see early reach, click through and conversion KPIs from new Pinterest ads http://t.co/18MFMjFo0p

— Beth Carpenter (@bethshanna) December 29, 2014

The culture of Pinterest is to use it to browse and show off things you want to purchase, or make, so advertisements should fit right in to that ecosystem. If anything, it might make the whole experience more streamlined and efficient for users, unlike Facebook and Twitter ads which stand out like sore thumbs. People on Pinterest are looking to take action — whether it’s to bake a cake or redecorate their bedroom. If you’re Betty Crocker or Bed, Bath, and Beyond, you belong in that feed.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.