Did you know that Pinterest users spend twice as much time shopping<\/a> every month as non-Pinners? Ka-ching!<\/p>\n Pinterest is unique among social platforms because its users are largely going there to discover new products, and they respond well to ads. Pinterest offers a mix of free and paid advertising tools, and combining both can earn you 3x more conversions<\/a> and twice the ROAS<\/a> (return on ad spend) versus paid ads alone.<\/p>\n Plus, Pinterest has one of the lowest CPAs (2.3x more efficient than other platforms) in social media advertising.<\/p>\n Sounds amazing, right? Buckle up as we dive into everything you need to know about Pinterest ads, from ad formats and specs to creative ad examples to inspire you.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Bonus:<\/strong> Download a free guide<\/span> that teaches you how to make money on Pinterest in six easy steps using the tools you already have.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Discovery is at the heart of Pinterest. Users go there to find new ideas and inspiration, while they\u2019re using other social media platforms to connect with friends and family.<\/p>\n Pinterest users want to discover new products, brands and projects. And Pinterest ads naturally work into that because they don\u2019t interrupt \u2014 rather, they add to the sense of discovery.<\/p>\n Because users are already looking to shop, they\u2019re more likely to appreciate ads than on any other platform.<\/p>\n Take a look at this example search for \u201cliving room furniture.\u201d While there are organic pins in the results, we can also see ads from Wallpaper Direct and Wayfair that appear almost as native search results.<\/p>\n They look exactly the same as the other search results<\/strong> and they\u2019re hyper-relevant<\/strong> to the search, making these ads incredibly useful and much more clickable than other social media ads would be.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more to Pinterest ads than that. Here are a few additional benefits that your company can take advantage of.<\/p>\n Pinterest users are ready to buy as they browse. If someone is searching on the platform for something like \u201cliving room furniture,\u201d it\u2019s likely because they\u2019re redecorating their living room and are actively looking for both ideas and products.<\/p>\n Running ads to get your product in front of these searchers helps you make more sales, which helps your business make more money. Pinterest shopping ads can triple your sales performance<\/a>, ensuring you\u2019re bringing in an ROI to write home about.<\/p>\n Pinterest ads can appear in both the home feed and search results. This means that even if someone is filtering through their home feed without looking for specific inspiration, they can still come across one of your products.<\/p>\n Pinterest has over 518 million users<\/a> \u2014 more than the entire population of the United States \u2014 and the platform is popular across all age groups and genders<\/a>. Not only can you reach a wider audience, but you can reach your<\/em> audience.<\/p>\n Finally, Pinterest pins (say that five times fast) have a longer lifespan than other types of social media posts and ads. Someone may see one of your ads in their feed or search results and decide to save it to a Pinterest board rather than take action immediately.<\/p>\n This then gives your ad the potential to reach that user\u2019s audience and be seen again by the user in question as they browse back through their boards.<\/p>\n By creating a longer-lasting pin that can reach a wider audience than you\u2019re even paying for, you\u2019re able to get more bang for your ad bucks.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFree 30-Day Trial<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n You can choose from several different Pinterest ad types based on how and where you want your ads to appear.<\/p>\n Standards pins are the simplest type of ads to run on Pinterest because you\u2019re essentially \u201cboosting\u201d or promoting an existing Pin.<\/p>\n This type of ad is a single image or video that appears in the home feed. The only thing differentiating standard pins from organic pins is a small \u201cPromoted by\u201d label.<\/p>\n When a user clicks an organic Pin, they see the Pin detail page. With standard pin ads, they\u2019re taken directly to the URL you specify.<\/p>\n Standard pins may be simple but they\u2019re also very effective, especially when combined with automatic bidding (covered later in this article). You can create a standard ad with any ad objective.<\/p>\n Video pin ads are similar to standard pins \u2014 but they\u2019re more eye-catching as they use video as the creative asset, drawing people in from the static image pins. They appear as video pins with the same \u201cPromoted by\u201d label as standard pins.<\/p>\n You can use any ad objective to create a video pin \u2014 just use video as your creative when building or choosing the pin \u2014 or you can choose a \u201cvideo views\u201d or \u201cvideo completion\u201d objective.<\/p>\n Carousel ads look exactly like organic pins but contain a group of images users can swipe through on mobile or desktop. You can tell it\u2019s a carousel by the small dots underneath the image.<\/p>\n Importantly, when a user saves it, the entire carousel is saved to their board. You can have 2-5 images per carousel ad.<\/p>\n The above carousel ad walks viewers through the steps to make a margarita. Pinterest carousel ads are also great for showing different angles of the same item, lifestyle shots of the product in use, or showing related accessories or items.<\/p>\n Shopping ads are pulled directly from your product catalog, meaning you\u2019ll need to have a catalog set up before creating one of these ads. Many platforms, like Shopify, offer a direct connection with Pinterest for this.<\/p>\n To create a shopping pin, select catalog sales<\/strong> as your ad objective before getting started with your ad creative.<\/p>\n One great thing about these ads is how easy they are. Anyone can set them up in minutes. Pinterest uses the data in your product information, as well as your industry, to automatically target Shopping ads to the most interested audience.<\/p>\n You can also set up your own targeting and advanced audience retargeting options, but this is one of the most \u201cset it and forget it\u201d-friendly ad types out there.<\/p>\n Shopping pins can look and act just like standard pins. The difference is how they\u2019re made. With shopping pins, Pinterest can dynamically create ads based on your product groups, rather than you choosing or creating specific pins to promote.<\/p>\n Collections are shopping pins that promote multiple products at once. These are mobile-only ads that allow users to shop amongst multiple products at once.<\/p>\n In the feed, collection ads appear with one large, featured video or image and 3 supporting images. If a user taps your ad, you can then show up to 24 supporting images on the ad detail page.<\/p>\n These types of ads are perfectly suited for e-commerce brands, especially in the fashion, home decor and beauty segments. However, with the right creative strategy, anyone can benefit.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially powerful to combine video and product or lifestyle images. For example, use an editorial or lifestyle video for the featured asset and support that with product and detail shots for the secondary assets.<\/p>\n Another nice thing about collection ads? Pinterest can automatically create them<\/a> for you, including choosing related products from your product catalog. Nice.<\/p>\n Quiz pins enable you to share personalized content with users based on how they respond to a quiz. To create these, you\u2019ll create a cover pin that each viewer will see, as well as a results pin for each potential result.<\/p>\n This can be a great way to provide hyper-relevant content to your audience based on their<\/em> response to something. Like in the example above, you can gather a clearer idea of which pet is best for your audience\u2019s lifestyle to then provide them with even more personalized content.<\/p>\n Showcase pins are another mobile-only pin type. They consist of multiple pins within a single ad unit, with each pin able to link to a different page of your website.<\/p>\n These ads help your audience find exactly what they might be looking for on your website. While the full ad itself cannot be saved to a board, each individual pin can.<\/p>\n Ad sizes vary based on the type of ad you plan to run. It\u2019s important to stick to the right ad specs so that your visuals appear as high-quality and seamless as possible, improving your overall ad quality \u2014 and hopefully ad clicks.<\/p>\n The recommended ad sizes for each ad type are as follows:<\/p>\n Your Pinterest ad costs are fully up to you, as you set your own bidding maximums. However, keep in mind that the more you spend, the more potential reach you gain.<\/p>\n When creating a Pinterest ad, you\u2019ll be able to choose between two options: a lifetime budget or a daily budget.<\/p>\n A lifetime budget runs your ad continuously until that budget has been hit, then turns the ad off.<\/p>\n A daily budget runs the ad each day until your daily limit has been reached. This is a continuous ad that runs until you manually turn it off unless you set specific date parameters.<\/p>\n However, just because you\u2019re able to set your own budget doesn\u2019t mean you need to go in blindly. Let\u2019s talk about benchmarks so that you can get an idea of what you\u2019ll be spending to reach your goals.<\/p>\n One survey found that<\/a>, on average, you\u2019re looking at:<\/p>\n More than half of the survey\u2019s respondents spend up to $500 per month on Pinterest to see these types of results, meaning you can make a big impact without needing a huge ad budget.<\/p>\n Ready to start running your own ads on Pinterest? We\u2019ll walk you through the eight steps it takes to easily create ads on Pinterest and start increasing reach, traffic, and sales through this platform.<\/p>\n First things first, you need to navigate to the Pinterest ads manager. If you\u2019re already set up with a Pinterest business account<\/a> (which is required for running ads), as soon as you go to Pinterest.com, you\u2019ll be sent to your business hub.<\/p>\n From there, click the Business hub<\/strong> menu in the top left corner to access more options. Under Ads<\/strong>, head to Create campaign<\/strong> to get started.<\/p>\n There are two modes for creating your Pinterest ads campaign: automated and manual. The next step is to decide between the two.<\/p>\n With manual campaigns, you can get a bit deeper with your objective, targeting, and bidding. If you want to create some of the more complex types of ads, you\u2019ll need to run a manual campaign.<\/p>\n However, most of the steps are very similar, so we\u2019re going to continue by showcasing what it\u2019s like to create an automated campaign. Play around with the manual campaign options as well \u2014 but understand that even though it gives you more options, it\u2019s still a similar process.<\/p>\n With automated campaigns, you can choose from two main objectives: conversion and consideration.<\/p>\n In order to run a conversion campaign, you need to have the Pinterest tag that tracks conversions set up on your website. Otherwise, you can only run consideration campaigns that help get your business and its products\/services.<\/p>\n Some of the manual objectives you can choose from include:<\/p>\n After choosing your objective, it\u2019s time to select or create the pin that you want to feature in your ad.<\/p>\n You can easily choose from pins you already have created and saved to your boards in order to save time. Or, you can create a new pin. You\u2019ll need to choose this option to create one of the more in-depth ads, like a collection pin.<\/p>\n One nice thing about the automated campaign is that it selects your targeting for you based on who Pinterest thinks will benefit most from your ad.<\/p>\n If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you\u2019ll need to create a manual campaign. But Pinterest also benefits from serving relevant ads to their users, so you can trust their judgment.<\/p>\n In this area, you can select any restrictions you want to set, such as specific ages (e.g., if you\u2019re promoting alcoholic beverages) or specific locations (e.g., if you only operate in certain areas of the world).<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s time to decide how much you want to spend on your ad.<\/p>\n The automated campaign lets you choose from a few options, like $5-10 per day, but you can input your own daily budget if you want to set a different amount.<\/p>\n Then you\u2019ll choose the duration of your ad. Preset options include running continuously, 10 days, or 30 days. You can also set your own duration if you want to try a different time frame, like a full quarter or a two week span.<\/p>\n Finally, it\u2019s time to publish! Review all of the settings you input to make sure they match your desired targeting, budget, duration, ad creative, and anything else you\u2019ve set.<\/p>\n You can also, at this point, choose to switch to advanced ad creation in order to input even more changes that you couldn\u2019t throughout the automated campaign creation process.<\/p>\n Or, if you\u2019re happy with how it looks, simply click Publish<\/strong> and let your ad start running!<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve published your campaign, you don\u2019t want to let it sit without monitoring it. Throughout the campaign, you can return to your Ads Manager to monitor its performance and ensure it\u2019s reaching the right audience.<\/p>\n Make any changes you need to make if it\u2019s not performing well. You don\u2019t want to waste money on a useless campaign.<\/p>\n Then of course, at the end, you can measure your campaign performance to your overall goals to see if you were able to hit the audience, the reach, and\/or the sales you were looking for.<\/p>\n Want to get the most out of your Pinterest ads? Keep these best practices in mind as you create your ad visuals and build out your campaigns.<\/p>\n Automated campaigns make your life easier. Pinterest even lets you know at the onset that creating an automated campaign can take just 2-3 minutes while manual ads can take up to an hour, depending on how in-depth you want to get.<\/p>\n If you plan on running multiple campaigns, taking advantage of the automated settings can save you a lot<\/em> of time, though it might not get you the results you want.<\/p>\n This is why testing both options is a good idea. If manual campaigns are generating exponentially more results, then of course it will make sense to dedicate that time to your campaigns.<\/p>\n But if the results are the same, or if automated campaigns are performing better, don\u2019t waste extra time building out a manual campaign. Use the automated features and sit back to watch your results pile in.<\/p>\n Take a look at this search query on Pinterest for \u201chome decor.\u201d<\/p>\n Every image is some form of vertical. Imagine if your ad was a small horizontal amongst these vertical images. It would get lost. Even square images don\u2019t stand out as much as vertical images, though Pinterest\u2019s ad specs say you can use square.<\/p>\n To ensure your ad stands out amongst the other results, stick to vertical aspect ratios, usually a 2:3 aspect ratio or around 1000 x 1500 pixels.<\/p>\n Incorporate your brand fonts and colors into your Pinterest ad graphics. Make sure your ads and your pins on this platform are recognizable and similar to your ads and graphics on other platforms. This can help with brand recognition and strength across the board.<\/p>\n Be strategic about the landing page you pair with your Pinterest ad. You should be sending your ad clickers to the page that continues the journey they started by viewing your ad.<\/p>\n For example, if your ad showcases a specific couch, make sure it leads to that couch\u2019s product page, rather than your website\u2019s home page or a full collection page. You want to make it as easy as possible for someone to take action after seeing your ad.<\/p>\n You might start your Pinterest ad journey with a handful of standard ads. They\u2019re simple and effective, so why not?<\/p>\n However, we recommend testing out the various ad types. Try a quiz ad or collection ad to put even more personalized content in front of your audience. See which ad types perform best. Aim to consistently increase your reach and sales.<\/p>\n Tell ad viewers exactly what you want them to do, either in your pin description or on your ad graphic. Calls-to-action like \u201clearn more,\u201d \u201cshop now,\u201d or \u201ctake the quiz\u201d can help increase clicks and conversions.<\/p>\n Finally, get creative with your visuals. You don\u2019t have to just have a single product photo as your ad creative. You can create a collage, use a video, or design a graphic that showcases even more to your audience.<\/p>\n More creative ad visuals grab attention better, increasing views, clicks, and conversions.<\/p>\n Get even more inspiration before you launch your first (or next) Pinterest ad. Here are three proven success stories with Pinterest advertising.<\/p>\n Kroger ran some holiday ads<\/a> during the 2023 holiday season in an effort to get even more shoppers in the door. One of those ads was a quiz ad meant to help people discover new holiday dishes so they can add the key ingredients to their Kroger shopping list.<\/p>\n By positioning itself as the number one destination for holiday grocery shopping\u2014and by using unique and visually appealing ad creative\u2014Kroger was able to increase awareness, generate a 50% quiz completion rate, and hit a 67% lower CPM (cost per impression) than estimated.<\/p>\n Sweaty Betty is a women\u2019s activewear company that runs shopping ads<\/a> through Pinterest. With basic product photos as the ad creative, Sweaty Betty targets people by identifying the most popular exercises and clothing types, focusing their ads solely on those.<\/p>\n This trend analysis has worked well for Sweaty Betty, helping Pinterest become their number one ads channel, and increasing their ROAS (return on ad spend) by 39% YoY (year over year).<\/p>\n Cetaphil knows that Pinterest is always on top of new trends, so the brand decided to lean into that with its first big Pinterest ad campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n By using language like \u201c2023 Trend\u201d in its ad and creating an eye-catching, product-centric graphic, Cetaphil was able to grab the audience attention it was looking for.<\/p>\n With these ads, Cetaphil was able to increase brand awareness by 4.5% as well as boost pin recall, helping to improve the overall conversation around its brand and its face wash.<\/p>\n Manage all your social media \u2014 including Pinterest \u2014 easily with Hootsuite\u2019s automatic scheduling tools and detailed, cohesive analytics. Spend less time posting and more time discovering what your audience wants. Try Hootsuite today.<\/strong><\/p>\nBenefits of Pinterest advertising<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Pinterest](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-1-620x322.png?resize=620%2C322&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nGenerate sales<\/h3>\n
Reach a wider audience<\/h3>\n
Get more bang for your buck<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inpost-CTA-Planner.png?ssl=1\"\/)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t#1 Social Media Tool\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\nPinterest ad types<\/span><\/h2>\n
Standard pins<\/h3>\n
![\"Pinterest](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-2-620x285.png?resize=620%2C285&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nVideo pins<\/h3>\n
Carousel pins<\/h3>\n
![\"home](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-3-620x237.png?resize=620%2C237&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nShopping pins<\/h3>\n
Collections<\/h3>\n
![\"Nestig's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-4-620x1342.png?resize=620%2C1342&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nQuiz pins<\/h3>\n
![\"Quiz](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-5-1-620x448.webp?resize=620%2C448&ssl=1\")
<\/a>
Source: <\/em>Pinterest<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nShowcase pins<\/h3>\n
![\"L'Oreal](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-5-620x448.webp?resize=620%2C448&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nPinterest ad sizes<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
How much do Pinterest ads cost?<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Campaign](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-6-1-620x422.png?resize=620%2C422&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n
How to create ads on Pinterest<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Head to the ads manager<\/h3>\n
![\"Ads](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-6-620x255.png?resize=620%2C255&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n2. Select your campaign creation mode<\/h3>\n
![\"Select](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-7-620x299.png?resize=620%2C299&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n3. Choose your objective<\/h3>\n
![\"Choose](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-8-620x323.png?resize=620%2C323&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n
4. Select or create your pin(s)<\/h3>\n
![\"Select](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-9-620x321.png?resize=620%2C321&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n5. Add targeting details<\/h3>\n
![\"target](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-10-620x323.png?resize=620%2C323&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n6. Input your budget<\/h3>\n
![\"Select](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-11-620x323.png?resize=620%2C323&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n7. Publish your campaign<\/h3>\n
![\"Create](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-12-620x323.png?resize=620%2C323&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n8. Monitor your campaign<\/h3>\n
Best practices for advertising on Pinterest<\/span><\/h2>\n
Test both automated and manual campaigns<\/h3>\n
Use vertical aspect ratios<\/h3>\n
![\"home](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-13-620x324.png?resize=620%2C324&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nStay on brand<\/h3>\n
Choose the right landing page<\/h3>\n
Play with different ad types<\/h3>\n
Include a call-to-action<\/h3>\n
Get creative with your visuals<\/h3>\n
3 great examples of Pinterest ads<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Kroger<\/h3>\n
![\"Kroger](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-14-620x472.png?resize=620%2C472&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n2. Sweaty Betty<\/h3>\n
![\"Sweaty](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-15-620x444.png?resize=620%2C444&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n3. Cetaphil<\/h3>\n
![\"Cetaphil](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Pinterest-Ads-16-620x473.png?resize=620%2C473&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n