Advertising On Pinterest: Tips From The Pros

Do you do any online advertising for your brand, products, or online store? If not, you probably want to consider it. Advertising online is essential for getting noticed! If you want to reach your future customers, you have to get in front of them. While Facebook and Instagram can be good platforms to reach people who may be interested in buying your products, Pinterest is an excellent, and sometimes overlooked option as well.

Advertising On Pinterest

If you have ever used Pinterest before, you know it is a very visually driven platform. Over 200 million people browse through Pinterest every month to discover new things and new ideas. Pinterest is place where people can design their own lives. It's a place for inspiration and discovery!

Pinterest can be a great match for people looking to get their designs and products in front of the people who will love them. You are all artists, designers, and creative people. Ideally, you want people to see, share, love, and inevitably purchase your designs and products.

I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with some people on Pinterest's advertising team. We talked about what makes an ad perform well and stand out. Here is what I learned.

The Basics

Accepted File Types: PNG and JPEG
File Size: 2MB
Minimum Resolution: 72 dpi
Aspect Ratio: 2:3 or a bit taller
Image Size: 600x900 pixels minimum, 600x1560 pixels maximum.
Description Character Count: 500 characters of less

Creative Guide

Include A CTA
What is a CTA? It is a call to action! You want to motivate the user to take some action. What that action is, is up to you! It could be to visit your shop or to purchase a specific item. An ad without a call to action isn't much of an ad! You can do this as a text over lay, in the description, or both. Just be clear and provide the appropriate links.

Tasteful Branding
It's been shown that subtle branding drives higher performance. You can do this through product placement or a small water mark off to the side.

Extra tip - don't put your logo in the bottom right hand corner. It will get covered by the Pinterest product feature.

Design For Mobile
Research shows that around of 80% of users access Pinterest from mobile devices. You might consider uploading your ad to a secret board to check how it looks on mobile to ensure it is legible and is easy to understand. It is also shown that your image will only be on their screen for an average of less than 2 seconds, so make sure you communicate your point efficiently!

Stand Out
One challenge is being able to stand out in a sea of images. Consider what pins will be related to your ad, and try to think and design differently. You want your advertisement to grab attention and stand out, not blend in!

Optimize Visual Space
Advertisers on Pinterest had the best luck creating vertical ads. The vertical format allows the ad to flow on the page as the visitor scrolls down the feed. It is suggested that your ad should be 600 pixels wide by 900-1550 pixels in height.

Use Text
Text can help give an image context. People are more drawn in by the pin than by its description, so make your point on the image itself! The use of straight forward and clear text can help people take action.

Extra tip - A minimum 20pt font is suggested for legibility on mobile.

Resources

Check out these resources for a closer look into advertising with Pinterest. I have included both informational and inspirational idea to help get you started and on the right path!

Advertising Guidelines - This page provides you with the information you need to get started. Be sure to follow these advertising guidelines.

Pinterest Creative Guide - This guide is chock full of information that will help you create an ad that will not only stand out, but perform!

Apparel Ad Inspiration - Here is a board full of apparel ads that people have already created. Check them out and get inspired to create your own!

Success Stories - Big brands and small companies alike share their success advertising on Pinterest. Take a look at their stories and learn from their experiences.