Let's Get Visual: Simple Tips For Great Pinterest Ads

Are you currently maximizing Pinterest advertising for your eCommerce or online retail business? If not, you might be making a big mistake by snubbing this powerful social media marketing platform.

The user mindset on Pinterest is significantly different than it is on other social media platforms — users are often on Pinterest specifically to decide what to buy next, or plan a big future purchase. That high shopping intent is key for conversions!

This makes Pinterest a go-to eCommerce advertising platform full of marketing potential for your business. Imagine being able to present users who are actively searching for your products (or similar ones) with ads while also being able to promote to users who are passively browsing through their feed.

That's a clear win-win for catching ToFu and MoFu audiences.

Pinterest can also reveal your target audience's aesthetic preferences and preferred products and services, giving you an upper hand for your ad creative strategy.

What visuals appeal to your buyer persona? The answer in is the boards!

Ad creative best practices

The best and most effective Pinterest ads:

• Tell a good story;
• Make people want to learn more;
• Are visually compelling.

Here’s some best practices and tips we've come across for how to make the most of your ads:

For Pins

1. Pick eye-catching yet high-quality, vertical images.
2. Make your brand the focal point. Choose obvious over cheeky.   
3. Provide context about your product through the description. Visualize value you're providing.
4. Include your logo in a subtle way by placing it on the lower right corner of the image.
5. Add text overlay to tell a better story (and encourage users to click on the Pin Ad). 

For Videos

1. Start strong and make your content actionable. Make people want to try something new.
2. Tailor the length based on your goals. (Aim for 6-15 seconds for promoted videos.)
3. Don’t rely on audio. Most people browse through their feeds with the sound off, so captions are your friend.
4. Pick a strong cover image to easily catch your target audience’s attention.
5. Optimize your Pin copy by creating clear titles, descriptions, and hashtags.

📌 Pinterest is growing fast and eCommerce advertisers are taking notice. →

Pin-spirations for your Pinterest Ads

1. Health and wellness: Fitness Fatale

This type of ad works well for health and wellness businesses because everyone loves a great success story. The image and the text overlay used for this ad are easily relatable. Your audience is invited to see themselves getting the same end result from your product.

2. Retail Fashion: Polyvore

Who says no to cute outfit ideas? There's a lot to gain from advertising clothing and accessories on Pinterest. Just make sure that your ads represent current stock!

👗 Pinterest's "Complete The Look" tool offers visual complements for image searches. Those shoes with this dress? Yes, please! →

Also, take note of the call to action in this ad. A good call to action will grab the attention of audiences. This one gives browsers an idea of cost without having to click first and entices them with a good deal.

3. Home and Design: Drummond House Plans

Make sure that your pin is interesting enough to convince your audience to visit your website. This ad featuring Drummond House Plans shows a mock up design and floor plan of a modern house. It's not so vague that the viewer thinks it's just a regular house photo, but it also doesn't overstate the business.

On top of the sleek visual, Drummond House Plans takes into account user intent by including tags popular to Pinterest users planning to purchase or build a home. 

We've seen clients get big returns on Pinterest ads. Are you ready to try out this visual social platform for your ad campaigns?