If you’ve been doing Pinterest marketing for a bit and you’re ready to stick your toe into the Pinterest ads waters, you’ll want to listen to today’s episode. Erin and Elysha (Simple Pin’s Pinterest Ads team) are going to tell you what you can expect from your very first Pinterest Ads campaign.
NOTE: At the time of this episode, Pinterest Ads were called “Promoted Pins”. There is a distinction between the two, watch this YouTube video to learn more about the difference.
If you’re more of a visual learner or you like to watch video versus reading a post, we have a great YouTube video all about the basics of a Pinterest Ads campaign.
If you’re new to Pinterest marketing, don’t jump into running ads just yet. You’re better off to start with the newsletter series we developed just for you.
But if you’re ready to experiment with ads, listen up. Erin and Elysha are going to tell you everything you need to know.
What to Expect from Your First Pinterest Ads Campaign on Pinterest
Why Are Pinterest Ads So Important?
If you‘ve never run a Pinterest ad campaign before, you might be asking the question, why should I even bother? What’s the benefit for me and my business?
That’s a great question and one that we can definitively answer.
First, Pinterest ads are important to Pinterest because it’s the way that Pinterest makes money. They will continue to push ads in order to continue to grow.
More important though is the fact that Pinterest ads can be a huge help to your business. They can help you reach your goals more quickly, thereby allowing your business to grow more quickly as well.
What You Need to Know Before Running Your First Pinterest Ads Campaign
The most important thing to know before embarking on your first campaign is to know your worth.
The entire goal of using Pinterest Ads is to increase your reach and expand your exposure. Whether you’re looking to:
- increase page views
- grow your email list
- increase checkout conversions
..the bottom dollar is what really matters.
The first thing you need to know is exactly what your CPA (cost per action) is. Elysha likes to ask, “What does it cost you to keep the lights on and the coffee pouring?” If you don’t know what your CPA is, one of the easiest ways to find out is by running a Pinterest Ads traffic campaign (now called Consideration campaigns).
You will discover how your audience interacts with your ads. This type of ad campaign also gives you a baseline for your stats. You will get an idea of what your CPA is.
How Long Should You Run Your Pinterest Ads Campaign?
When you get ready to run your first campaign, how do you decide how long to run it, and how much to spend? Can you run an ad for a week and only spend $5 per day and expect to see success? Or do you need to go in for the long haul?
Why? Because we know that on Pinterest, things take time. If you’re running a basic traffic campaign (now called consideration campaign), you really want to give yourself four weeks minimum. It takes at least two weeks before your ads even get placed well on the platform.
It’s crucial to understand how the Pinterest user behaves on the platform, especially if you’re selling a product,. Typically, the user researches their need, finds the inspiration they’re looking for, and then returns to the platform later to make a purchase.
If you only run a Pinterest ad campaign for a week, you aren’t giving the ad time to work.
You also have to consider other things like seasonality, current events and trends, and any specific products you might be trying to sell. Be sure to consider that it takes a few weeks to get your ad placed well where your target audience will see it.
When Can You Expect to See Results from your Pinterest Ads Campaign?
Once you get your ad up and running, when can you expect to see results? We already talked about the fact that Pinterest is a slow-moving train. But how long do you have to wait to see the fruit of your labors?
There are so many variables in how you measure results:
• Supply and demand
• Competition
• Budget.
The key is patience. You have to be ready to play the long game when it comes to Pinterest. It takes time for things to gain traction on the platform.
The great thing about Pinterest Ads is that you typically see results more quickly than you do with organic pins. This is because Pinterest Ads are super-targeted, while organic pinning is more akin to throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
It’s easier to see results with ad campaigns because you can see how people are interacting with the campaign on a daily basis. Based on this data, you can make changes to refine those results.
How Do Pinterest Ads Compare to Facebook Ads?
People always want to compare Facebook and Pinterest. Kate has devoted an entire episode of the podcast to describing out how Pinterest is not Facebook. In a different episode, we interview a seasoned ads manager about her transition from Facebook Marketing to Pinterest marketing. Be sure to listen to these episodes if you aren’t sure of the differences between the two platforms.
When you run an ad on Facebook, you are targeting an entirely different audience than you are on Pinterest. The audience is different AND their motivation for using the platform is dramatically different.
People use Instagram for one thing, Facebook for something else, and Pinterest for a different reason altogether. You can’t expect marketing strategies that work on one platform to necessarily work on another — most times they do NOT.
And while we’re on the subject of comparison, please don’t compare your ad results with what someone else accomplishes through their ads. Every business is different and your results are unique to your business.
Instead of comparing Facebook ads to Pinterest ads, think about the bottom line you need to see and what your goals are.
Is This a Good Time to Run Pinterest Ads?
Feeling a bit wary about running ads during a time of economic uncertainty is completely natural. It can be scary to invest money into your business when things seem so up in the air.
But know this. In the midst of all the upheaval, more users than ever are on Pinterest, which makes NOW a great time to use promoted pins to accelerate your business. Here at Simple Pin, we have had a few clients gently dip their toe into the Pinterest ads pool, very leery of whether they would see results.
They have been amazed at the returns they have seen on their very modest investments. People are still spending money and ads are a great way to get your product in front of more people.
The great thing about Pinterest ads is that you can start small and if you see success, you can very easily put more money behind the campaign and grow it even more. Likewise, you can always lower your investment if you need to.
You always want to pay attention to the seasonality and current events when running ad campaigns but there is no better time than now to try a Pinterest Ads campaign if you haven’t.
Running Pinterest Ads on Pinterest Is Never a Waste
Here at Simple Pin, we feel strongly that running an ad campaign is never a waste. Even if your returns aren’t huge, you learn something about your product and your audience every time you run a campaign.
The data you get access to from running an ad campaign is so much more complete than the analytics you get through organic pinning. The more campaigns you run, the more you learn. We have clients who have run so many campaigns that now we know which age group to target, how to choose the right keywords, which interests to hone in on, and even the specific device that a particular audience is likely to use.
You can not only use that information for future ad campaigns; you can also use it to improve your organic management strategy.
How to Get Started with your First Pinterest Ads Campaign
If you want to get started with a consideration campaign, Elysha wants to tell you one thing:
Don’t be afraid.
Start small. Familiarize yourself with how ads work or pay someone to do it for you. Ads are the future of Pinterest so learn how to use them and don’t be scared.
If you don’t have time to figure it all out, hire someone to do it for you. If you’ve never run ads on Pinterest before, just know that the platform is a bit clunky, so it might take some figuring out. Don’t be afraid. You can do this!
But it’s okay to get help. Use our free Pinterest ads resources or book a consult with us for help. Right now is a great time to get started using Pinterest Ads. It’s a very inexpensive way to invest in your business. Try a couple of Pinterest Ads campaigns and use that information to grow further.
When done right, a Pinterest Ads campaign will yield amazing results for your business. It will allow you to reach your perfect person on Pinterest. And you will be able to see how they engage with your ads.
For Further Listening/Reading:
- Pinterest Ads: Tips for the DIY Pinterest Marketer
- Simple Pin Media Pinterest Ads Management Services
- Do Pinterest Ads Work? (podcast/blog post)
- Pinterest Ads Cost Best Practices (podcast/blog post)
- Types of Pinterest Ads: Consideration vs. Conversion (podcast/blog post)
