Facebook's "Boost" button has long been a cause of debate among social media marketing folk. Some say it's useless, while others say it was but now it's not - but what's undeniable is that it's easy, and no doubt that immediate, ease of use has lead to a whole lot more brands on Facebook pushing that little blue button.
And now, Pinterest - as part of their ever-expanding mission to become a multi-billion dollar eCommerce giant - is adding their own variation of the Boost button, with a new 'Promote' option attached to Pins.
As shown in the above GIF, the process is simple - if you want to promote any of your existing pins, you can hover over it, then click on the 'Promote' button when it appears. You can then check the information (including destination URL) is as required, set your budget, and submit your promoted Pin for review - Pinterest says the review process should take no longer than one business day to complete.
In support of the new option, Pinterest has also provided some data on successful Pin ad campaigns this far:
- Scoutmob, a curated lifestyle marketplace that celebrates independent makers, loves that people engage with their promoted content at the same rate as if it were organic. This behavior allows them to see returns that are 2x higher than on any other social channel.
- BabyList, a new solution that lets expecting parents pick their perfect baby registry, saw a 70% increase in account signups and a 40% increase in revenue within the first 5 months of using Promoted Pins.
- Ali Edwards, a service providing fiction-writing kits, makes good use of how visual Pins are to showcase their new designs and products. After using Promoted Pins, they saw an 80% increase in transactions.
- Spot Color Art, a service that sells authentically handcrafted art, loves that they can reach more qualified customers using Pinterest. After starting Promoted Pins, their sales increased by 200%.
An in addition to their new Promote button, Pinterest has also released a new quick reference guide to help brands create better, more resonant Pins.
Pinterest has released a range of new ad options in recent months, including native video ads, image-defined search and a remarketing and lookalike audience tools. And the platform will be looking to make a big push in the lead up to Christmas, with Pinners reportedly spending up to 2X more than the general public.
While it doesn't always get as much coverage as the bigger social networks, there's a lot to like about Pinterest and the moves they're making into eCommerce.
If you haven't considered the value of Pins in your social marketing plan - particularly if you're a B2C business - it's definitely worth taking a look at what they have on offer.