Pinterest Ads Best Practices: A DTC Guide
In the competitive landscape of direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing, Pinterest emerges as a unique platform that can drive significant brand awareness and sales. This blog post delves into strategic best practices to optimize your Pinterest ads campaign, ensuring they resonate with the platform’s user base actively seeking inspiration and new products.
Understanding the Visual Nature of Pinterest
As a visual discovery platform, Pinterest is all about eye-catching and inspirational imagery. When designing your ad creative, ensure it stands out in the feed and quickly captures attention. Use high-quality, polished photos and graphics that align with your brand aesthetic. Avoid cluttered or busy compositions — simplicity and visual clarity work best. Focus on showcasing your product or service in an appealing lifestyle context.
For example, an apparel brand could showcase its latest collection worn in an aspirational setting. A home goods company could feature products styled in a beautifully designed room. Make your visuals shoppable by highlighting the product and tying to your online store.
The Power of Vertical Pins and Optimal Sizing
With limited screen real estate, vertical pins in a tall, narrow orientation can capture more attention as users scroll the feed. Aim for dimensions like 600 x 900 pixels or 600 x 1560 pixels. This elongated shape stands out among square pins and is optimized for mobile.
Additionally, larger pin sizes tend to perform better, especially on desktop. Shoot for minimum dimensions of 600 x 900 pixels, but don’t exceed 600 x 1560 pixels. High-resolution images also help your pins look crisp and clear across devices.
Crafting Compelling Ad Copy
While visuals may be most important, your ad copy still plays a key supporting role. Keep text concise, clear and actionable. Highlight your value proposition, product features, or campaign theme in a compelling headline. Use descriptive but brief body copy — think “less is more.”
For example, “Our softest organic sheets ever — try risk-free” makes the value proposition obvious. Avoid overselling or using hype — let your excellent product speak for itself!
Leveraging Video Content Effectively
Video ads can capture attention in the Pinterest feed, telling a visual story about your brand. Keep videos short, under 30 seconds if possible. Lead with a hook in the first 3–5 seconds. Showcase your product naturally through demos or tutorials.
Ensure your videos make sense with the sound off, using text overlays for key messages. Include your logo tastefully in the corner. Optimize your video file sizes for quick loading. Test both square and vertical aspect ratios.
Brand Recognition Through Logo Placement
Include your brand logo prominently in both image and video pins. This drives brand recognition and reinforces your visual identity. Place your logo in one of the bottom corners so it doesn’t detract from the main visual. Size it appropriately — not too big or small.
Maintain logo consistency across your Pinterest presence and other marketing materials. Repeated brand exposure helps build familiarity over time.
Creating Actionable How-To Content for Engagement
Pinterest users actively seek practical how-to content and tips. Create pins that offer value through step-by-step tutorials, recipes, styling advice, and more. Present your product or service as the ideal solution.
For example, an electronics brand could showcase a quick guide for setting up a new gadget. A food blogger could share an easy weeknight dinner recipe featuring a sponsored ingredient. This engages Pinners while positioning your brand as an authority.
Incorporating Clear Calls to Action
Every pin should include a clear call-to-action to drive the desired user behavior. Common options include “Shop now,” “Sign up,” “Learn more,” or “Download.” Make these buttons visually stand out using contrasting colors.
Strategically place your CTA button near the bottom of pin images or at the end of video. This leads the viewer’s eye through the content before prompting action.
Aligning Your Ads with User Intentions on Pinterest
Understand that Pinterest caters to users’ aspirational intentions to discover, plan, and do. Align your messaging accordingly. Enable exploration of your products and brand. Provide ideas and inspiration. Show how your product fits into Pinners’ lifestyle pursuits.
For example, position a new decor line as helping Pinners reimagine their homes. Present a recipe that excites cooking enthusiasts. Showcase gear that enables outdoor adventurers. This mindset resonance drives relevance.
Campaign Management: Budgets, Objectives, and Targeting
Set campaign budgets based on your KPIs and targets. Leverage Pinterest’s automatic bidding for optimization. Define campaign objectives aligned to your goals — consider awareness, traffic, conversions, or video views.
Target interest and keywords relevant to your products. Create separate ad groups for different targets. Continually test and refine your targeting approach based on performance data.
Monitor campaign analytics to identify opportunities. Adjust budgets and bids in real time to maximize outcomes. Take learnings into future campaign iterations.
Exploring Different Ad Formats for Maximum Reach
Experiment with the different ad formats available on Pinterest to find the ones that best connect with your target audience. Conduct tests using pinned images, carousels, Story Pins, and Collection ads to determine which format yields the most effective results in achieving your advertising goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of Pinterest Ads are available for our brand to use, and which ones are the most effective at driving engagement and conversions?
There are several types of Pinterest Ads available for brands, including Promoted Pins, Promoted Video Pins, Promoted Carousel Ads, and Promoted App Pins. The most effective type of ad for driving engagement and conversions will depend on the specific goals of the campaign and the preferences of the target audience.
How can we target our ideal audience on Pinterest, and what targeting options are available to us?
Pinterest offers a variety of targeting options for brands, including demographic targeting, interest targeting, keyword targeting, and behavior targeting. Brands can also use Pinterest’s Lookalike Audiences feature to reach new audiences that are similar to their existing customers.
What kind of creative content performs best on Pinterest, and how can we optimize our ads to stand out on the platform?
Visual content such as high-quality images and videos tend to perform best on Pinterest. Brands should also focus on creating content that aligns with their target audience’s interests and needs. To optimize ads, brands should use eye-catching visuals, clear and concise messaging, and strong calls-to-action.
How do we measure the success of our Pinterest Ads, and what metrics should we be tracking to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI)?
Brands should track a variety of metrics to measure the success of their Pinterest Ads, including impressions, clicks, saves, leads, and sales. To ensure a positive ROI, brands should calculate their cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) for each campaign.
Are there any best practices or tips for creating successful Pinterest Ads that we should be aware of, and how can we stay up-to-date with any changes or updates to the platform’s advertising capabilities?
Some best practices for creating successful Pinterest Ads include using high-quality visuals, keeping messaging clear and concise, and using strong calls-to-action. To stay up-to-date with changes and updates to Pinterest’s advertising capabilities, brands should regularly review the platform’s advertising guidelines and follow Pinterest’s official blog for updates.
Conclusion
As the CMO of a DTC brand, Pinterest is one of the channels you should take advantage of and incorporate into your media mix. If you need advice on creating an effective Pinterest Ad Campaign- book a strategy call with one of our experts.
