A few select Pinterest advertisers have gained access to some powerful new tools that let brands target existing customers on the image-sharing network and measure how many consumers are purchasing products after clicking on Promoted Pins.
Visual bookmarking network Pinterest says it is adding audience and conversion tracking features to the Promoted Pins it began testing in May with a small group of advertisers in the U.S. that now include Banana Republic, Purina, and Nespresso.
In a blog post, Pinterest says it plans to help those advertisers understand how their ads are performing and to make Promoted Pins, which, like the name implies, are pins promoted by businesses, more relevant to users. It will also update its Privacy Policy on October 19 at least in part as a result of these changes.
Pinterest says it will “improve” Promoted Pins by reporting information like how often ads are showing on Pinterest and how many consumers are purchasing products after clicking on Promoted Pins.
That means advertisers may add pixels to their websites that let Pinterest measure purchases that have come from viewing or clicking on Promoted Pins. Further, Pinterest says it may use that data to “customize” users’ experiences on Pinterest.
In addition, Pinterest says it may allow advertisers to place pixels or similar technology on the Promoted Pins themselves, which it says will allow advertisers to collect information on how well the Promoted Pins are doing.
Advertisers may also share what Pinterest calls a “hash” of identifiers such as email addresses, which can then be matched with users so Pinterest can show targeted Promoted Pins to them.
According to a Pinterest rep, additional brands in the test include Expedia, Gap, General Mills, Kraft, Target, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Ziploc.
Noting “the results thus far have been really encouraging,” the rep writes in an email, “We are focusing on three areas with Promoted Pins right now. 1) Ensuring the Promoted Pins are a great part of the Pinner experience. 2) Understanding what’s important to our partners and how best to manage campaigns and measure the results and 3) improving our ability to target ads.”
The rep adds, “These updates will allow us to provide common industry standard advertiser tools like conversion tracking, which we believe will make Promoted Pins an even better part of the discovery experience on Pinterest.”
Pinterest says it wants to show Promoted Pins that are relevant to users and from brands they have shown interest in. To avoid showing “random or distracting” Promoted Pins to users, Pinterest hopes to incorporate information shared by advertisers.
Users who don’t want their information used or to be targeted can turn off Personalization within their account settings.
When asked about expansion plans for its Promoted Pins test, the Pinterest rep says, “We are focusing on a test in the U.S. for now.”
Do you think these additional features will help you better target consumers and increase sales on Pinterest?