Once again, Pinterest shows it’s finesse for evolving as a social network. While the social network is one of the last to join the world of promoted videos, they’ve proved they’re never content with simply following the crowd. Pinterest has introduced Promoted Video, a mobile only feature designed to entertain and inform users while maximizing advertising opportunities.
The Pinterest Difference
Promoted Video is particularly special on the platform because it is joined by Featured Pins… you’re presented with a Featured Pin as a package immediately below each Promoted Video. This multiplies the number of opportunities to close the sale or build brand loyalty with audiences. In fact, Pinterest respects users by opting out of playing videos automatically. The first look is a Cinematic Pin which plays a preview of the Promoted Video on silent. The user must then click on the pin in order to open it and view the entire video. Selecting the pin makes it play aloud, automatically. Users can click on the video to make an immediate purchase or click on the Featured Pin to make a purchase there.
Promoted Video is not the only fantastic new feature to join Pinterest this time around. It is now possible to send pins and invitations to accounts even if you don’t follow each other and users may send pins, boards and profiles outside of Pinterest using SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and more. Users may even curate their home feeds to be more personalized than ever via opting in or out for recommended pins via settings and enjoying the ability to unfollow specific boards in a centralized, convenient place. The more interesting and personally-curated users’ feeds, the more chances to make the sale.
What Marketers Should Know…
Promoted Video is currently available to firms based in the U.S. and the U.K. Marketers are privy to a host of practical data – teaser video impressions, video clicks, the number of times the entire video was viewed, the amount of video viewers watched (25%, 50%, 75%, the entire video) and Featured Pin clicks. Promoted Video is paid for based on Promoted Video views and impressions for the Cinematic Pin preview. The business intelligence firm, L2, projects 2015’s $7.7 billion in online video advertising spending will increase to $12.82 by 2018.
Pinterest listens to the wants and needs of their community of users and it shows! They continue to outperform so many of their competitors as they build an ever-growing, loyal base of users around the world – many of whom are interested in actually purchasing the featured services and products they browse through and pin each day.
