Pinterest Is Refining Its Ad Targeting Capabilities

Pinterest has been making a series of moves in recent times in an attempt to position itself as an essential social media platform for marketers, with services such as its Promoted Pins. The company is now taking this further by refining its ad-targeting tools and audience-targeting products.

Eric Hadley, Head of  Partner Marketing, explained the company will now be providing advertisers with a more precise way to reach their intended audience. In the past, marketers have only been able to target users based on the company’s 30 broad categories. Hadley explained that with the refined tools, advertisers will be able to effectively target users by audience based on specific criteria, such as “outdoor enthusiast” as an example.

In addition to this enhancement, Pinterest is testing a new ad format with animated Pins that move when users scroll. Although Hadley didn’t provide any specifics on the new offering or when the new services will be available, he did say that testing will begin in the coming months.

These new services are being disclosed as Pinterest continues to work on methods to provide more sophisticated and targeted ad offerings to increase marketers’ interest in its platform. As part of this initiative, Pinterest recently acquired ad-tech firm Kosei, which specializes in targeting ads based on relationship and recommendation modeling.

Although there have been reports Pinterest is preparing to launch a “Buy” button that would allow users to purchase pinned items without leaving the site or app, Hadley did not confirm whether or not this is part of the company’s plan.

The new ad targeting services were revealed during a two-day event called “Pinstitute,” which was attended by agencies and clients including Nike, American Express, Deep Focus, BBDO, 360i, Bank of America, Target and Kraft. The event’s purpose is to show agencies and brands how to best use Pinterest based on what the company learned during its beta test of its Promoted Pins product. The company plans to host a similar event for agencies and brands during Cannes in June, and another in New York, as well as an event in the Fall aimed at publishers.

Pinterest’s moves show an increased focus on appealing to marketers, and it will be interesting to see how things evolve. We’ll be watching to see whether or not the company launches a rumored “Buy” button in the near future. Will Pinterest become an increasingly popular platform for marketers in the coming period?