As summer comes to an end, we embark on the busiest time of the year. School starts back up, Halloween follows close behind, Thanksgiving fills us up, Black Friday drains us, Christmas comes and goes, and finally begins a new year. Long story short, it’s time to plan your holiday marketing campaigns to ensure you’re targeting key dates and events.
It’s no secret the quickly approaching season is huge for retail sales, and the inspo period behind those purchases is in the driver’s seat. Enter Pinterest: the ultimate online inspiration destination.
One of Pinterest’s biggest benefits for e-commerce is the simplification of the shopping experience. The app seamlessly ushers shoppers through the customer journey, from inspiration all the way to decision-making. According to Facebook, 59% of shoppers used a mobile device for research during last year’s holiday season. Plus, data predicts more than half of shoppers will complete a purchase on a mobile device during this upcoming holiday season. That being said, it couldn’t have been a better time for Pinterest to upgrade the platform for more retailer capabilities for driving awareness and conversion. Let’s check out the newest updates!
Shop the Look Pins & Pinterest Catalogs
Pinterest now allows users to shop directly from a pin. Need I say more? Clearly, pinners and the platform have reached a mutual understanding of their relationship: users go on the platform for inspiration and the platform seeks to make that dream a reality. Shop the Look Pins let users tap products they see in a photo pin to reveal links to similar products available for purchase.
To get started with Shop the Look Pins: Retailers with shopping product feeds can create these pins at scale using Curalate or Olapic.
Working alongside Shop the Look Pins is the Catalog feature. This feature allows retailers to upload their partial or full product portfolios and turn them into dynamic, shoppable pins. It’s a super easy way to get your products on Pinterest. Catalogs empower users to shop strategically and specifically, especially when retailers specify “more from brand” on their product pins.
To get started with Pinterest Catalogs: You’ll need a Pinterest Business account with a claimed domain. Go to https://www.pinterest.com/product-catalogs/ to connect your existing product feed to upload your products.
Both features speed up the customer experience and knock down the barrier of comparison among products. Simply put, it’s a one and done deal.
Shopping Hubs
The home feed of Pinterest is turning into a personalized dream. Shopping hubs, located at the top of the feed, show previews of several product pins recommended for the individual user. Products show based on the user’s previous interests, searches, brands they like, and saved pins. Essentially a spin off of Catalogs, this feature is especially enticing. Hubs give retailers an opportunity to reach a warm audience in discovery mode, like a highly targeted display ad especially for shoppers.
To show up in shopping hubs: Retailers using the Catalog feature are eligible to show up on home feed hubs (at the top of a user’s home feed) and/or in the shopping section located below individual product pins (like in the “More from Nordstrom” example above.)
Promoted Video Ads
In a jungle of images, Video Pins offer a more immersive format to display your products. Depending on your goals, they also help you tell a more comprehensive story about a brand, project or idea. In a recent study, promoted videos on Pinterest were 4 times more memorable than non-video ads, pushing 67 percent of pinners to take action.
During the holiday season, your Pinterest audience is more likely to be attentive. Retailers can use this format to create branded how-to’s, “just in” product highlights reels, and recipe guides. Since customers can’t physically touch and feel a product, or ask sales representatives questions, video gives a straightforward explanation. Plus, it makes your brand stand out in the busy online shopping space that is Pinterest.
To get started with Video Pins: You need a Pinterest Business Account and a video (in .mp4, .mov or .m4v format) – that’s it! To run Promoted Video Pins, you’ll need to set up an Advertiser account, too.
For retailers looking to get ahead of the holiday season and catch their audience while they make their list – and before they’re checking it twice – Pinterest is key. New features like Shop the Look Pins, Catalogs, Shopping Hubs, and promoted video pins, have the power to insert your products into your customer’s mind while they’re seeking inspiration for their holiday gift list. Any retail brand – especially in home decor, fashion, and the food space – should at the very least take a peek.
The Pinterest platform continues to evolve in functionality to delight shoppers and retailers alike. It’s time to make it part of your holiday digital strategy.
Need a hand? Take a look at our social advertising and social media offerings to see how NordicClick can help.
