We’ve had Facebook dark posts and Twitter ads on our minds as marketers—after all, we all know that the social sphere’s pay-to-play habits are only getting stronger.

But now the opportunity has arrived for another fan-favorite social platform, Pinterest. Home to food, fitness, and DIY crafts you’ll never be able to replicate, Pinterest has finally opened their Promoted Pins feature to all advertisers.

According to Pinterest for Business, promoted pins perform better than organic pins (those who participated in their beta testing saw a 30% bump in earned media), allow for more advanced targeting, and continue to perform even after a campaign ends. (That’s because pins are evergreen—marketing practices may change by the season, but “How to Make the Best Blueberry Muffins” is forever).

We’ve just begun experimenting with this new feature ourselves and we’re learning more every day. Based on our experiences so far, here are a few things to consider before you jump in to try promoted pins for your business:

• What is the status of your Pinterest account? Meaning, do your boards have a high volume of pins, or are there just a few (30 or less) on each board? Do your boards resonate with the interests of your audience and of your brand? Embark upon a quick cleanup of your account before driving traffic, if necessary.
• Promoted Pins look very similar to non-advertised pins – they simply include “Promoted by X” under the image. And because promoted pins are mixed fluidly within a pinner’s search feed, the promoted pin presents an opportunity for you to share your best content in a nonintrusive way.
• To decide on the best pin to promote, think about timeliness and your target audience’s interests. For example, since Easter is on the horizon, you may consider Easter related content to promote in March/Early April. Select any image pinned to your boards to create a promoted pin. Last tip—the description you write for that pin will help users find you. Make sure to craft a description that keeps keywords in mind! For this example, use keywords like “spring,” “outdoors,” “celebrate Easter with..,” etc.   
• Watch out for budget! Unlike Facebook and Twitter advertising which sets up a total budget spent, Pinterest’s current setup for promoted pins allows only the option for daily budget. As we are also experimenting with this new feature, I’d recommend setting a small daily budget ($5 or less) over the span of 7 days.

Considering 57% of Pinterest users pin, re-pin and interact with food-related content, the Promoted Pins feature is definitely something worth trying—particularly if you’re a fresh produce marketer. And once (or if) you login, you’ll see that the Promoted Pins process is pretty straight-forward. This new feature is another example of how social media is far more than status updates about your lunch—there’s strategy behind it! For more insights on Pinterest, check out the Produce Marketer’s Guide to Pinterest to make the most of this social network.

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