When Facebook makes money with advertisements, how can Pinterest stay behind? There are promoted pins on Pinterest to enhance its revenue.
You heard it right! Pinterest has launched an advertising business to target its 46 million users. It is charging brands to place content on users’ “pinboards” much the way Facebook and Twitter allow businesses to pay to put their messages inside streams of updates from friends.
Pinterest is looking to earn the $2.5 billion valuations it received after its last financing round of $200 million.
Is Pinterest going to be annoying to users due to the new advertising service?
Given the reputation of Pinterest in the world of social media, Pinterest is still expected to ensure that browsing Pinterest remains a pleasant experience for users. Ben Silbermann, Pinterest’s co-founder and chief executive, wrote in a blog post:
“I know some of you may be thinking, ‘Oh great … here come the banner ads. But we’re determined to not let that happen.”
Silbermann said that Pinterest would clearly label when a “pin” is a promotion that it would not bombard users with “flashy banners or pop-up ads,” and the paid pins would be relevant to a users’ interests.
Pinterest has plans to these pins in search results and categories. Silbermann also refrained from saying that the new step of Pinterest aimed at making money. He said, “Nobody‘s paying for anything yet — we want to see how things go and, more than anything, hear what you think.”
Silbermann called this an experiment. Business Insider speculated that his new parenthood may have shifted his mindset on Pinterest‘s business model, as he was quoted earlier this year saying to MIT Technology Review:
I had a kid recently, so I planned the kid’s nursery with my wife on Pinterest. I plan activities to do with my kid. A lot of those things end up being the blueprint of what I end up buying and doing. I think that’s at the heart of how we’ll eventually make money. It would be better if it showed me the perfect crib to get and I could go get it – that would be better than Pinterest is now.
Description of promoted pins on Pinterest:
Silbermann mentioned following characteristics while describing “promoted pins”:
- Tasteful: No flashy banners or pop-up ads.
- Transparent: Pinterest will always let you know if someone paid for what you see, or where you see it.
- Relevant: The pins should be about stuff you are actually interested in. This means you will see promoted pins only on those topics that you are interested in.
- Improved based on your feedback: Pinterest will introduce changes and improvements on the basis of your feedback.
At the time of this blog post being written, Pinterest is trying this service only with “select businesses”. Have you seen promoted pins? What type of pins are you getting to see on your Pinterest? Post your comments and tell us.
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