Don't look now, but Pinterest will be rolling out video ads soon

By Anthony Thurston August 18, 2016

how to block someone on Pinterest iPad Pinterest app — Marcel De Grijs/123RF

Like Facebook and YouTube before it, online bulletin board Pinterest will soon begin featuring video advertisements. Unlike other social meeting platforms that Pinterest has to compete with, Pinterest is considered a destination for online shopping. That, according to Pinterest product manager Mike Bigdoli, will make the video ads effective.

55 percent of Pinterest users look at the site as a landing place for online shopping. That’s huge compared to the twelve percent who think the same about Facebook and Instagram. Pinterest already has advertising in place with Promoted Pins, and video advertisements will be its second ad system.

Ads will appear in the main feed, but will only play short previews without sound. Once a user clicks on the ad it will play in its entirety complete with audio. The video advertisement will also integrate the pin system that Pinterest is famous for. Advertisers will be able to share pins related to their videos that relate to their products as well as give users a place to purchase the items that are featured in the videos.

The main concern is that Pinterest’s native video player is in its infancy, having only launched three weeks ago. Pinterest isn’t known as a video application, as YouTube is, so there’s no reference for how well video advertising will work in its platform. Bigdoli suggests that users are looking for more video in its boards so these ads may be the beginning of welcome changes.

Advertisers will pay per impression for their ads. This means they pay every time an ad shows up in users feeds even if they don’t click and watch the whole video. There also won’t be an automated bidding system in place for video advertising. Companies wishing to use the service will need to call and speak with a representative from Pinterest to set up their ads. By Wednesday, the new ads will be rolling out in the U.S. and U.K., with other regions to follow up later.

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Anthony is an internationally published photographer based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Specializing primarily in…

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