Pinterest has announced a raft of new features at its Pinterest Presents global advertiser summit. The new additions include in-stream shopping updates, promoted Idea Pins and a fresh look to its Pinterest Trends tool.

For consumer brands already advertising on Pinterest, good job. If not, maybe Pinterest’s latest feature dump might tempt you…

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“Pinterest shoppers outspend people on other platforms by 40% every month.”

Idea Ads – Stories for Pinterest

 Which brings us to the first update – Idea Ads.

You know Idea Pins? The pin format gives marketers the chance to draw users in with multi-page stories and provide a higher conversion rate than other post types on Pinterest.

Well, now marketers can turn Idea Pins into adverts.

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“Soon, you’ll be able to turn Idea Pins into Idea ads, helping you to reach eager audiences looking for their next idea to try. We’re also adding new ways to monetise your partnerships with creators through the paid partnership tool.”

Brands who partner with creators may have already had their products tagged in Idea Pins as a paid partnership – and now marketers will be able to promote those Pins as Idea Ads and will be able to share that partnership with the whole platform.

Idea Pins are basically Stories. Sort of.

 Idea Pins is essentially a Stories function for Pinterest. They work best when used to show the user something and it allows brands the chance to bring more video into Pinterest.

Pins can help boost engagement, build a community and display passions. Here are some things you can do with them:

• Video recording and editing for up to 20 pages of content.
• Voice over recording so creators can add their voice.
• Music selection by Epidemic Sound.
• Ghost mode transition tools (perfect for those before-and-afters!)
• Detail pages for instructions or ingredients.

 Idea Pins will allow brands to tap into the popularity of the creator crowd while also providing further monetisation opportunities for popular accounts.

Deeper trends insight

 Idea Pins can also be used to tap into trends on the app. Pinterest is brilliant for identifying trends and getting in early – both within Pinterest and even in Instagram, TikTok, etc. Now its trends tool has had a sweet revamp.

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“Coming this summer, businesses will see new features such as real-time search data, more trend types, more granular audience tools and personalised trend recommendations for your business.”

Sadly, the tool is only available in the UK, US and Canada at launch. However, it is being made available across the globe later in the year.

 Pinterest Trends can be used as a brilliant research and insights tool for Pinterest and in general. Make sure you take the time to study what trends are emerging and make sure to put them to use – you might be able to use it to jump on the next bandwagon.

You Shop: A win for marketers

 They say that TikTok is so addictive because of the highly personalised For You page. Pinterest has taken that idea and turned it into a shopping page.

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“It’s a place for people on Pinterest to browse, shop and buy—and it’s completely tailored to every single person’s individual tastes.”

Imagine the power of that. Being able to talk directly to people who you know will be interested in your product? Your Shop will present brands and products to Pinterest users based on their own activity or preferences.

Brands and marketers should look to plug into this and use Pinterest’s updated in-app checkout option.

Updated checkout

Your Shop should lead pinners straight to the in-app checkout for Shopify merchants, which will streamline the whole process and hopefully lead to more direct sales for your brand. It could lead to more impulse purchases and make the entire ecosystem around Idea Ads, Idea Pins and brand partnerships more lucrative.

 And finally, there’s a new Pinterest API for shopping makes it easier for shops to upload product catalogues and simplify listings.

For consumer brands and retailers, there’s a lot to like about where Pinterest is headed in 2022.