*Update: Pinterest announced starting 5/30/17 they will begin enforcing these new ad standards to all promoted pins (not just one-tap). Read on and be prepared for success.
*Update: As on 7/17/18, Pinterest will begin migrating ALL Promoted Pins to One-Tap
If you’re advertising on Pinterest, you may have noticed a new option to enable One-Tap promoted pins. This is currently being rolled out to many advertisers on the Pinterest platform. I’ve been using Pinterest for business since 2011 and through my work at The Grommet (which Pinterest highlighted here), I have learned a lot over the years by testing new strategies as the platform itself has evolved. Wether you’re a seasoned Pinterest advertiser or just beginning to explore promoted pins, the recent roll out of One-Tap promoted pins will be worth testing out.
In October 2016, Pinterest shared new promoted pin formats they had begun to roll out which include promoted app pins, promoted video pins, and One-Tap promoted pins. This meant new experiences for users on Pinterest (who would eventually engage with these new ad formats), as well as new options and best practices for advertisers–exciting all around. As one of the first advertisers to test out the new One-Tap format last fall, I’ve been anxiously waiting for them to roll out to more advertisers and it looks like that time has finally come.
Have you experienced One-Tap promoted pins them while browsing Pinterest? They are a lot like they sound, they take a user on Pinterest from your promoted pin to your site–you guessed it–in one tap. They pins themselves have a little arrow in the bottom right corner which indicates the pin goes directly to the source.
If you currently have these rolled out to your advertising account, you’ll notice all new Pinterest campaigns will be set as One-Tap by default (at least for now). You do have the option of toggling to turn them off–which means the pin would be a regular (aka two-tap) promoted pin. You will see this option when you set up your campaign. Note that you can toggle it off by editing an existing campaign if you don’t like the results you’re seeing.
Here are some areas to consider if you are considering testing One-Tap promoted pins:
The Opportunity
Get people to your site, faster. If you’re running traffic campaigns on Pinterest that should certainly sound appealing.
What To Expect
A pretty obvious thing you’ll see right away is a higher click through rate. Before, Pinners who clicked your promoted pin had to choose what action to do next (save or click), but now they won’t have that choice. They’re coming at you … HOT.
What To Pay Attention To
Like any new tests, you’ll want to keep a close eye on your campaign’s performance. Your click through rate is going to be much higher so pay attention to your bounce rate and conversions. What about your bids? Should you adjust them to take into account the higher CTRs? Any smart marketer will tell you success comes when you test, tweak, and test again. What’s going to work for your business is unique to your strategies and goals.
The Unknown
Time will tell how this changes user behavior and how people will respond to the new One-Tap experience. It’s a new user flow and Pinterest experience. I wonder if users are confused by this or find it jarring? Have you clicked on a One-Tap pin? What’d you think? As more and more One-Tap campaigns roll out, I wonder if Pinners will be more hesitant to click on pins in their feeds, or if they will become accustomed to the new experience.
Changes To Best Practices
With the new One-Tap format is going to come new creative guidlines and best practices from Pinterest (be sure to grab the free tip sheet I put together). This will mean, more than ever, they will be looking at your creative and copy compared to your landing experience before your ad gets approved (Updated to note that I think they are being much more lenient on this than they were last fall). Do you have a pop up? Are you promoting a sale? Basically you will need to be clear in your pin creative and description to clearly convey what a Pinner should expect when they click through. The good news? If you’ve already been focusing on strong creatives and excellent user experiences, you’ll be in good shape. This has been my passion since running our first promoted pin and I can tell you it paid off. I’ve created nearly 3,000 promoted pins and only 4 didn’t meet the new guidlines!
Expect Fewer Repins
Before, when you ran traffic campaigns a lot of Pinners repined that pin (an earned action that cost you nothing). Maybe they went back and clicked later, or maybe that pin went on to be repinned thousands of times. Bottom line is, that’s not to happen with One-Tap pins. Like most things, it’s a tradeoff. Would you rather have Pinners take action immediately and come to site, or possibly weeks from when they saw your pin? If repins are an important metric in your Pinterest strategy, I would advise running engagement campaigns alongside your One-Tap campaigns.
Yeah, What About Engagement and Awareness Campaigns?
They’re still still the same. An engagement campaign and a One-Tap traffic campaign are mutually exclusive. Pinners will be able to close up, save, or click on your engagement campaign pins as per usual.
Want to get your pins in One-Tap shape so that you’ll be ready to test these new Promoted Pins?
Grab my free worksheet with tips you can apply now to any pins you are creating.
Even if you’re thinking “I won’t run One-Tap campaigns,” you should really consider following the new best practices. What if one of your pins takes off organically and you decide it would be strategic to put some spend behind it and promote it down the road? Well, if your original pin doesn’t follow the new guidlines you won’t be able to. So, better prepared than sorry (in my opinion!). Many advertisers have seen great success (if they hadn’t, Pinterest wouldn’t be rolling these out to a broader group of advertisers), but of course you won’t know until you test them how they might impact your business.
Have you tested them? I’d love to know your thoughts, leave a comment below!
You can always keep up with new changes on Pinterest by reading their business blog.
While you have Pinterest on the mind, be sure you are using strong Pin descriptions to increase your traffic.
You can follow me on Pinterest at HostessTori
Tori Tait is sharing her experience as a Content Director and Pinterest expert. Since 2006 she's been helping entrepreneurs build their businesses online through simple & smart marketing strategies.