What are the different types of Pinterest Ads?

Pinterest offers a variety of ad formats, each designed to help you achieve different marketing goals, whether you're looking to drive traffic, build brand awareness, or boost sales. Here are the different types of Pinterest Ads:

1. Promoted Pins
What they are: These are standard pins that you pay to promote so they appear in users' feeds or search results, just like organic pins. They can include images, videos, and links to your website or landing pages.

Best for: Driving traffic to your website, increasing engagement, and building brand awareness.

How they work: Promoted Pins blend seamlessly into the user's feed, making them less intrusive while still being effective for discovery-based marketing.

Example: A clothing brand promoting a new collection of fall fashion that links to their e-commerce site.

2. Video Pins
What they are: Video Pins are promoted video content that automatically plays in users' feeds or in search results. They allow you to create engaging, visual content to capture user attention.

Best for: Showcasing products in use, telling a story, or explaining how-to content.

How they work: Video Pins autoplay in the feed, and they can also be used as Promoted Pins to drive engagement, traffic, or conversions.

Example: A beauty brand showcasing a tutorial on how to use a new skincare product.

3. Carousel Pins
What they are: Carousel Pins allow you to display multiple images within a single Pin, enabling users to swipe through a series of images or products.

Best for: Highlighting multiple products, showcasing a variety of services, or telling a story through sequential images.

How they work: Each image in the carousel can link to a different landing page or product, providing flexibility for promoting multiple offerings in one ad.

Example: A furniture store showcasing different home décor items, where each swipe takes users to a different product page.

4. Shopping Ads
What they are: Shopping Ads allow you to promote your products directly on Pinterest using your product feed. These ads automatically pull product details like price, image, and availability from your website, making it easy for users to browse and purchase.

Best for: E-commerce businesses looking to drive direct sales from Pinterest.

How they work: Shopping Ads appear as regular Pins but with additional product information, such as the price and availability, making them perfect for direct purchasing.

Example: A jewelry brand promoting its latest collection with an image of a necklace and a price tag that links directly to the checkout page.

5. Collection Ads
What they are: Collection Ads allow you to feature a primary hero image or video along with several smaller product images underneath. This format is great for showing off a product collection, making it easier for users to explore.

Best for: E-commerce brands looking to showcase multiple products in a cohesive, visually appealing way.

How they work: The hero image or video captures attention, and the smaller images below let users explore the collection, which can be linked to your website for easy purchasing.

Example: A shoe brand showcasing a seasonal collection with an image of a pair of shoes as the hero image and other shoes from the collection underneath.

6. Idea Pins
What they are: Idea Pins are a new type of format that allows you to create multi-page, interactive content. They include images, video, text, and even links, providing a more storytelling approach.

Best for: Building deeper engagement and providing inspiration or education. Great for brands that want to share tutorials, guides, or behind-the-scenes content.

How they work: Idea Pins can be saved and shared like regular Pins, but they can also drive long-term engagement by giving users more reasons to interact with your content.

Example: A DIY brand offering step-by-step instructions for creating a craft project, with links to the materials needed.

7. Promoted Video Pins with Product Tagging
What they are: Similar to regular video Pins, but with the addition of product tags. These allow you to showcase your products in a video format and tag products directly in the video for a more integrated shopping experience.

Best for: Showcasing how your products are used in real life while making it easy for users to shop directly.

How they work: Video content is enhanced with clickable product tags that users can tap to learn more or make a purchase.

Example: A fitness brand showcasing a workout routine, with tagged products like yoga mats or water bottles that viewers can purchase.

8. Pinterest Search Ads
What they are: Search Ads allow you to promote your pins when users search for relevant terms on Pinterest. Your promoted content will appear in search results, targeting users actively looking for specific products, services, or content.

Best for: Reaching users with high intent, such as those searching for products or ideas that match your offerings.

How they work: When users search for a relevant term, your ad will appear in the search results, increasing the chances of reaching an audience ready to engage.

Example: A kitchen appliance brand running an ad for a coffee maker when users search for "best coffee makers" or "coffee brewing tips."

9. Pinterest Shopping Ads (Dynamic)
What they are: Pinterest offers Dynamic Shopping Ads, which automatically show personalized product recommendations to users based on their browsing and purchasing behavior.

Best for: E-commerce businesses with large inventories who want to show dynamic, personalized ads to users who are more likely to buy.

How they work: These ads pull from your product catalog and target users with products they've shown interest in or are similar to their past browsing behavior on Pinterest.

Example: A fashion retailer showing a user ads for dresses they recently viewed or similar items based on their interests.

10. Shopping Lists (For E-commerce)
What they are: These are curated lists of products, which users can save and share, encouraging them to explore more of what your store offers. When you promote these lists, you make it easier for users to browse through your collection in an organized, actionable format.

Best for: Stores with a wide range of products, aiming to drive engagement through product collections or seasonal lists.

How they work: These lists can include multiple products from your shop, making it easy for users to browse and purchase a variety of related items.

Example: A fashion brand creating a "Winter Wardrobe" shopping list that includes several products from their latest collection.

Summary of Pinterest Ad Types:
Promoted Pins – Regular Pins that you pay to promote. Great for driving traffic and engagement.

Video Pins – Engaging video content that automatically plays in users' feeds.

Carousel Pins – Multiple images that users can swipe through, ideal for showcasing several products.

Shopping Ads – Product-based ads that link directly to your e-commerce site, showing product details.

Collection Ads – A hero image or video with smaller product images underneath, ideal for showcasing product collections.

Idea Pins – Multi-page content with images, video, and text for storytelling and deeper engagement.

Promoted Video Pins with Product Tagging – Video Pins with clickable product tags for direct shopping.

Pinterest Search Ads – Ads shown when users search for specific terms on Pinterest.

Dynamic Shopping Ads – Personalized ads based on users' behavior and interests.

Shopping Lists – Curated product lists designed to encourage exploration and purchases.

Conclusion:
Pinterest offers a wide range of ad formats to suit different marketing goals, from e-commerce-driven ads (Shopping Ads, Dynamic Shopping Ads) to creative, storytelling formats (Idea Pins, Carousel Pins). By choosing the right ad format for your campaign objectives, you can effectively reach your target audience, whether you're looking to build brand awareness, engage users, or drive direct conversions.