Pinterest has begun opening up its API as a means to allow third-party sites and publishers to display top Pins beyond the interest-based social network. The company revealed today that Disney, Nestlé, Walmart, Hearst, and Zappos are some of the brands that have been chosen to be the first users of the long-desired API feed.
Through Pinterest’s Domain API, these brands will be able to display the most clicked-through or the Pins shared the most, enabling their users to see content that has been deemed popular with users of the social network.
Starting today, popular Pins can be found on AllRecipes, Better Homes and Garden, BuzzFeed, Disney sites Babble and BabyZone, Elle Magazine, Mashable, ModCloth, NBC News Digital’s iVillage, Nestlé, Random House, Snapguide, Target, Walmart, Wayfair, Whole Foods,Zappos, Zulily, and “coming soon to Spoonful and Taste Book.”
Pins displayed will be refreshed in real-time, enabling brands to highlight their products that match the users current interests.
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The API will be free and, as the Wall Street Journal notes, Pinterest will not take any fee from generated sales. However, the sites will have the social network’s logo featured and is definitely a user acquisition strategy.
Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
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