Pinterest has announced a monetization experiment that will bring ads to its platform in the form of promoted pins from businesses. CEO and founder Ben Silbermann confessed that the company hasn’t quite worked out all the details for the feature, but he promised the ads will be tasteful, transparent and relevant.
The first promoted pin test will take place in search results and category feeds. Pinterest isn’t charging businesses for this initial experiment, as it’s looking for user feedback first before moving forward with the program. Silbermann couched the efforts as “planning for the future” to make sure Pinterest sticks around for a long while.
The change comes as part of the natural evolution of Pinterest’s product. Now that it has a massive user base, the company needs to turn its attention to revenue streams. Advertisers have likely been knocking on Pinterest’s door for a while now. The service is, after all, a marketer’s dream come true with its combination of visuals, consumer products and customer intent.
Pinterest has also been morphing into an e-commerce platform. In May, it released product pins with pricing and availability. Last month, the service added email notifications to inform users when prices drop.
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➤ Planning for the Future [Pinterest]
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