Whether you’re looking for decoration inspiration or making a new recipe, we’ve all been on Pinterest at one time or another.

In 2024, Pinterest has already seen 518 million monthly active users, and advertisers have seen twice the return on ad spend (ROAS) compared to typical marketing platforms.

That’s why it can play a valuable role in your digital marketing portfolio. 

Should My Business Run Pinterest Ads?

The agency you’re looking to work with (or already working with) should have your business’s best interests in mind when suggesting new opportunities for your advertising (not just their bottom line). 

At 9 Clouds, we use an ice cream sundae metaphor to describe our recommended digital marketing strategy. In our opinion, best practice is to start with a base that includes Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads and search engine marketing (SEM) ads on Google or Bing.

Additional digital marketing platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, or Hulu are the toppings on your digital marketing sundae! After fully-funding those established platforms and seeing results, then we recommend looking into new options. 

When it comes to advertising on Pinterest specifically, our primary question is: do you have the media or content to promote? Pinterest is a visually-focused platform that requires you to have images or video to share content (paid or not).

We’d also ask: is your target audience on Pinterest? The platform can have a lot of sales potential, with low CPCs and high return on ad spend (ROAS), but if your agency is suggesting it, we encourage you to ask questions around why before getting started.

Who Will Create the Content for My Ads?

This is something that changes from agency to agency. Some have the capability to create graphics, visuals and videos for you. Some agencies might be able to edit that content for you if you get them the pieces. Others need you to create the content and they’ll promote and manage your ads. 

Your needs will dictate what kind of agency you’ll work with, but it’s important to ask and set the expectation right away. 

Keep in mind the kind of content that Pinterest accepts in its advertising — photos and video. Pinterest recommends using a 2:3 aspect ratio, or 1000 x 1500 pixels for image ads and 1:1 or 9:16 for video.

Pinterest also suggest that video content stays between 6 seconds and 15 seconds for the best user experience.

Pinterest Advertising

How Do I Know if My Pinterest Ads Are Working?

Any agency worth their salt should be able to report on your campaign’s performance and offer recommendations on how to improve it or duplicate those results. 

Any agency’s report should include the metrics that matter to you and the results of that period’s campaign performance. Some metrics to look out for include:

• Impressions: This is the total amount of users that view your ads.
• Click-through rates: Also known as ‘Outbound Clicks’ on Pinterest, this is how many users click through to your website from an ad.
• Pin Saves: This is how many users add your advertised pin to a board or save it.

Our clients’ reports also include performance benchmarks so they can understand how their ads compare to our expected results and others on the platform! Ask the agency you’re working with if they have internal benchmarks that they use as comparison, or what the benchmarks they use to gauge ad performance look like.

You should also use website analytics tools like Google Analytics to find out more about what your users are doing on your website after they click on your ad. This way, you can look beyond Pinterest’s reported metrics and see time on site, conversions, purchases and more.

(Not sure if you have Google Analytics set up for your site? No sweat! We can help get you set up.)

Google Analytics: The #1 Free Website Reporting Tool You Should Use

How Much Does Advertising on Pinterest Cost?

The minimum advertising spend for Pinterest ads is $2 per day, but the agency you’re working with should be able to recommend a budget that’s comfortable for your wallet and will produce quality results.

Don’t let an agency talk you into a top-dollar budget because “it will give you the best results.” We have experience working with clients of all budgets and backgrounds, and have seen that ad campaigns with lower budgets can be just as successful (if not more) than those with high budgets. There is such a thing as spending too much on an ad campaign!

And it’s important to ask if your agency charges commission on your ad spend. At 9 Clouds, we don’t, but that’s not a universal business practice for agencies.

Why We Don’t Charge Commission on Your Ad Spend

Let’s Add Your Business to the Pinterest Board!

There are a lot of reasons you might be interested in advertising on Pinterest. If you are, let’s chat!

We focus on being a digital marketing ally, so talk to us about a free digital marketing assessment to see if Pinterest or other digital platforms are right for your business.

Let us know where you are, and we’ll meet you there with the digital lead generation help you need.

Get Your Digital Assessment »