Pinterest functions more like a visual search engine than a social media feed. Users actively search for ideas and solutions, indicating they have pre-qualified interest. This places them further down the customer journey compared to users on Meta platforms who are typically just scrolling.

Unlike ephemeral social media posts, YouTube videos can surface in search results and recommendations for years. A simple tutorial from 2011 remained one creator's most popular video for an extended period, demonstrating the platform's power for creating evergreen assets.

Social media algorithms are "separators," showing content to a fraction of your audience to maximize on-platform time. Pinterest's algorithm is a "connector," aligning its goal (giving users the best answer) with your goal (reaching ideal clients), effectively matching you with people actively searching for your solutions.

Unlike social media posts that disappear within 48 hours, the average Pinterest pin reaches 50% of its lifetime engagement over 13 months. This means content "ages like wine," with old pins continuing to drive traffic for years, creating a powerful, long-term marketing asset from a single effort.

Because users treat Pinterest as a research and planning tool, the path from discovery to purchase is longer than on other platforms. Pinterest itself historically used a 60-day attribution window. Marketers should anticipate a longer consideration phase, especially for higher-ticket items discovered on the platform.

The old strategy of creating long, infographic-style pins is obsolete. Pinterest now prioritizes authentic, scroll-stopping videos similar to Instagram Reels. Even poorly designed but powerful videos that grab attention outperform highly polished, traditional pins, signaling a major shift in creative strategy.

The most effective Pinterest ad assets now mirror the authentic, short-form video style popular on TikTok and Instagram. Marketers can simply repurpose high-performing reels with minor copy tweaks, significantly lowering the creative barrier to entry for testing the platform.

Pinterest ads amplify existing success; they do not create it. Before investing, marketers must have a product or offer that is already selling consistently to a cold audience. The platform is a tool for scaling a working sales process, not for finding product-market fit.

Traditional marketing often involves an 80/20 split of creation to promotion. Pinterest's structure lets you flip this. Create one core piece of content (the 20%) and then generate numerous unique pins pointing to it (the 80%), maximizing the reach and lifespan of each content asset with minimal new creation.