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.
Unlike ephemeral ads on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest content can live for months or a year. This extended lifespan means a single ad spend generates value long after the campaign ends, creating a more favorable long-term return on investment.
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.
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The old strategy of creating long, infographic-style pins is obsolete.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.
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.
Contrary to its older reputation, half of Pinterest's half-billion users are now Gen Z. This demographic uses visual, in-app search as a primary shopping discovery tool, bypassing traditional search engines. Marketers must adapt their strategies to capture this app-native search behavior.