Pinterest, the visual discovery engine, offers a unique and powerful platform for brands to connect with users actively seeking inspiration, ideas, and products. Its visually-driven nature makes it ideal for showcasing products, driving website traffic, and influencing purchase decisions. However, to truly maximize your impact on this platform, reaching the right pinners with relevant content is crucial. The often-untapped key to achieving this precision lies within the valuable data you already possess: your email list.
Imagine the power of directly serving visually captivating Pinterest ads to users whose interests align with your existing customer base, re-engaging leads with inspiring product showcases, or showcasing your offerings to individuals who have already expressed interest in your brand. This isn’t just a possibility; it’s a tangible reality unlocked by leveraging your email list to create Customer Match audiences within Pinterest Ads.
The Visual Discovery Advantage: Why Target Pinterest Users with Your Email List?
Pinterest users are actively seeking inspiration and planning for future purchases. Connecting with them through targeted ads based on your email list data offers a unique advantage:
- Reach Known Interested Users: Connect with individuals who have already engaged with your brand through email, indicating a pre-existing interest in your products or services.
- Visually Inspire Action: Leverage Pinterest’s visual format to showcase your offerings in an inspiring and aspirational way to an audience already familiar with your brand.
- Align with User Intent: Target users actively browsing for ideas and products related to your niche, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
- Drive High-Intent Website Traffic: Create visually compelling ads with clear calls-to-action to drive qualified traffic from Pinterest to your website and product pages.
- Boost Product Visibility: Showcase your products directly within the Pinterest environment, making them discoverable to a relevant audience actively seeking inspiration.
- Personalized Visual Inspiration: Tailor your ad creatives to the specific interests and past interactions of different segments within your email list.
- Cost-Effective Re-engagement: Reaching existing customers on Pinterest can be a cost-effective way to drive repeat purchases and build brand loyalty within a visually engaging context.
Creating Customer Match Audiences: A Step-by-Step Guide Using Your Email List for Pinterest Ads
Creating Customer Match audiences for Pinterest Ads using your email list is a straightforward process within the Pinterest Ads Manager:
- Prepare Your Email List:
- Format: Ensure your email list is saved in a compatible format, such as a CSV (.csv) file.
- Data Quality: Clean your email list by removing invalid, misspelled, or outdated addresses to maximize your match rate.
- Hashing (Recommended): For enhanced data privacy and security, it is highly recommended to hash your email addresses using the SHA256 algorithm before uploading. This anonymizes the data while still allowing Pinterest to match it with user accounts.
- Navigate to Audiences in Pinterest Ads Manager:
- Log in to your Pinterest Ads Manager account.
- Click on the “Audiences” tab in the top navigation menu.
- Create a New Audience:
- On the Audiences page, click the “Create audience” button.
- Select “Customer list” as the audience type.
- Upload Your Email List:
- You will be presented with options for uploading your list. You can either upload a file or copy and paste the data.
- Follow the prompts to upload your file and ensure the “Email” column is correctly identified. If you have pre-hashed your data, indicate this during the mapping process.
- Agree to Customer List Terms:
- You will need to agree to Pinterest’s Customer List Audience Terms, ensuring you have obtained the necessary consent to use the data.
- You will need to agree to Pinterest’s Customer List Audience Terms, ensuring you have obtained the necessary consent to use the data.
- Name Your Audience:
- Give your audience a clear and descriptive name (e.g., “Loyal Customers Email List – Pinterest,” “Website Leads – Pinterest,” “Purchasers of Product X – Pinterest”). This will help you easily identify and manage your audiences later.
- Give your audience a clear and descriptive name (e.g., “Loyal Customers Email List – Pinterest,” “Website Leads – Pinterest,” “Purchasers of Product X – Pinterest”). This will help you easily identify and manage your audiences later.
- Click “Create Audience”:
- Once you have uploaded your file, agreed to the terms, and named your audience, click the “Create audience” button. Pinterest will then begin the process of matching the email addresses in your list with Pinterest user accounts.
Targeting Pinterest Users with Interests That Align with Your Email List
Once your Customer Match audience is created, you can leverage Pinterest’s interest targeting to further refine your reach:
- Audience Targeting: When setting up your ad group targeting, navigate to the “Audiences” section and select the Customer Match audience you created from your email list.
- Interest Expansion: Pinterest allows you to expand your reach to users with interests similar to those in your Customer Match audience. This can help you discover new potential customers who exhibit similar browsing and pinning behavior.
- Layering Interests: You can also layer specific interest categories onto your Customer Match audience to ensure you are reaching users within your existing customer base who are also actively engaging with relevant content on Pinterest. For example, if your email list consists of customers who purchased gardening supplies, you can target them on Pinterest while they are browsing within the “Gardening” interest category.
- Behavioral Targeting: Pinterest also offers behavioral targeting options based on recent actions pinners have taken. You can combine this with your Customer Match audience to reach users who have recently engaged with content related to your brand or industry.
Running Visual Ad Campaigns to Drive Traffic and Product Page Visits
With your precisely targeted audiences, you can create visually compelling ad campaigns designed to drive traffic and product page visits:
- Visually Stunning Pins and Videos: Pinterest is all about visuals. Invest in high-quality, aspirational images and engaging videos that showcase your products or brand aesthetic effectively.
- Promoted Pins and Video Pins: Utilize Pinterest’s various ad formats, including Promoted Pins, Video Pins, and Carousel Ads, to capture attention and tell your brand story visually.
- Shop the Look Ads: If you sell apparel or home goods, utilize Shop the Look ads to showcase multiple products within a single image and drive traffic directly to product pages.
- Product Pins: Ensure your product listings are optimized with rich descriptions and accurate pricing to make them easily discoverable within Pinterest. Promote these Product Pins to your targeted audiences.
- Clear Calls to Action: Use compelling calls to action within your ad creatives and pin descriptions to encourage users to visit your website or product pages (e.g., “Shop Now,” “Discover More,” “Visit Website”).
- Link Directly to Product Pages: For campaigns focused on driving sales, ensure your ads link directly to the relevant product pages on your website for a seamless shopping experience.
- Landing Page Optimization: Ensure the landing pages you direct Pinterest traffic to are visually appealing, mobile-friendly, and relevant to the content of your ads.
- A/B Testing Visuals and Messaging: Continuously test different visual elements, ad copy, and calls to action to identify what resonates best with your targeted audience and drives the most traffic and conversions.
- Track Conversions with the Pinterest Tag: Install the Pinterest Tag on your website to track conversions originating from your Pinterest ad campaigns, allowing you to measure ROI and optimize your strategy.
The Synergistic Power of Email and Pinterest
Integrating your email list with your Pinterest advertising efforts creates a powerful synergy that leverages the intent-driven nature of Pinterest and the familiarity established through your email marketing. By targeting users whose interests align with your existing customer base and showcasing your offerings through visually inspiring ads, you can drive highly qualified traffic to your website and product pages, ultimately boosting conversions and maximizing your return on investment.
Conclusion:
Leveraging your email list to create Customer Match audiences on Pinterest Ads is a strategic way to connect with users who are most likely to be interested in your brand and products. By understanding their interests and showcasing your offerings through visually compelling campaigns, you can drive valuable traffic and boost conversions on this powerful visual discovery platform. Embrace the power of visual inspiration and unlock the full potential of Pinterest advertising by strategically utilizing the valuable data within your email list. Your visually-driven path to conversions awaits