PINTEREST NEWS & TRENDS to look out for this year for your conscious brand

what to take away from THE LATEST PINTEREST PRESENTS PRESENTATION for your conscious brand

Pinterest held a new “Pinterest Presents” session for creators and advertisers on March 10th 2022, sharing some of the latest trends forecasted for the year ahead as well as exciting new developments.

Did you know 431 million people use Pinterest every month?

Here’s a recap of what to look out for on Pinterest in the coming months, along with some ideas on how it could help you grow your sustainable & ethical business.

Let’s dive in!

1. What makes Pinterest different from other social media platforms

Amid the highly competitive world of social media platform, Pinterest’s positioning as a “visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, and more” is quite unique and has helped it carve out its own valuable space for businesses, content creators and individuals alike.⁣⁣

As Pinterest’s CEO Ben Silbermann stated in the presentation:

“Our dream is to build the most positive place on the internet, where hundreds of millions of people go to find ideas they truly love, not for the approval of likes. Where people can plan their futures and try something new, free from comparison. Where they can spend their time investing in their own lives rather than scrolling through others’ (…) People need a place where they can discover themselves. What they like, what they want, who they are.”

– Ben Silbermann, CEO of Pinterest

That’s why, while it is sometimes overlooked compared to larger (Facebook/Instagram) or newer (TikTok) social media platforms, it’s still an interesting tool to consider for your conscious brand’s digital marketing strategy.

“Audiences aren’t necessarily different on Pinterest but their mindsets certainly are.
Instead of going for social gratification, they’re going for creative inspiration.”

– Helen Lin, Chief Digital Officer, Publicis Media

In fact, Pinterest’s team really put the focus on this idea that Pinterest intervenes in the planning stage of the consumer journey and that there’s a great opportunity for ROI (“Return On Inspiration“) for brands on the platform.

Meanwhile, Pinterest’s clear commitment to creating an inclusive, safe & positive space online also helps make it a particularly appealing environment for brands and creators alike.

2. Trends to look out for, and create content around, thanks to the power of data

Pinterest’s teams have identified 35 trends that they predict will continue to grow over the coming months. Since these predictions are data-driven, thanks to the searches that have been made on Pinterest recently and the fact that people often use the platform to plan ahead. As a matter of fact, 8/10 of Pinterest’s trend predictions came true the past 2 years.

The 3 trends that were showcased during Pinterest Presents with the help of 3 creators were Altbashes, Dopamine Dressing & Oh My Goth. 

Here are 4 of their trend predictions that I am most excited to create – and discover – content around:

• Kidding Around (bringing out everyone’s inner child)
• Bestie Aesthetics (who doesn’t love celebrating friendship?!)
• Mindful Menstruation (let’s celebrate & care for our bodies, taboo-free)
• Higher Frequency (all about raising vibes & protecting your energy)

According to Black Swan Data & Pinterest’s US-UK Trend Exploration (June 2021) Pinterest trends start earlier, grow faster and last longer than trends on other platforms. That’s why they are particularly interesting to look into for brands and creators alike.

COMING SOON: brands will also be able to track trends as they evolve in real time and filter them by audience. This trend tool is being tested out in the US, UK & Canada but should roll out worldwide by Summer 2022. 

3. More personalized, integrated & value-driven shopping solutions

Many social media platforms (Instagram in particular comes to mind) have been working on making shopping as easy and enticing as possible. So it’s no surprise Pinterest is upping its game in this area as well, testing out the possibility to check out within the app directly as well as a Pinterest Shopping API to automatically update product information between retailers and the platform.

The proof is in the numbers: according to Pinterest’s Global Head of Ads Product Marketing, Julie Towns, “Shoppers on Pinterest spend and buy more than on other competitive platforms” (via a a Dynata study for Pinterest in the UK, April 2021) while, according to Pinterest’s internal data, there’s a 3x conversion rate & 2x return on ad spend for advertisers using shopping ads.

Something I’m particularly curious to see in action on Pinterest is the launch of “Your Shop”, a personal shopping space within a person’s Pinterest profile, fine-tuned to their taste (currently being tested out in Beta in the US). Hopefully, these shops will be an opportunity to discover new, conscious brands for more people rather than receive suggestions totally unrelated to one’s style or values!

MY FAVORITE NEW UPCOMING FEATURE? MERCHANT DETAIL BADGES ON PROFILES!

Certain brand values like “Eco-friendly” and “Inclusive” or ties to under-represented communities like “LGBTQ+ owned” are being tested out as highlighted text ‘badges’ on the profiles of verified merchants on Pinterest. (You can find out more about it and how to become a verified merchant here. The feature should be rolling out worldwide in Summer 2022).

Here’s an example of these merchant details in action on eco-friendly shoe & accessory brand Rothy’s Pinterest profile:

4. A even greater focus on Creators, Idea Pins & brand collaborations

Much like other social media platforms (namely Instagram, TikTok & YouTube), Pinterest realizes the value content creators bring to the table, often for free, and is developing various tools to help them continue to grow AND better collaborate with brands.

One example of this is the ability for Creators to tag products in an Idea Pin to create collaborative pins with brands that will show up on their profiles. That content can then be used by the brand as an Idea ad.

Finally, Idea Pins are also likely to continue dominating the Pinterest algorithm, as well as brands’ and creators’ feeds since, according to Pinterest’s internal data, shopping intent is 90% more likely for products tagged in Idea pins. The Pinterest app also now features a dedicated “Watch” tab, placing Idea pins front and center. It’s an interesting spin on the short video content we often see on TikTok, Instagram Reels & YouTube Shorts, as it’s less about entertainment and more about ideas to try out.

5. Takeaways for your conscious brand

As with most social media platforms, it’s a good idea to use the new features they launch and what they’re looking to focus on. For Pinterest this year, that includes creating Idea Pins (multi-image vertical video content), pins to your own website (vs. repins), Shopping pins as well as Shopping or Idea ads.

Having worked with Pinterest’s advertising team and that of other social media platforms, I can say from experience that Pinterest is extremely helpful in giving free ad advice to make the best use of their platforms. Why? Because they know they’re still an underdog when it comes to social media ad spend and want to attract more advertisers to the platform. So if your business’ target audience is also on Pinterest, especially if you have an e-commerce platform, it could be a great opportunity to reach your ideal customers and increase your sales.

Are you considering jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon, but not sure where to start?
Or already on Pinterest but need help creating content or managing your ad campaigns?

Want to dive deeper?

Check out these helpful links and bookmark them to refer back to:

• The Pinterest for Business page filled with resources & news for business owners
• The Pinterest for Business Community page with FAQs, a forum of questions and more
• Pinterest Predicts to find out more about Pinterest’s trend predictions, read the full 2022 trend report and get content ideas around them for your business