We have been saying it’s just a matter of time and it seems that the time has come: Pinterest has announced that they will be rolling out promoted pins. Late last week users were sent an email from co-founder Ben Silbermann explaining that they will, “start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses.”

His explanation for this move was actually quite brilliant, as he first told a story, one that made me stop and read the entire email rather than just skimming and deleting. He explained how his son was born just over a year ago and detailed how he and his wife have used Pinterest to plan things that they can do as a family. Then he explained that his son is why it is so important to their family that they keep Pinterest going and that Promoted pins will help them do so.

What Users Can Expect

According to Silbermann’s email, below are the qualities that we can expect from Promoted pins. From his description, we can tell that they were very smart in the way that they’re introducing these pins. These measure will hopefully help users feel as though they are an organic part of the experience rather than an abrasive advertisement.

• Tasteful:

  Silbermann promises that there will be no flashy banners or pop-up ads.

• Transparent:

  He also gives users his word that Pinterest will always make it clear if a company has paid for the pin you see or where you see it.

• Relevant:

  This tool is not designed to sell you something you don’t want or need. The goal here is to connect advertisers with users who are genuinely interested in their products. We may be biased, but that is a win-win in our book!

• Improvements Based on User Feedback:

  Pinterest has made another intelligent move by letting users know that they are open to their feedback and that they will continue to improve Promoted Pins based on what they hear from their fans.

The Benefits for Businesses

• Natural Integration:

  As a Pinterest user, I can say that I wouldn’t find promoted pins particularly intrusive, especially if they are of products that I am interested in. The key difference between these promoted pins and promoted posts on sites like Facebook is that they are on the site to find items that they are interested in. They are all actively choosing to be in some stage of the purchasing cycle, whether it’s just casually perusing items they may purchase at a later day or actively seeking a specific item, while on Facebook the user’s main goal is to socialize and keep up with their friends.

• An Interested Audience:

  Pinterest has not yet released how their algorithm for Promoted Pins will work, but they did make it clear that their intention was to show promoted pins to only those users who are interested in them or similar products. This means that business owners won’t waste huge portions of their budget reaching users who would never buy their products.

Though we have yet to see these Promoted Pins and it will be some time before the small business advertiser will have the chance to use them, we have high hopes for them. How do you feel about Promoted pins as a Pinterest user? As an advertiser? Let us know in the comments below!