Pinterest ads
Pinterest ads meet people while they're planning: a new kitchen, a wedding in June, a nursery, a backyard. They save ideas now and buy later, which makes Pinterest one of the few places where you can influence a purchase weeks before the shopping starts. I deliver Pinterest campaigns with a trusted partner; the contract, deadlines and communication stay with me.
Free: a 30-minute call, an action plan and a price range in writing.
Businesses that
do well on Pinterest
Pinterest users come with a project in mind. These categories tend to match that mindset.
Kitchens, cabinetry and furniture
People collect layouts, finishes and colours for months before calling a contractor or visiting a showroom.
Home décor and renovation
Paint, tiles, lighting, textiles, flooring. Visual inspiration drives the decision.
Weddings and events
Dresses, venues, flowers, cakes and décor, planned well ahead of the date.
Fashion and jewellery
Outfit ideas and gift lists, especially before the holidays.
Food and recipes
Specialty ingredients, kitchenware and meal kits tied to what people want to cook.
Garden and outdoor
Planned in late winter, bought in spring. Pinterest shows the timing clearly.
An ad in Stories,
a message in the inbox
A vertical ad in Stories, Reels or TikTok stops the scroll and starts a conversation.
- 9:16 format for phones
- A clear call-to-action button
- Messages come straight to you
Pinterest campaigns,
step by step
A visual business
I work with
Website, ads, bots, CRM and SEO for a cabinetry company, the kind of business whose customers plan visually for months.
See the case study →Pinterest is a planning tool, and that changes the ads
Most social platforms are about the moment: what friends are doing, what's funny, what's new. Pinterest is about the future. People open it to plan a kitchen renovation, collect ideas for a wedding, build a list of fall outfits or find recipes for the holidays. They search, they save, they come back. Pinterest ads sit in that flow, looking much like the ideas people already save.
That makes the platform unusual in two ways. First, people are open to brands, because finding products and ideas is exactly why they're there. Second, the gap between seeing an ad and buying is longer. Someone planning a June wedding may save your Pin in January. That's frustrating if you need sales next week and very useful if you sell considered purchases.
How Pinterest targeting works
Pinterest combines several kinds of targeting, and they're more search-like than on Facebook:
- Keywords: people searching "white oak kitchen" or "rustic wedding centrepiece" see relevant Promoted Pins.
- Interests: broad topics people engage with, like home décor or gardening.
- Audiences: your website visitors, customer lists and people similar to them.
- Shopping: product Pins pulled from your catalogue and matched to what people browse.
Keyword targeting is often the most useful for small brands, because it catches people with a specific project in mind.
Measuring a slow channel fairly
Because Pinterest buyers take their time, judging it by last-click sales in the first two weeks is unfair. I look at saves, outbound clicks and, with the Pinterest tag and conversion tracking in place, purchases over a longer attribution window. It also helps to watch branded searches on Google and direct visits to your site: when Pinterest is doing its job, more people arrive already knowing your name.
Seasons on Pinterest come early
Pinterest users plan ahead, so seasonal content picks up well before the actual season. Holiday ideas start rising in early autumn, garden and patio planning in late winter, wedding planning across the winter months. In Canada, with its short summers and long winters, this matters even more: outdoor projects are planned while there's still snow on the ground. I build campaigns to launch before those peaks, not during them.
Creative for Pinterest
Pins are vertical, usually 2:3, and work best as genuinely helpful images: a finished room, a product styled in context, a step-by-step. Text overlays can help when they name the idea ("Small kitchen, big storage"), but heavy logos and price-led banners tend to blend into the background. Short video Pins work too. If your product photos are weak, product photography is often a better first investment than more ad spend.
Delivered with a partner, managed by me
Pinterest is a specialist channel, and I deliver it with a trusted partner who works on it regularly. The contract, deadlines and communication stay with me. You agree the plan with me, I review what goes live, and reports come from me in the same format as your other channels. Pinterest campaigns are quoted individually after a short call, and the ad account is set up in your name with ad spend paid to Pinterest directly.
Where Pinterest fits in a wider plan
For most businesses Pinterest isn't the first channel. A furniture maker or kitchen and cabinetry company will usually get faster results from Google search and Meta first. Once those work, Pinterest becomes a way to reach people earlier in their planning, so that by the time they search on Google, your brand is already familiar. For an overview of all platforms, see social media advertising, and for the main alternative in visual advertising, my Instagram ads page.
More ideas
for visual brands
Pinterest ads
questions
Are Pinterest ads available in Canada?
Yes, businesses in Canada can advertise on Pinterest and target Canadian users. The audience is smaller than Facebook's but focused: people who come to the platform to plan and find ideas, many of them shopping for home, style and family.
How much do Pinterest ads cost?
The management fee is quoted individually after a short call, and ad spend is paid by you directly to Pinterest. Costs per click are often moderate compared with other platforms, but results take longer to show because people buy later. I plan the budget with that delay in mind.
Why do Pinterest ads take longer to work?
Because people save a Pin today and act on it weeks later. A campaign might bring saves and profile visits in March and sales in May. That's why reports look at a longer window and why seasonal campaigns start early.
Do I need a lot of content on Pinterest already?
Not a lot, but some. A business account with a few organized boards gives people somewhere to land, and your ads perform better when they look like the best organic Pins. Good vertical images matter more than volume.
Pinterest or Instagram for a décor brand?
Often both, doing different jobs. Instagram reaches people in the moment and works well for launches and offers. Pinterest catches people planning a project. If budget allows only one, I'd usually start with Meta and add Pinterest once the creative is proven.
Let's reach them
before your competitors do
Send me your website and a few of your best product photos. On a free 30-minute call I'll tell you whether Pinterest is worth testing and what it would take.