In today’s digital landscape, most businesses rush to run ads on Facebook, Google or even Bing — while largely overlooking one of the most powerful, cost-effective advertising platforms available: Pinterest.
For brands, especially small businesses whose offerings naturally align with the kinds of inspiration people look for on Pinterest, this oversight is a huge missed opportunity.
Pinterest is more than just a platform for saving recipes or dream home decor. It’s a visual search engine with built-in social sharing power, and it has quietly become one of the highest-intent platforms on the internet — making it a phenomenal place to advertise.
Let’s explore exactly how Pinterest advertising works, what makes it so different from traditional advertising, and why smart brands are turning to Pinterest to drive results.
How does Pinterest advertising work?
Pinterest ads — called Promoted Pins — are native ads that blend seamlessly into the Pinterest feed. They look just like regular Pins, except that you pay to boost their reach to your ideal audience.
Here’s a simple example:
✅ Say you want to grow your email list.
✅ You design an eye-catching Pin with a compelling offer — perhaps a free guide or checklist tied to a major pain point your audience has.
✅ You post it to Pinterest, linking to a landing page on your site where visitors can download the gift in exchange for their email address.
If your Pin proves popular, Pinterest’s organic algorithm will start showing it more. But you can also pay to promote it, so Pinterest actively pushes it out to a much larger, carefully chosen audience — based on their interests, demographics, locations, languages, and even the keywords they’re searching for.
It’s like running a hyper-targeted ad campaign across both a search engine and a social platform, all in one place.
Why Pinterest advertising is uniquely powerful — and how it beats other platforms
While Facebook and Google are crowded, expensive, and increasingly restrictive, Pinterest offers distinct advantages that make it a dream for many businesses:
1. It’s far less saturated — meaning lower costs and higher ROI
Pinterest is still massively underused by advertisers. This relative lack of competition means:
✅ Cost per clicks (CPCs) are generally much cheaper than on Facebook or Google Ads.
✅ Your ad dollars stretch further, letting you build bigger audiences and drive more traffic for the same spend.
For small businesses or emerging brands, this is a huge win — you can affordably get your offers in front of more people.
2. Compound results that keep paying off — even after you stop paying
Here’s where Pinterest is truly unlike any other ad platform.
When you promote a Pin on Pinterest:
✅ People who see and love it may save it to their own boards, essentially bookmarking it for later.
✅ These saves boost the organic reach of your Pin, since Pinterest’s algorithm sees the engagement and decides to show it to even more people.
✅ This means that long after your paid campaign ends, your Pins can keep driving traffic and sales for months or even years, as they continue to be saved, discovered, and reshared.
No other platform gives you this level of residual value. With Facebook or Google Ads, the second you stop paying, your ads disappear and your traffic stops. On Pinterest, promoted content can evolve into long-lasting organic assets.
3. Pinterest users have unmatched buying intent
While people often scroll Facebook or Instagram simply to pass time, Pinterest users are actively planning purchases. They use Pinterest to discover products, get inspiration, and save ideas for things they fully intend to buy.
In fact:
✅ Pinterest users are 2.5x more likely to say they’re always shopping compared to people on other platforms.
✅ 97% of top searches on Pinterest are unbranded, meaning users are open to discovering new businesses (like yours).
✅ It beats Facebook, Google, and YouTube in terms of the percentage of users on the platform specifically looking to shop.
This means your ads are reaching people at the exact moment they’re planning — and ready — to buy.
4. Powerful hybrid targeting: the best of both worlds
Pinterest is uniquely positioned as both a social network and a search engine. That means you can target:
✅ Keywords, just like you would with Google Ads, reaching people actively searching for products or ideas tied to your business.
✅ Interests, demographics, locations, and more, just like you would with Facebook Ads.
This hybrid approach gives you sharper, layered targeting, letting you zero in on the exact audience most likely to buy from you.
So, who should be advertising on Pinterest?
Pinterest advertising is an incredible fit for any brand whose products or content line up with the platform’s strongest categories, including:
🏠 Home and décor
🍰 Food and drink
✈️ Travel
💄 Beauty and hair
🎨 DIY and crafts
💪 Health and fitness
💍 Weddings and events
🛍 Fashion and style
If your business is connected to these areas — or if your customers are on Pinterest seeking inspiration tied to what you sell — you’re perfectly positioned to win big.
Why consistency matters here too
Just like with organic Pinterest growth, Pinterest Ads work best when supported by a steady stream of fresh content. The more high-quality Pins you have, the more chances you give Pinterest to find your audience and keep feeding them relevant ads that lead to sales.
The bottom line: Pinterest Ads are an untapped goldmine for smart brands
For brands and small businesses, Pinterest advertising offers:
✨ Lower ad costs than saturated platforms like Facebook and Google
✨ A high-intent audience actively planning purchases
✨ Compound results that keep driving traffic long after you stop paying
✨ Incredible hybrid targeting options for keywords + interests
It’s no exaggeration to say that Pinterest is one of the most underrated, cost-effective advertising platforms out there — and getting in now while competition is still low could give your brand a huge edge.
