After testing them out over the last few months, Pinterest has now announced that its attention-grabbing, 'max width' video ads are being made available to all advertisers globally.
As per Pinterest:
"We're thrilled to announce that Promoted Video at max. width is available for all Pinterest advertisers. Videos at standard width are the same size as all other Pins on Pinterest and videos at maximum width are ~4x bigger, spanning across Pinterest’s iconic two-column grid. In this case, bigger does mean better: we’ve seen increased engagement rates for this format as Pinners take notice of this high-impact video."
Indeed, according to Pinterest, advertisers in the test pool saw significant increases in both brand awareness and purchase intent - and with previous research showing that Pinners are 2.6x more likely to make a purchase after viewing brand video content on the platform, there's certainly a strong case for the new format.
If you are thinking about utilizing the new option, or if you want to try out regular Pin videos, Pinterest has also provided some quick notes on the most effective video approach on the platform, according to internal performance data:
- Videos should include a logo and strong branding, ideally visible in the first few seconds. People will engage even more if products are integrated into the video.
- Instructional videos tend to generate longer watch times and people save them more.
- Keep your videos short, simple and focused on a key idea or message. 6-20 seconds is a sweet spot.
The advice is consistent with insight from other platforms - both Facebook and Snapchat have noted in their recent video advice tips that front-loading your brand messaging, ideally including it within the first few seconds, is key to maximizing video performance. It also makes sense that instructional videos would perform well on Pinterest, given the platform's creative focus.
And while the new option is still reliant on quality video creative to maximize response, it does provide another option for coverage. And with Pinterest reportedly close to 250 million users, and growing faster than Twitter and Snapchat, it should definitely be on your radar.
Worth taking a look through the Pins to see if your target audience is active on the platform.