Pinterest has launched video advertising for the first time as it joins the likes of Facebook and Twitter in cashing in on the popularity of online clips.
The visual sharing site has developed a product, Promoted Video Pins, that advertisers in the UK and US can purchase as premium, reserved ad inventory.
The company, which earlier this year launched Promoted Pins in the UK to help advertisers promote their businesses, said its new product follows a huge surge in the amount of video content Pinterest users now save.
“Over 100 million people around the world come to Pinterest every month to discover ideas to try [and] one of the best tools for helping bring those ideas to life is video,” the company said in a blogpost. “That’s why video has been so popular on Pinterest – we’ve seen a 60% increase in the number of videos saved in the last year alone.”
The widely expected move is interesting for Pinterest, which has not traditionally been known as a video destination like Facebook and Twitter.
Pinterest says that its video ad product will be powerful because it will be paired with featured pins from businesses to help drive purchases.
“While other platforms primarily offer video views, we’ve coupled Promoted Video with featured Pins below the video to let people experience your brand and then go take action,” said Pinterest. “For example, v is using Promoted Video to show how to apply their beauty products, and their featured Pins showcase the products used in the video.”
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