Pinterest Quick Promote
Client Project 2023
The Problem Space.
Pinterest is a visual discovery platform where users explore ideas, find inspiration, and plan their next purchase serving as a powerful platform to connect with audiences who are actively looking for products and solutions.
Over
Over
More than
With such a big opportunity, merchants small and large build their presence. However, as a small-medium merchant just getting started, they can be juggling multiple responsibilities and it can be overwhelming creating an ad or the first time. As Pinterest already has a “quick promote” feature to enable newer merchants to get started on creating an ad — there is a lot of opportunity to improve this user experience. So we asked…
How Might We
Design an approachable and dedicated ad creation flow to support new merchants promoting their products on Pinterest for the first time?
The Current Flow
The process is broken into 3 parts from left to right: selecting a pin, filling out details, and promoting pin
Understanding the problem
To start off, we needed a better understanding of the nuances of ad creation and advertising on social media platforms. After doing secondary research on SMBs and their needs, there are three common recurring themes:
Time and Resources
SMBs don't have the time/resources to focus on marketing.
Product Visibility
They want to have products be seen by a wide audience for more press.
Features
They seek a straightforward process to have full control over their ads
Understanding our users
We conducted user surveys, interviews, and contextual inquiries to better understand the needs, challenges, and goals of small business owners using Pinterest for advertising.
While we faced difficulties in finding enough target users, we still gathered key insights that shaped our design process. The research revealed why businesses might hesitate to use Pinterest as their primary ad platform.
20 User Survey Responses
50% spend 5+ hours managing social media weekly
Cost-effectiveness and target audience is prioritized
Increase in sales/engagement are top goals
Instagram is the most popular creation platform
6 Interviews & Contextual Inquiries
Limited knowledge in using Pinterest for ad creation
More specific targeting options
“Promote Pin” feature is hard to navigate & confusing
"Uploading" a pin was confusing to users
Competitors in the space
Platform Rankings
After reviewing and and seeing what they have to offer, this is an evaluation of platforms.
Ad Creation Process
The most intuitive to use without much knowledge in the ad creation space.
Key Features
Provides a 'Bid Strategy' allowing users to pick between manual or automated bids.
Demographics
The biggest user demographic guarantees maximum effectiveness in advertisement.
Customer Support
1-1 consulting with an ad creation specialist offering a personalized user experience.
Usability
The most straightforward processes, without long overwhelming procedures.
Pricing
All platforms are subject to personal and customizable budgets for each ad making.
Key Takeaways
Synthesizing our research with affinity mapping to find common clusters, here are our main takeaways:
Limited Experience
SMBs often face challenges due to their limited experience regarding marketing.
Personalized Targeting
SMBs highly value specific targeting options to personalize their advertising.
Usability
Certain sections aren’t highlighted leading to difficulty and confusion while making an ad.
Distinguish Features
Users experience confusion distinguishing between creating and promoting a pin.
Streamline your ad creation process
Enhancing the user flow and usability, we refined each stage to specifically address users' pain points and frustrations, without diminishing the uniqueness of Pinterest ad creation process.
