Last week, I mentioned 6 important social media updates you should look out for on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This week, it’s all about the recent changes to Pinterest -- and boy, there are quite a few. SPOILER ALERT: Some of these update launches are in the works, but it is good-to-know information for planning your dealership's marketing strategy on this platform!

Let’s get started, shall we?

AD TARGETING AND CONVERSION TRACKING FEATURES

Pinterest quietly announced that it’s working on a way for advertisers to target people in a business’s customer database -- like the consumers on an email list -- with ads. The network is also developing a way to track and credit their Promoted Pins to actual purchases made on the business’s website. The features are set to launch this month.  

Why you should care:

These new features will allow your dealership to better understand how Promoted Pins affect your business, and what can be done to further personalize those Pins for Pinterest users. You will be reaching more interested consumers with relevant messages.

NEW ANALYTICS BOARD

The social media platform has grown up a bit in the last few years, and with brands swarming to this network trying to expand their reach, it’s only fitting they launch an analytics tool.

The analytics board keeps track of all the impressions, clicks, likes, and repins your content gets. It shows you the demographics and interests of your audience, and lets you know who’s pinning your content the most.

If your dealership is using Rich Pins or Promoted Pins (explained below), you’ll be able to see those campaign efforts on your analytics board. And -- if you’ve taken advantage of the “Pin it” button -- you can see how that content made its way onto Pinterest too!

Why you should care:

Data, data, data. Having this information will help you better understand, target, market to, and engage your audience on Pinterest. If you’re investing in Promoted Pins, odds are you want to prove their effectiveness -- and you can see how they are performing on the analytics board.

NOTE: Have you converted your dealership’s Pinterest account to a business account yet? If you haven’t -- do it NOW! This is where you’ll access your Rich Pins, Promoted Pins, the “Pin it” button, a widget builder, and the analytics board. Oh, and it’s free.

MESSAGING

Last spring, Pinterest launched its “Send a Pin” feature, and it became pretty popular. In order to keep the conversation going, they’ve recently added messaging to it.

At a glance, it may look similar to Facebook and Twitter messaging -- but Pinterest messaging works a bit differently. To contact fellow pinners, they must be following at least 1 of your boards. With it, you can:

• Have group conversations with up to four people

• Send a pin directly or via e-mail

• Drag pins into your conversations

Why you should care:

While the “Send a Pin” feature allowed you to promote your services, specials and vehicles, the messaging feature will help you engage your followers and answer their questions. Unlike messaging on Twitter and Facebook, conversations on Pinterest revolve around the content -- serving more as an opportunity for communication and less as a distraction.

PROFILE IMAGE REFRESH

Like Twitter, Pinterest recently adjusted the profile image size and layout just slightly. This is a minor change compared to the rest, but it’ll help keep your dealership’s profile looking good!

Why you should care:

Keep your Pinterest profile in top shape!

If you are using any kind of logo as your profile image, you’ll need to update the image size to a 200 x 200 pixel image. Also, try not to use any image that stretches to the edge -- keep it in the “safe zone” to prevent it from being cut off.

SELF-SERVE PROMOTED PINS

Pinterest began testing Promoted Pins with big brands like Banana Republic and Nestle in May. A month later, they added a DIY Promoted Pins tool so smaller businesses could reach more people and drive visitors back to their website.

Unlike average Promoted Pins, these DIY pins are performance-based -- so your dealership would only pay for the ad if users actually click through and view the content you're promoting.

DISCLAIMER: Promoted Pins are currently being tested with a small group of businesses. If you’re interested, you can sign up here to be waitlisted.

Why you should care:

Studies show Pinterest is second only to Facebook in driving referral traffic. And -- let’s face it -- considering recent Facebook updates, it’s only a matter of time before Pinterest is #1.  

While these pins aren’t openly available to everyone just yet, Pinterest claims to be in the midst of launching them. This good-to-know information gives you time to consider how you could implement Promoted Pins into your dealership’s social media marketing strategy.

--

Hey Dealers -- Have you already implemented any of these updates into your dealership’s marketing strategy? How have these changes improved business? Share your insights below!

For tips on maximizing your Pinterest efforts, check out this free eBook:

The Images Behind Social Media