Pinterest is launching a new type of ad to take advantage of the growing number of video posts it claims to host.
The bulletin board-themed social network announced Wednesday that it now offers "promoted videos" -- autoplay ads that appear amidst ordinary user posts -- following in the footsteps of industry peers such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Pinterest claims the quantity of videos its users post has shot up 60 percent in the past year, though it declined to give a baseline number.
The most popular fare includes workout classes, DIY projects and beauty tutorials, the company says.
"Our mission is to build the world catalogue of ideas, and some of the best ways to bring things to life is through video," said Mike Bidgoli, Pinterest's head of monetization. "A complex workout is easier understood through video than a series of photos and text."
The rollout follows a testing phase that involved a dozen advertisers, including General Mills and Universal Pictures' Secret Life of Pets. During the trial, ads from entertainment and financial services brands proved especially effective, Bidgoli says. (He declined to reveal which finance companies participated.)
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable This isn't Pinterest's first stab at video advertising. The company released a similar product last spring called "Cinematic Pins" that autoplayed only when a user scrolled.
The move comes as many of Pinterest's rivals have become increasingly reliant on mobile video, where advertisers will pay a premium for a more comprehensive message than text or photos can offer. Facebook's juggernaut growth is credited to its success at growing a hub of video content, and Instagram has similarly doubled down on the format.
"There’s so much demand in the space," Bidgoli said. "This is probably the biggest headline we’ll have this year."
Pinterest's aspirational nature makes it uniquely suited to many lifestyle and entertainment brands. The video ads can be paired with "buy" buttons, and the company suggests that advertisers might best fit the aesthetic of the site with how-to videos, recipes and other product-placement utility posts.
The startup was most recently valued at $11 billion in March when it pulled in a new fundraising haul of $367 million.
