In a slightly unexpected move, Pinterest is breaking into the influencer market and rolling out new tools to allow influencers to make money on its platform.
In an update to the site, Pinterest is adding affiliate links, allowing creators and influencers to receive some of the revenue made off of purchases. Additionally, it’s releasing Idea Pins (a feature similar to Facebook Stories), allowing users to promote products in more places. Lastly, Pinterest is opening a “paid partnership” label to sponsorships for Idea Pins.
Pinterest creators now can integrate products into their Idea Pins
After the update, creators can browse available product pins posted by businesses and incorporate them into their Idea Pins. Pinterest claims this will make it much simpler for people to find these products and purchase them. Additionally, influencers can show their audiences what the product is and how to use it while also providing a link to buy the product. This is also where creators can also feature an affiliate link to earn money if the people purchase the product after clicking the link.
When will the update release?
According to Pinterest, the tagging tool in Idea Pins is first launching for US and UK businesses. Though, don’t worry if you live elsewhere. Pinterest plans to release the feature to international creators in the next few months.
As for the paid partnership tool, the tool is available for a few select creators in 19 countries, including the US, UK and Canada.
Overall, it looks like these features will make it simpler for people to purchase products on Instagram. It’s also helping influencers and creators on the platform to have another source of income. We’ll see if Pinterest rolls out more e-commerce focused updates in the future.