Pinterest, the pinboard-style photo-sharing website, has announced that it will help monetise the platform with promoted pins.
Speaking in a blog post, Ben Silbermann, CEO and co-founder, suggested the move was the only way Pinterest could have a long-term future.
“It’s so important that Pinterest is a service that will be here to stay. To help make sure it does, we’re going to start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses,” he said.
Anticipating how users might respond negatively to the news, Silbermann added: “I know some of you may be thinking, ‘Oh great…here come the banner ads.’ But we’re determined to not let that happen.”
Silbermann admitted that they have yet to figure out all the details, but has promised users the promoted pins will be “tasteful,” with “no flashy banners or pop-up ads.”
He also promised transparency and relevance and would welcome user feedback to ensure the promotions work for the Pinterest community.
“For our first test,” Silbermann concluded, “we’ll promote a few pins in search results and category feeds. For example, a pin for a Darth Vader outfit from a costume shop might be promoted in a search for ‘Halloween.’
“Nobody’s paying for anything yet – we want to see how things go and, more than anything, hear what [users] think.”
