Pinterest rolls out video ads at online bulletin board

Pinterest on Wednesday introduced video ads as it moved to cash in on a growing appetite for videos at the popular online bulletin board.

Marketing messages in the form of Promoted Videos paired with posts "pinned" at the social network will be served up in the United States and Britain, according to product manager Mike Bidgoli.

Pinterest has seen a 60 percent increase in videos ranging a gamut of topics from exercise and home improvement to beauty tutorials, Bidgoli said.

Pinterest is following in the footsteps of internet giants such as YouTube and Facebook, which early on tuned into rising interest in online video by tailoring ads to the format.

"While other platforms primarily offer video views, we've coupled Promoted Video with featured Pins below the video," Bidgoli said in a blog post.

More than 100 million people around the world visit Pinterest monthly, according to the San Francisco-based company.

Pinterest in June unveiled new features to facilitate shopping on the site, as the platform pushes to become an e-commerce hub.

The offerings included a virtual shopping bag that users can fill as they cruise bulletin boards.

Pinterest last year dove into e-commerce with "pins" in mobile applications that let people buy items they see on bulletin boards.

Other changes included revamping merchant profiles to make it easier for users to see what is new, on sale or popular.

Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board platform, with users decorating their boards with pictures showcasing interests in a variety of areas, including food, fashion and travel.

Pinterest sees itself as being positioned at the crossroads of social networking and online search, with users consulting it when seeking out products or services.

Instead of coming to Pinterest to see photos of friends, people come with "commercial intent" that puts the site in an ideal position to display native advertising for trips, clothing or other offerings, according to company president Tim Kendall.

SourcE: AFP