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Pinterest streamlines access to content, driving downloads, engagement

Photo-sharing platform Pinterest increased mobile application installs by more than 100 percent by unlocking the potential of tracking data and running test campaigns. 

The social media channel had issues tracking its user and install data, creating difficulty in determining which advertising campaigns were successful and any issues that occurred. Through the creation of data-heavy links, Pinterest was able to better direct users to pages they were looking for through campaigns and ads, in turn driving app installation and engagement. 

?Since we started using Yozio and getting the data we need to fine-tune our development efforts, we now consistently rank in the top 15 apps in the iOS app store," said Daniel Chu, engineering growth manager at Pinterest. "Using Yozio, we were able to increase our iPhone app download rates by more than 100 percent."

Following data to users
In the past marketers? links that directed users to downloading brand apps only led consumers to the download page in places such as the iOS App Store. Once downloaded, users would be taken to the homepage of the app, and the individual page the user was looking for would be lost or difficult to find. 

For instance if a consumer shares a link for a product page on an app to a friend, the friend will be directed to download the app. Once downloaded, the user will be taken to the homepage of the app, rather than the individual page her friend had sent her.

Pinterest removed this problem by creating these deep links, in which users are taken to the original page they were looking for, after downloading the app. These links to app downloads are located in various locations throughout mobile, such as banner ads, sharing links and social media. 

These links also gave the option for Pinterest to track more user data regarding which campaigns pull in the most installations. The sharing site can now know where its downloads are coming from, and how they are directed there. 

The use of data can bring a business operating through the digital space to its full potential. Although mobile has secured its place as a heavily used platform in which to reach consumers, many factors involved in mobile are constantly evolving. 

The constant mobile development means discovering data and information can be difficult for marketers, as the technology is constantly growing and changing. Pinterest used the platform Yozio to help create these links and track data. 

By discovering which campaigns brought the most users, Pinterest is able to create the most effective advertising efforts. 

Pinterest is now regularly ranked in the top 15 apps, and many times included in the top five, of the iOS App Store. The brand has claimed to increase engagement with current users as well. 

Through mobile-optimized emails, banner ads, referral campaigns and mobile web SEO, Pinterest has been able to sustain this success. 

Pinterest did notice less engagement through linking emails and focused on a more organic approach to reaching consumers. It is important for any form of advertising content to be authentic and less intrusive to users, and it seems as though direct link emails went against this method. 

The platform ran and is still running a/b experiments to better track what works best for its users and attracting new users. Its iPad application also moved up into the top 10 in the App Store, compared to its beginning spot as number 70. 

Mobile advertising budgets
Pinterest is one of many brands looking into their mobile advertising and mobile ad budgets.

A remarkable number of big brands are reviewing their media agency relationships in 2015, with the partnerships they choose likely to reflect mobile?s growing role as a must-have core strategy while laying the groundwork for a big boost to mobile ad budgets in 2016 (see more). 

Another brand, Mondelez ramped up on mobile to drive trial for its first limited-edition Triscuit flavor, created in partnership with Martha Stewart, placing a strong focus on Pinterest via on-pack promotion as well as native mobile ads on Facebook (see more). 

?We get the attribution data we need about where our app installs are coming from, and we can use that data to experiment and optimize our campaigns," said Ludo Antonov, growth engineering lead at Pinterest. "Because of our ability to track app installs we were able to run a number of a/b experiments and identify opportunities that consequently pushed us to Top 10 in the App Store for iPad users."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant for Mobile Marketer