This week, Instagram began rolling out ads, exclusively through their API (Application Program Interface) Partner program. Brands in Instagram's new program are able to easily buy and schedule Instagram ad space. Plus, you can pinpoint the exact audience for the ads.

"Instagram ads will be available to advertisers of all types later this year," proclaims Instagram.

This change will bring huge changes to the organic reach of Instagram content, while also presenting an opportunity to connect with more users.

For now, there’s another social media platform that recently introduced ads: Pinterest. A few months ago, Pinterest introduced their Promoted Pins to brands after testing the feature for eight months.

Before Instagram rolls out their new ads, make sure you've got Pinterest's Promoted Pins down pat. Read on to learn how Promoted Pins work and best practices for setting up your own campaign.

How do Pinterest's Promoted Pins work?

Promoted Pins are paid advertisements that help connect your brand with those who are looking for your product or service. All you do is select or create a new pin to promote and choose between two goals: driving traffic to your website or increasing engagement on Pinterest.

With Pinterest's data, your business can target who your pin is shown to based on location, language, age, gender and keywords. The cost varies because they're cost-per-click (CPC) ads. You set your daily budget, but the average CPC is between $0.50-$1.50.

Best practices for Promoted Pins campaign

1. Conduct keyword research on Pinterest

The keywords that work for your brand on Google are more than likely going to be drastically different on Pinterest.

Armed with your list of typical keywords, play around with them in Pinterest. Use the suggested words to modify your search to discover Pinterest-specific keywords.

Focus on combining specifics with broad terms. For example, combine the specific term "metal rivet headboard," the broad "rustic bedroom furniture," and the general "bedroom décor." Also, check out the length and keywords in the pins that show up first.

2. Pick the perfect picture

Pinterest is visually-driven! No matter how relevant your information or product is, if your picture isn't just right, it's not going to perform.

Picking the perfect picture is one of the biggest factors of success for your Promoted Pin campaign. Luckily, we've got data on our side to help you promote the right pictures. A study by Curalate analyzed more than a half-million images to find what types of images Pinterest users love.

What types of pictures perform best as Promoted Pins?

• Avoid faces. Images without a face get 23 percent more repins.
• Get warm. Images with red-orange colors get twice as many repins as those with blue hues.
• Tall draw. Use a vertical image with a 2:3 aspect ratio to get 60 percent more repins. Use an editing app to pinpoint that ratio easily.
• Go crazy! Images with multiple dominant colors get three times more comments than pics with one color.
• Back off the background. Select a background that is simple yet shows the product in use — like a picnic table for a meal or a gallery wall for a clock.

3. Test and learn

Promote different images, calls to action and photos. See which ones perform best by using A/B testing. Doing so allows you to do more of what works and less of what doesn't.

Or if you already have pins that continually drive traffic and sales, promote those first.

Now that's smart marketing!