Pinterest has shown its cards for how it will make money on the online photo-pinning site: promoted pins.
Scrapbooks shared across Pinterest have made its image pinboards a rising star destination for socializing specifically around products. Pinterest has also emerged a popular spot for brands, such as Lowe's, to build a merchandising vehicle presence that drives people to click into online stores.
"We're going to start experimenting with promoting certain pins from a select group of businesses," CEO Ben Silbermann wrote on the company's blog.
More from USA Today:
Pinterest said it will not be exploring banner or pop-up ads and will clearly mark those pins that are promoted. The company also said that promoted pins will first be served into search results and then, later, into members' feeds, relevant to interests.
The move comes as the company has been quickly amassing members yet had thus far not disclosed an exact revenue path.
Pinterest reached 46.2 million people in the U.S. in July on desktop and mobile, according to measurement firm ComScore.
—By USA Today's Scott Martin