Brief:

• Pinterest this week strengthened its ties with software tools that designers and graphic artists use to create content. Creators can now work with Adobe Spark, Over, PicMonkey and Canva to design, edit and publish posts directly to Pinterest using their business accounts, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
• As part of its effort to connect with creators, Pinterest unveiled a fresh corporate identity that showcases how people can use the platform to share their creative efforts. The company designed the brand to "capture the inspirational feel of Pinterest," per its announcement.
• Pinterest integrated its platform with the software tools to support creators who are seeing more demand for their content, including themes that are more popular during the coronavirus pandemic. Recipes, ideas for working from home and kids activities are in high demand, per the company.

Insight:

Pinterest aims to broaden its appeal among the creative community by making it easier to share their efforts on its photo-collecting platform. By supporting creators, the company can inspire a virtuous cycle of creating higher-quality content that keeps people coming back to its platform, boosting advertising impressions and shopping activity that's important to mobile marketers.

Pinterest isn't alone in its efforts to nurture a community of creators by helping them to share their creative works and monetize them. Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube also have sought to strengthen their ties with developers and creators in various ways, especially social influencers who help to drive engagement with content that includes product recommendations and reviews, online tutorials and entertainment.

For Pinterest, driving engagement is key to growing its user base and revenue. The company this month withdrew its revenue guidance for the year because the coronavirus pandemic has made the advertising market more uncertain. However, the company also reported that its user base had reached 365 million to 367 million in Q1, beating estimates of 345 million, Bloomberg reported.

The integration with creator software follows Pinterest's recent efforts to expand the functionality of its platform for marketers. The company this month added features to help people find and buy goods through search, Pinterest boards, pins and a curated style guide. In February, the platform debuted its verified merchant program to help consumers find and buy from trustworthy brands. In late March, the social platform introduced its Today tab, highlighting trending posts and curated topics to help users find inspirational quotes and other online resources.