What is your company doing about it?
I remember when Pinterest was created in the spring of 2010. I remember because my mom had found it sooner than most of her friends. At the time, my mom thought of it as her secret great idea place. Where she could find gift ideas, “pin” recipes, checkout DIY projects and beautiful pictures of places she would like to visit.
When she would tell her friends about the app she would explain to them like it was a literal bulletin board. Saying that you could grab ideas from anywhere and “pin” them to your own boards for later reference.
I realize now that I haven’t thought of Pinterest as a bulletin board in a very long time. I think that’s because it has grown to be so much more. The virtual bulletin board of 2010 has morphed into what I would call a never-ending magazine.
Pinterest is popular for a few reasons, one of those is due to the personalization. I follow people and companies who pin similar styles and interests so I can see their take on styles we share opinions about. Not only do the people I follow show me pins I may potentially like but when I pin anything, Pinterest will also show me pins similar to that one so I may find even more websites, photos, products, that would appeal to me.
Influence is a huge player in the Pinterest game. Everyone is influencing each other. You and your pins are always reaching someone. There is a huge cycle of pinning and influencing, pinning and influencing… Not only do individuals have the ability to go through this cycle, but companies and their products can as well.
I also use my Pinterest account as a wishlist. This means I seek out brands and products that I would like. I can show them to my friends and family, asking for these things for Christmas. I can refer to the boards of my friends to know what they would like as gifts also.
Pinterest users are mostly women and I’d say that 90% of the pins on Pinterest are products.
In short, Pinterest is an amazing place for target marketing.
What is more powerful than a woman who loves a product? A group of women who love a product.
Have you ever heard a group of ladies discuss a product they love? The enthusiasm and eagerness they posses is energetic enough to get others who have never heard of the product excited as well. In a nutshell, that is what Pinterest is. People excited over products. Effecting each other as they repin.
Pinterest is like an affiliate system but the affiliates don’t know they are branding for you, you don’t need to pay them, and their reviews are honest. What more could a company want?
If you have a website that links to your Pinterest account, I hope that you are keeping it active, as it is definitely worth it. It does take a lot of time and effort though. You need a constant supply of beautiful pictures or videos and compelling captions that will draw in people to click through to your website. I would would even suggest that you keep the Pinterest account as active as you would keep your Instagram account.
I follow a few clothing brands on Pinterest. They always have beautiful pictures and they add them to their many boards regularly. I gush over their stunning photos and repin them. Not only are they influencing me but my followers as well.
Maybe your pins are getting repined, but you aren’t seeing an immediate increase in sales. If that is the case, I’d be sure that people can clearly see what the image is focusing on. Help them believe that they could own the product too. The scenery around the featured item needs to look beautiful of course, but not so far from reality that the average consumer doesn’t stop to picture themselves owning your product.
A balance between an aesthetically pleasing picture, an image which clearly displays your product, reality and consumer craving fantasy needs to be met in order to win over the pinners through your pins. Give the pinners a reason to purchase.
Pinterest can be the connect between a consumer’s fantasy and reality.
200 million monthly users is a lot of consumers. Is your brand out there for us to find?
Tess Houcher
