What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, ‘re-pin’ images to their own pinboards, or ‘like’ photos.
Pinterest users can upload, save, sort and manage images, known as pins, and other media content (e.g. videos) through collections known as pinboards.
Who is on Pinterest?
Pinterest is without a doubt the fastest growing social media platform to date. Coming on the scene in the spring of 2011, they now boast 48.7 million users (April 2013). And their growth is still impressive beyond their first year: The number of daily Pinterest users has increased by 145% since January 2012.
Most who’ve heard of Pinterest realize that currently its a female-dominated platform. Females still dominate Pinterest’s usage, making up the overwhelming majority of the audience – more than 80%, but its interesting to note that gap is narrowing over time. The majority of the users are in the 18-44 age group, are mothers, college educated and 28% with a household income of $100k+.
Should your Business be on Pinterest?
Depending on the industry you’re in, the definition of your target audience and the accessibility of your product online, you may be able to find substantial benefits about being a fellow Pinner. There are definitely some impressive statistics that show a definite return on investment:
- Pinterest buyers spend more money, more often, and on more items than any of the other top 5 social media sites.
- Pinterest pins which include prices receive 36% more likes than those which do not. (If the prices are advertised directly by the brand company, it is actually less likely to be repinned.)
- Pinterest generates over 4 times as much revenue per click (attributable to first touch) as Twitter and 27% more revenue per click than Facebook.
- 47% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from Pinterest.
- Pinterest generated more referral traffic for businesses than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined.
If your business isn’t on Pinterest yet, you might want to think seriously about jumping on board. Pinterest can enable you to tell your company’s story in visually engaging ways that enhance your brand image and attract potential new customers.
What categories draw the most interest on Pinterest?
Depending on your company’s product or service, you may see easier generation of repins and interest on Pinterest. That’s not to say that if your business does not fall in the following most popular categories, that you shouldn’t try it, but you will have to be more creative in your category of boards. Ask yourself: who is my target audience and what interests them?
For example, Whole Foods has expanded it’s talking points to its commitment to sustainability, gardening and recycling. Old Navy’s page has boards that feature do-it-yourself projects, seasonal fun photos, and fun family and children’s projects, all categories that appeal to their market.
Here are a few tips for Pinning etiquette for businesses:
- Don’t make it all about you! Keep branding/marketing related pins to about 20%; spending the majority of your pinning to building interest in your company and giving a personality to your brand.
- A good quality picture is worth a 1000 repins. Pinterest is an almost entirely visual platform. Think about what makes your business or service visual—products are a great place to start, but a great photo of product application can take that one step further. An eye-catching photo (linked to your well-written and engaging content) will help ensure that your Pinterest account is followed by those who are actually interested in your services or products.
- Don’t over look the SEO benefits of Pinterest’s search functionality. Pinterest uses a fairly simple search function and recognizes keywords and phrases above all else. Write your pin descriptions and name your image files using words that someone would search for to find you. (“antique-chest.jpg”, or “wedding-photo.jpg”)
- Share some food for thought. Food is one of the most shared topics on Pinterest, often the more decadent the better, but offering some healthy entrees or meal ideas for busy, working moms is another great option.
- Add some flair when naming your boards. This is also another way of letting users know what you’re all about. Don’t limit your boards and settings to the default, or even strictly to your products. Branch out and find ways to highlight original content and posts from others that relates to your industry, and create a board with an exciting or brand-specific title to match. You can repin almost as much great content as you create!
- Pin, Repin, Follow, Like and Comment. Who wants to follow a user that does nothing but promote their products or opinions? It’s important to get active, be social, and look for content outside of what you’ve created to promote to your followers. This in turn will encourage those users (and others) to view and repin your content and increase your reach, all while you look like a friendly co-user on the site. Engaging with other users is one of the easiest ways to start to gain or maintain a following.
Looking for more help with social media management and marketing campaigns? Call Startup Production for a variety of services to enhance your online presence. We’re so much more than web design!