With over 6 million users, and counting, Pinterest is the site everyone is talking about. Created in 2008, but only recently gathering pace, Pinterest has blasted into the top ten most visited social networking sites of the past year, and continues to gain popularity.
Pinterest is a social bookmarking site where users can gather images to share with others. It is useful to think of the site as a virtual, interactive scrapbook, where you can organise pictures (or videos) that you find interesting or inspiring. Whenever you see an image you like, anywhere on the web, you can “pin” it onto your pinboard, creating as many pinboards as you like. People are using Pinterest to plan weddings, decorate homes, and collate recipes, but you can create a pinboard for any topic imaginable!
Pic sourced from dabblelicious
So, what can brands gain from Pinterest? At first, you may think the site seems too niche to accommodate brands, but several brands have already signed up to the service, and there are opportunities. As Pinterest gathers pace, more extensive features may be introduced to benefit brands, such as promoted pins, sponsored boards, or subtle advertising. Right now though, brands are using Pinterest in the following ways:
To showcase new product offerings. Retail outlets are using the site to gauge interest in new products, so if a user repins an image, or posts a positive comment, the business will know that they approve. As the site still has a relatively small number of users, compared to that of Facebook and Twitter, brand managers can measure acceptance of a new product relatively easily, and gauge whether it is wise to continue with mass production.
To get backlinks. Everytime someone pins an image from your site and places it on their pinboard, you automatically get a link from it. You could get multiple links, if the image is repinned, building a healthy number of backlinks to your site. These links have great potential as the popularity of Pinterest grows.
To communicate a brand. For companies that provide a service, rather than a product, Pinterest provides a platform to showcase brand personality. For instance, a magazine can showcase photos of places it has sent its journalists, or its coverage of events, and provide a description and a link to the original story. This allows the brand to give its story, mission and future plans, all via a pinboard.
Pinterest is an exciting new platform for brands, and as the site gains popularity, marketing opportunities are only going to grow. Once you have added the “pin it” button to your site, it is a good idea to follow others and get your brand known. Encourage them to follow you back and repin your pins by frequently repinning their pins to your boards. You should create boards that go beyond your product and your brand – for example, a bakery could pin images of kitchen appliances to bake with.
In time, the benefits of incorporating Pinterest into your online marketing strategy will become more apparent, but any work you do now should put you in good stead. However tempting, it is not advisable to use Pinterest for self-promotion, as this could get you banned. The most successful brands on Pinterest will be the ones that put aside self-promotion, but instead provide something unique to the Pinterest community.
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