Why you should take an interest in Pinterest
The Internet first took shape as a text-based medium. As popular as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are, the future of the Web seems to be video, whether that means the homemade mashups of YouTube or the Hollywood retreads of Netflix.
But there is a middle ground. The Internet is also a strictly visual medium — think photos, illustrations, posters and infographics. And in the long run, that may be the arena where most businesses, which are rarely comfortable with the costs and prep-time required for videos, can finally make their presence felt.
The emerging star of the visual Web is Pinterest, the photo-sharing and picture-pinning site that appeals to anyone who appreciates art and design, drawings and cartoons, or photos of fashions, interior design, travel, pets or the perfect car.
Founded in 2010, Pinterest was the first social media site to hit 10 million users in less than two years. Last week, French social-media re- searcher Semiocast reported Pinterest now has 70 million users, 30% of whom actively “pinned” at least one image in June. Because the site is relatively new, it remains dominated by North American users, with 49 million in the U.S. and four million in Canada.
For businesses still looking to make a splash in social media, Pinterest may be their solution. Facebook has a billion users, but most are interested in interacting with their friends. On Pinterest, users aren’t talking about their day, but actively building collections of images that interest them. And as they share (“pin”) each others’ pictures, your images can go viral, while always linking back to your site.
Pinterest users last week were sharing images of sweaters and fall coats, hairstyles, jewellery and exotic vacations, paint shades and wallpaper, cupcakes and healthy foods, inspirational posters and vintage ads, DIY projects and cute kittens, storage solutions and iPhone cases. For marketers, that means they’re telegraphing (kind of a quaint word-image) their buying intentions or aspirations. If you can connect with these consumers, you can influence their purchases.
“Pinterest is powerful because it reaches users in an aspirational frame of mind,” says Daniel Maloney, CEO of Oklahoma City-based Pin- League, which provides Pinterest leads and analytics to marketers. “Pinterest is less about what you’re doing, and more about what you want to happen.”
Maloney discovered the power of Pinterest firsthand. In 2011, he quit a high-profile job developing “stealth” projects for AOL to co-found a wedding-planning site called BridesView. His secret weapon: identifying bridesto-be through their activities on Pinterest.
As Maloney and his partner Alex Topiler tried to raise capital last year, they found potential backers more interested in Pinterest analytics than the newlywed game. When clients too, started asking for help understanding Pinterest data, they left BridesView at the altar and pivoted to PinLeague.
Clients such as Target, Disney and USA Today use PinLeague to track who’s “pinning,” liking or commenting on their content on Pinterest, measure engagement levels, and identify and connect with consumers who are “advocates” of their brands.
Maloney says the 10-person company owes its success to proprietary technology and its embracing of the visual Web. PinLeague surrounds its services and blogposts with eye-catching infographics that make it easy for fans and friends to understand what they do and then share those images across Pinterest.
And therein lies Challenge #1 of Pinterest: embracing the visual. Many entrepreneurial businesses have prospered without professional design, signage, logos or photography; they should not expect to do well on Pinterest. The winning companies will embrace attractive, eyecatching design, and leverage photography, illustrations, posters and graphics to turn their products, services and corporate culture into socialmedia stars.
Here are a few tips from Maloney for getting started on Pinterest: Don’t expect success overnight Your goal is to become a trusted supplier of attractive content. It takes time to win trust and figure out what kinds of content your market likes best.
Share interesting things To interest Pinterest followers, your images must be beautiful and your messaging useful and subtle. “Pinning every item you have isn’t going to win you any traction,” Maloney says. If you don’t have great content, become a curator of it Your firm can scour other Web sources for great ideas and images that appeal to your market and exemplify your brand. Integrate Pinterest with all your marketing efforts That includes blogs, Facebook, ads and promotions.
Start a dialogue “Remember, these are people you’re talking to,” he says. “They’re not numbers, they’re not customers, they’re people.” When Pinterest members comment on your work or discuss your products, they expect you to participate in the conversation.