Why Every Brand Should Be on Pinterest
It’s become a cliché for me to remind the world that the Internet is a visual place. And it’s no secret around EVG that I am a huge supporter of Pinterest. I’ve been stalking all our new-moms-to-be via their Pinterest boards for ideas of adorable items for their impending off-spring. Most people see the relevance in my personal use of the social giant, but when I suggest it is a mighty business tool, they scoff. Stop your scoffing! Every brand should be scrambling to get their Pinterest strategy in place. Here’s why.
Adweek.com just published an article about Networked Insights’ report on how branded content is more frequently shared. The numbers tell the story. Verizon, Campbell’s soup and Ford are touted as top performing brands in terms of the number of pins that were shared. The study looked at what type of content is shared most frequently by moms, a group that is broad in definition and one of the most represented on the social channel. Verizon noted that what moms favor in terms of sharing and crafted a strategy to tap into this demographic. Verizon posted content that reflected moms’ interests and reaped the benefits. They posted about parenting, cooking/party tech, tech accessories and holiday tech accessories and DIY gifts. As a result, Verizon cornered 82% of moms’ tech brand conversations and 19% of all of moms’ brand conversations.
You don’t have to sell the items that make up the most popular pin categories to succeed on Pinterest. It’s about meeting your potential consumers and acknowledging their interests. Every time I suggest a bank could be killing it on Pinterest, I get a lot of blank stares from those who think I’m crazy. It’s all about engaging with your audience. It’s about listening to them. It’s about giving them useful information rather than a hard sell. And that means developing a strategy of serving their needs rather than yours.
The fact that Pinterest is driving more social sharing of retail content than Facebook is noteworthy. But the icing on the cake, according to a study by Boticca in 2012, is that Pinterest users spend more when they shop than do Facebook users. Boticca noted that Pinterest users spent $180 compared to $65 by Facebook users. And they aren’t alone.
If you can’t quite imagine what boards your business can create and share to reach your audience, give me a shout or send me an email. I would be happy to work with you to deliver a strategy to reach your audience.
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Kathleen Gossman—Project Manager
