What is Pinterest you say? Pinterest describes itself as a virtual pinboard, a place to organize and share all th
e beautiful things you find online. Think visual bookmarks or of the cork board where you use to pin magazine cutouts of Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Users create a “board” surrounding a specific topic, say Home Decor. The user then “pins” photos to the board of items and tips that they enjoy, fit their style, or would simply like to come back to later. Once a user pins something to their board, it is shared with other Pinterest users. These users can comment on the pin, like the pin, or repin it to one of their boards. Pinterest’s main mission is to connect people throughout the world via the things they find interesting. They want to expose common ground between people through visuals, taste and preference.
Sounds fun right? Well, you would not be alone in seeing a use for this type of site. In December 2011, Pinterest attracted 11 million visitors which represents 40% growth in six months to the invite-only site. This stat helped catapult the site onto the list of top 10 social networking sites based on traffic. Pinterest was also named to Time magazine’s list of the top 50 websites of 2011 and has been described to be the “Next Twitter.” It can also be seen that the site, which took a while to gain traction, is now seeing a growth rate of 50% month over month. Assuming the site remains invite-only, our projections have the site at 55+ million visitors by June 2012.
The Pinterest early adopters that are creating all of this traffic have a very specific makeup. Its 4.5 million users are 58% female and 59% are between the ages of 25 and 44. The type of content being shared on the site is a product of this group. The most popular users for the site currently revolve around sharing ideas for wedding/events, recipes, fashion, design, home decor, photography, quotes, and favorite products. That said, as more male users begin to enter the Pinterest world there will likely be a shift in the type of content that is seen.
All of this traffic and buzz means that the marketers will be soon to follow. A few brands have already hopped on the Pinterest bandwagon and gotten creative with the site in efforts to see what type of traction they could get. In December, Land’s End held a “Pin it to Win it” contest where users were asked to create a pin board with 10 to 20 images from the Land’s End site or repin them from the Land’s End Pinterest page. Once a user completed this task, they simply emailed the board to Land’s End and were entered to win one of 10 $250 Land’s End giftcards. The contest ran for one week and over 200 boards were created each containing at minimum of 10 images from Land’s End. This is a pretty impressive stat considering the low barrier to entry for Land’s End. Etsy, your place to buy homemade and vintage online, is seeing their individual sellers have to remove products or change deliver expectation because the demand for their products is being so drastically increased due to Pinterest. As always, the consumer brands are leading the charge with testing a new social networking platform. However, the opportunity for B2B brands on Pinterest may be greater than any social network that has been seen before. Utilizing the platform to share tips, hold focus groups, or simply educate about products are all options with Pinterest that could be strategized and executed by both consumer and B2B brands.
For any brand marketer looking to break into Pinterest, there are a few easy things to help dip your toe in the water. Make sure your website is Pin-able by adding the Pin This button to your product images and content offering. This allows users to think of your content as something they might share on their boards. Next, try the site out yourself. This is the best way to learn the culture of Pinterest and its users, while determining the best way to fit your brand into the offering. Third, strategize how your brand should be involved. Does it make sense for individuals from the organization to have boards that make mention of the brand or for the brand to have its own account? If the brand has its own account, do you share the names of the people running the board or simply share the brand? These type of questions will help ensure that the strategy fits the brand and the potential audience you are hoping to reach. Once these pieces are complete, get active with pinning, comments and likes.
What are your thoughts on Pinterest? Are you pinning away or staying away? Will this be the next big thing or a passing fad?
