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Contributing writer for The Bellingham Business Journal – watch for Patti Rowlson's marketing/networking articles on the last Thursday of each month (bbjtoday.com)
Pinterest: Should it be a shiny new object in your marketing toolbox? (Part 1 of 3)
Pinterest is the new darling of the social media circuit; businesses are trying to figure out what exactly it is and whether adding this shiny new object to their marketing toolbox is worth the time.
What is Pinterest anyway? Think of it as a series of virtual cork boards where you can store images of your favorite things – images you ‘pin’ to your boards can be found anywhere on the web (if they have a unique URL) or you can load your own original images.
Sample boards on Pinterest – they each have a larger ‘board cover’ image.
What is a ‘pin’ you ask? A pin is an image that you own and want to share with others. The goal is for your image to spread around Pinterest by being shared, or ‘re-pinned’ by others. It is currently estimated that 80% of pins that appear on Pinterest are re-pins – there is a lot of image sharing going on!
Boards can be used for inspiration and planning purposes; it’s not uncommon to see boards on Pinterest titled Dream Wedding, Kitchen Renovation, Garden Inspiration, Places to Go, Party Themes, and much more.
Cool Infographic – Click to Enlarge
Recipe sharing is also huge…and every recipe comes with a visually appealing photo and a link to where the recipe can be found online. In my home, printed cookbook recipes are being replaced by Pinterest boards with titles like Crock Pot, Appetizers, Beverages, and Sweets.
Side Note: My gal pals and I recently got together and had a Pinterest Party where everyone brought something made from a recipe they had pinned to a board. It was loads of fun! You can check out some of the things we made on this board.
Sounds kinda cool, right? But is Pinterest right for your business?
The first thing to consider is whether your target market is actually using Pinterest. Recent stats estimate that women account for 72% of page views on the site; the majority of users are between 25 – 54 years old and have above average household incomes. Roughly half of Pinterest users have children. The top interests on the site include crafts, gifts, leisure, interior design and fashion.
OK, good to know…but what if you’re a service provider like an accountant, insurance agent, or financial advisor? It’s probably safe to say, with those demographics in mind, that Pinterest is not right for you (take a look at LinkedIn or Facebook instead). But say you are an architect, landscape installer, catering company, travel agent, graphic designer, or a children’s clothing retailer…then it may be worth considering.
That’s it for now but stay tuned. Part 2 of 3: 6 Ways to Use Pinterest for Your Business will be coming soon.
5 Comments on “Pinterest: Should it be a shiny new object in your marketing toolbox? (Part 1 of 3)”
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Love the idea of a Pinterest party – I’ll suggest it to my girls too!
Thanks Marianne! We organized our party as a private Facebook event where we could all share links to the recipes we were planning to bring. It was fun to anticipate what everyone was bringing…and it helped make sure there were not duplicates; we often end up pinning the same recipes to our boards.
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