You may have heard that there’s this new social media platform called Pinterest.
If you haven’t, you’re probably a guy.
It is a virtual pinboard site where you can curate boards of different categories with items that interest you. For example, I am recently obsessed with my Crock Pot. My Aunt got it for me for Christmas, along with a Crock Pot cook book, but I find that sifting through the cookbook isn’t as fun as seeing pictures of things that I could cook. So, much of my time on Pinterest is finding spectacularly easy Crock Pot recipes to pin to my Crockin Slow Cooker recipes board.
Why is this simple (why didn’t I think of it??) concept so awesome for brands?
- People love pictures.
- Referral links, albeit affiliate links.
- Site Traffic.
Why is it bad for brands?
- Some pictures of your things may not always link back to your site. You can’t control what people upload and what they actually pin from you.
- Some pictures of your things will be widely distributed without your consent. You can combat this by adding in “no-pin” code to your site, but there is no guarantee people will get the content from elsewhere or pull a screen grab to get the picture on their board. Also, by adding the “no-pin” code, NOTHING from your site can be pinned, so you can’t participate in Pinterest.
- A company might have to use its creative juices. While I see this as a fun challenge, this might be a turn-off for many brands on Pinterest. You have to fit in with the social network to be able to play on its playground. DON’T pin marketing promos, only products from your site, or create boards with only links to you. The user base will see through you and will not respond favorably. Post a mix of branded and non-branded content. Create boards to encompass the entire brand voice and what your target consumer would want to see.
So continue on, dear pinjas, in your quest to pin all the things. I’ll be right there, just have to check on the Crock Pot.
