Source: NY Times
What You Need to Know:
Pinterest has 175 million active users that are organically searching through content monthly.
Much of the hesitation to market on Pinterest has come from marketers not being familiar with the platform and the target audience.
A large majority of their users are women who are searching for lifestyle inspirations from brands and other users.
With easy links to purchasing, many brands have seen large engagement from the Pinterest community that rivals Facebook and Instagram.
Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Liu
The Rest
Imagine a platform that revolves around sharing aesthetics and sharing ideas about new products and brands. That platform is the long ignored Pinterest. Dominated by women, Pinterest is the answer to many brands prayers- but it is greatly under used as a way to market. With 175 million active users, Pinterest has a lot to give as an advertising platform. The problem tends to lie in the fact that it appears to have a niche user base that most average people are unfamiliar with. Pinning can become downright confusing if you’re not well versed in how boards work.
Realizing this problem, Pinterest has begun to turn around their platform for marketers. Launching campaigns such as the: “what if” campaign that shows how aesthetics drive their users, they have shown off the opportunity that lies within their user base. Influencers have used Pinterest as a way to spread their style and personal aesthetic with their users. With easy links to purchasing, many brands have seen large engagement from the Pinterest community that rivals Facebook and Instagram. This highly engaged audience is on the constant hunt for a new find to add to their boards and eventually to their homes or wardrobes.
Bloggers like Stephanie Liu of Honey & Silk sees surging pageviews where other influencers have let their sites crash in the last few years thanks to the rise of fast media platforms like Instagram. According to Liu, Pinterest is her second largest driver of traffic to honeynsilk.com. This is a boon not only for her, but for her brand partners and the products she chooses to feature in her stories, as that traffic is tangible data that pushes often to consumer websites.
Moral of the Story
Look into Pinterest and try to understand their community, it will be time well paid off. Pinterest started selling advertising two years ago with the only caveat being that it should blend in organically with other images on the site. Utilizing influencers on Pinterest can boost the outcome of the lifestyle your brand would want to sell. This is a huge benefit for your brand as it won’t look out of place as some other advertisements look on other platforms. It has been hailed as the link between interest and commerce, but only time will tell.
Little tip from the Top
You have to change your mindset when it comes to Pinterest, as Bob Gilbreath, the chief executive at Ahalogy, puts it. “We’ve seen brands achieve return on investment with Pinterest that blows away Facebook and Instagram, but that only happens when marketers share useful content and inspiring ideas. It takes a shift in habits, which takes time.”
Shifting your marketing plan for Pinterest could bring new found customers who are passionate- as well as share their passion with their friends. If you need an introduction to influencers on Pinterest, please contact us below.