When you think of Pinterest, you probably associate it with clothes, crafts and animals.
You may even consider it a time-waster, only to be used for leisure. But think again. With its nifty idea-generating ability, Pinterest has become a major shopping-decision influencer. And, since today more people shop online, it may be your huge marketing and traffic-optimizing opportunity.
So, what exactly is Pinterest?
It’s a unique and fast-growing pinboard-style bookmarking website that attracts people thanks to its visually appealing content. It allows users to browse, pin, re-pin, like, collect, and share pictures, links or sites of various events, hobbies and interests.
“To me, (Pinterest's image-dominated) boards are a very human way of looking at the world.”
The platform keeps expanding its options and usability. In addition to its web analytics, Pinterest offers various user-tailored tools. For instance:
- personalized pins provide board recommendations based on tracked online actions,
- dedicated pages show all trending brand-related pins on Pinterest,
- related pins give recommendations of similar or liked posts,
- place pins show people’s desired travel spots on an interactive map, and
- rich pins allow users to pin stories or articles and add relevant information.
But, that’s not all. Pinterest is now testing paid advertising, with pins that look similar to others but have a small promoted pins notation. For some customers, this may be less annoying than tacky pop-ups, but for others, this transparency may seem deceiving. For businesses, of course, it’s a great way to promote brands, build brand awareness, and optimize website conversions. With its 70 million users and about 500,000 business pages, Pinterest can surely be effective and efficient! Here are some facts:
- Pinterest boosts traffic better than Facebook or Twitter. Last year, Martha Stewart’s boards brought her 10 times more traffic than her Facebook account.1
- Its single pin usually equals to two site visits, six pageviews, plus about 10 re-pins. This means 75 cents per pin.2
- Eighty percent of pins are re-pins, so having a business Pinterest page enables wider audience outreach.3
- Pinterest generates more spending. Its users spent $92.51 per order versus Facebook’s $52.30 this holiday season.4
- It brings greater revenue for businesses. Pinterest-generated holiday spending not only doubled the retailers’ revenue this Black Friday, but it also tripled it on Cyber Monday.5
- Pinterest is only 3 years old and has never overhauled its original codebase, except for minor improvements. Yet, it’s become the third most popular social network, right after Facebook and Twitter.
- Thirty million monthly visitors generate 2.5 billion pageviews and 5 million article pins, producing 70 percent of brand engagement.6
- Pinterest helps integrate a company’s website, blog, and Facebook or Twitter accounts, thanks to its “pin it” button. Its total funding is about $564 million, and it’s valued at $3.8 billion.7
- Pinterest’s web traffic referrals have increased more than 66 percent since 2012, and its international traffic has grown 125 percent this year.8
Memorable pins can live a long time. So, the key to successful brand Pinteresting is not only maintaining a business page but creating pins of unique and engaging boards, co-buildable stories, and catchy offers. Each pinned item means that someone finds the product worth buying, so peoples’ engagement is crucial and can help build brand recognition and increase profits.
“Good pins are frozen in time on Pinterest.”
Here are some examples of well-known brands that really connect with people on Pinterest:
Nordstrom (4.431,897 followers and 64 boards) The business has taken Pinterest’s usage to another level by displaying the most popularly pinned items at their local stores, thus increasing customers’ interest and participation.
Ben & Jerry's (3,673 followers and 23 boards) Thanks to its private glimpses into the brand’s behind-the-curtains happenings, Ben & Jerry’s creates a homey atmosphere and promotes a more intimate connection with its followers.
Lowe’s (3.512,102 followers and 55 boards) The company’s idea of not having many of its own boards but pinning DIY projects from its customers is brilliant and extremely engaging for the audience.
Sephora (254,031 followers and 59 boards) By having its community members share the pictures of their nail designs, Sephora not only inspires its followers, but it also assists them, while promoting own products.
L.L. Bean (5.505,280 followers and 29 boards) The corporation doesn’t bluntly push its products on people but captivates them by creating photo contests and featuring pictures of animals and nature.
Clearly, Pinterest has numerous benefits. Not only does it drive great traffic and increases your revenue, but it also intensifies your followers’ participation. While costing you less money, it allows you to discover people’s interests and adjust your Pinterest marketing strategy accordingly. From a business perspective, Pinterest seems like a more efficient and affordable brand-building and customer-engaging platform than Facebook or Twitter, don’t you think? I do...
“You never see a tweet older than 48 hours, unless it’s ironic. I wanted to create a service that’s a bit timeless.”
Credits/Sources:
- 1, 2, 5 Piqora estimates
- 3, 6, 7, 8 DMR - Digital Marketin Rumblings statistics
- 4 IBM report
An entrepreneur with an eye for good design and advocate of simplicity. He brings a fresh strategy and approach to every project and plays an integral role in clients’ accomplishments through collaboration and close integration. Through his hands-on experience in technology and marketing, he ensures user experiences and technology are on the leading edge.
