Tag Archives: Reddit

Pinterest: beyond the pretty pictures

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The fastest growing social media site on the web today has proven itself as a dual procrastination-favorite-browsing site and a marketer’s heaven. At first glance, Pinterest seems like a site full of gorgeous beach pictures, precious little puppies and the occasional Pottery Barn-esque room decor.

But in all actuality, Pinterest is a billion dollar company that’s blowing up the the internet faster than much of its competition. Youtube, Reddit and Google + yield lower percentages of referral traffic and Twitter holds just .01% over Pinterest, proving this young site’s potential.

More than just those cute puppies (they ARE really cute though..) Pinterest is great for retailers looking for product exposure.  Its addictive nature leads users to discovering DIY tips, “Dream Homes” that are actually on the market with local realtors, and great recipes for all kinds of foods.

Even the 2012 Presidential Election isn’t untouched by Pinterest. Leading candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama’s wives have gotten in on the action, both creating pages earlier this year.

The site’s traffic is primarily driven by women by a long run, though this statistic shouldn’t deter marketers. Rather, I see it as the perfect opportunity for specific targeting. If we know the ladies are watching, products should be geared to the feminine mind. Rather than Armani posting its latest men’s suit to their typical male client, the product should be catered to a shopping wife or girlfriend..perhaps looking for a birthday gift for her significant other. Knowing how to take advantage of Pinterest’s statistics helps leverage a company’s influence on the site tremendously.

I am on Pinterest 24/7 for Laffey Fine Homes, the Long Island luxury real estate company I work for. I can attest to the “Dream Homes” being real listings aspect of the site, as it’s a truly great way to drive viewers–and potential buyers–to Laffey.com. I post pictures of the pools and kitchens, the spiral staircases and luscious green backyards, all with a click-through link back to the listing’s page. Granted, many of our viewers hail from all over the country..so it would be a cool addition if Pinterest marketers could target specific geographic regions, much like Facebook Fan Pages can.

Another Pinterest tip I learned from a webinar I stumbled upon thanks to a LinkedIn group I joined may come as a no-brainer; write captions.

It’s true…time and time again we’re told to take advantage of the 500 character limit when creating pins. Pinterest makes it mandatory to insert a comment along with every pin, but most people cheat the system and write a measly period as a placeholder. If you just take an extra 15 seconds to your posts you’ll wind up using the site to it’s full potential. Like Twitter, Pinterest lets you include popular hashtags which help pinners who aren’t following your boards to discover your content.

Mark Zuckerberg..you should’ve bought this one! Instagram is cool, but certainly doesn’t have the marketing capabilities that Pinterest does.

Anyway, I originally intended for this post to be terse (an impossibility for my loquacious mind). I do wish to include a helpful info graphic that I stumbled upon once. Ironically enough, I think I found it on Pinterest. If you’d like a larger copy I’ll be glad to email one: omp7@cornell.edu.

Enjoy!

-Olivia