What is Pinterest? Ask the nearest woman and she can probably tell you. Here’s a shocking stat for you: If you look at Facebook and Twitter’s growth rates at the some point in their history as where Pinterest is right now, Pinterest’s user base is growing faster than both of them. What does that mean? Pinterest is the new kid on the block, and everyone is pretty excited about it. Does it mean that Pinterest will achieve the success that Facebook and Twitter have? Not necessarily. Here are some more stats for you about Pinterest:
- 80% of Pinterest users are women. (but you expected that, right?)
- Over 80% of ‘pins’ are re-pins of existing content and NOT new content
- 57% of Pinterest users have household incomes over $50,000.
- 85% of Pinterest users are college-educated
- Numerous brands are being successful using Pinterest for marketing. One of the most successful: Better Homes & Gardens (which should tell you a whole bunch about what Pinterest is about.)
I have heard Pinterest compared to a scrapbook, and I think that is a fair analogy. And that is probably why most of the users are women. They get to scrapbook or ‘pin’ their favorite things and have them all in one place. So what does this mean for you as a business owner? Well, if you want to take advantage of Pinterest for marketing then you need to understand who Pinterest users are (look at stats above again) and you need to know a few basic marketing tips. Let me give you a few quick tips to keep in mind.
- Create ‘boards’ on Pinterest that logically present your products in an organized way by grouping them together into categories that make sense to you and the consumer.
- Use good pictures. If your pictures suck, nobody will pin them. And I do mean good pictures.
- Put a good description for each picture. A good description is critical to get people to pin it.
- Put a link in the description that points to your website where you would like people to go. Anybody who re-pins it can alter the description and remove the link, but it is better to have it than not have it.
- Follow others and be ‘social’. Just like any other social network, it’s all about being social, helpful, nice, interesting, witty, funny, and kind. Be all those things.
Is Pinterest a game-changer? I think right now the answer is a timid ‘yes’. But how big is this game going to get? Will it be a pee-wee football game or an NFL game? That is yet to be seen. But if you decide to get involved in it now then you just might be on the front end of something big, so make sure you do it right and as they say, ‘Go big, or go home.’ Here are some resources to help you get started:
26 Tips For Using Pinterest For Business
The Ultimate Guide To Mastering Pinterest For Marketing
5 Ways To Create Shareable Pictures For Your Business
6 Tips For Using Pinterest For Business
6 Ways To Drive More Pinterest Engagement
7 Pinterest Tips for B2B Companies
6 Pinterest Tips From Power Users
