At first glance, Pinterest may seem like just another social media tool, but further inspection suggests much more depth. While Facebook continues to outperform all other social media sites in terms of referrals — the golden ticket to high SEO rankings — Pinterest rates surprisingly well.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest approaches social sharing visually. It’s a virtual bulletin board that lets users “pin” pictures representing various interests to their boards, divided into categories like fashion, landscaping, photography, art, fitness, food and drink.
People have flocked to the site in part because of its exceptional usability. Users can add a Pin-It bookmark to their browsers, which lets them easily create pins when searching the web. They can even pin directly from YouTube. Unsurprisingly, women make up roughly 70 percent of Pinterest’s user base.
More than just pictures
Pinterest, however, is more than just a collage. While your pinboard displays a variety of pictures representing things that you like, you can also pin videos, links to other websites and articles.
How businesses can use Pinterest
Businesses that have already developed a social media marketing strategy would be wise to consider adding Pinterest to the mix. Because it appeals to “visual buyers” and is a central gathering place for potential customers, you can showcase your products and services and engage in other marketing activities.
And because users are required to include comments when pinning, you can use these descriptions as marketing tools for your own Pinterest page — much like Land’s End has done. Further, you can gather potentially useful information about customers by simply reading comments.
The proof
Pinterest is an easy-to-use tool for consumers, and a highly valuable referral site for businesses. Their numbers tell the story:
- Shareaholic’s Referral Traffic Report states that Pinterest’s gain in referrals — it’s risen to 3.6 percent — is edged out only by Twitter at 3.61 and Facebook at over 25 percent.
- Its growth has exploded in the past year. That referral number was 0.17 percent as recently as July 2011.
Pinterest has proven its relevance, particularly when compared to Google+. Google’s powerful user base of over 90 million people helps it remain a strong contender. However, for referrals, some experts question its true relevance, as it’s highly likely that Google+ numbers are skewed by its massive Gmail user base and other Google tools.
While Pinterest is the new kid on the block, businesses that include social media in their marketing strategy should investigate its potential. We can help you evaluate its usefulness for your company. At Social Strategy1, we have the expertise and the tools to help you devise a social media strategy that helps you find and engage tomorrow’s customers — wherever they are on the web.