I’ll admit it. I am a Pinterest addict. Over my winter break, I spent countless hours on the site, “pinning” recipes, clothes, photos from blogs, etc. to my “pinboards.”
If you haven’t heard of Pinterest yet, you will soon. The site already has a reported 3.3 million users and is growing quickly. Many companies like Gap, Whole Foods, and the Travel Channel have already created their own profiles in order to interact with their fans through the site.
Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board. It works in this way: users can “pin,” or post, original photos or content from their computers or from around the web. You then pin this content on one of your pinboards (which are like bulletin boards) that are separated into categories like Travel, Recipes, Clothing or Dream Home. You can also “re-pin” other users’ posts.
Pinterest provides an interesting opportunity for marketers. It gives companies the opportunity to promote their brands to their customers in an engaging and visually stimulating way.
At the same time, too much self promotion is a big no-no for brands on the site. For example, a clothing company might have a “Vintage” or “Street Style” pinboard that serve as inspiration for their line, but should avoid posting photos of all the clothing items they sell onto their pinboards. The point is to capture the essence of the brand without just posting content that is directly related to it.
Interacting with customers through Pinterest is a new concept for many marketers. I’m very excited to see how we can integrate the site into our clients’ marketing plans in the future.