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Pinterest 101

This document provides an overview of the social media platform Pinterest. It describes Pinterest as a social bookmarking site where users can save and organize visual content they find online by "pinning" images or videos to categorized virtual pinboards. The document summarizes key facts about Pinterest's rapid growth, primarily female user base, and how brands can leverage visual content and community features to connect with customers and drive traffic. Guidance is offered on best practices for brands using Pinterest through strategic pinning, board creation, engagement, and promotion.

Self Improvement◦Technology◦Business◦
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Eileen Newman Julia Tanen KCSA Strategic Communications March 5, 2012
Table of Contents • What Exactly Is Pinterest? • Social Media Landscape • Some Interesting Facts • How Brands Are Using Pinterest • Tips For Pinterest Marketing • Brands / Pinners to Watch
What Exactly Is It? • Social bookmarking tools – Easy to use • Users are “visual curators” of content – “pin” images found around the Web – Browser “Pin It” button – organize into categorized collections, or boards • Users can follow or be followed – Share content – make comments – tag users • iPhone and mobile apps
Social Media Landscape • Social media sites are becoming more visual • Sites are becoming less people-focused and more topic / interest- focused • Sharing is becoming easier
Social Media Landscape  Social media sites are becoming more visual  Sites are becoming less people-focused and more topic / interest- focused  Sharing is becoming easier
Pinterest combines two of the most compelling elements of social media: visual content and sharing who you are.
Who Is Using It? • Approximately 65% of users are women between 25-45 yrs. old – Most are seeking inspiration – Content on Pinterest can influence their buying decisions
Some Interesting Facts • Rapid growth – Unique visitors increased 429% between September and December 2011 – December 2011 had 7.21 million unique visitors. – In December 2011, the site entered the top 10 social networks according to Hitwise data with 11 million total visits per week • Fifth largest driver of referral traffic, behind Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Yahoo!, respectively. • Drives more visitors to third-party websites than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined • Awards – Included in Time Magazine’s "50 Best Websites of 2011" column – Named the best New Start-up of 2011, by Tech Crunch
How Does It Work? • Invitation only – Possible to request invite directly from the site – Users can invite others • Log-in using Facebook or Twitter account • Intuitive interface • Set-up process – Users specify interests – Pinterest chooses some top users to follow – Install “pin-it” button to browser toolbar
Pins • Pin: an image or video added to Pinterest – From a Web site or uploaded by user – Includes user defined description – Prices can be included
Boards • Board: where pins can be organized by topic – 32 categories – Pinterest starts users off with default boards – Users can allow others to collaborate on specific board(s)
Following • Users build a list of people or boards to follow and their content appears on the home page • Asymmetrical following (like Twitter) • Pinterest chooses an initial set of pinners to follow based on the user’s interests • Facebook / Twitter sign-ins help to find friends using Pinterest • Users discover pinners to follow by: – Using the search function to find pins on certain topics – Seeking out users behind interesting pins – Discovering who else is following those pinners – scanning pins in specific categories
Adding / Sharing Content • Users upload content • Pinning from the Web: – “Pin It” button • Repinning: – The source link is automatically – Source links stay with the pin pulled in – The image is immediately – Original pinner receives added to any of the user’s “credit” Pinterest boards – User can edit (or add to) the – Immediately categorized and shared description • Site facilitates users sharing content outside of Pinterest – Facebook and Twitter – Email – Embedding pins on their own website or blog
Pinterest Etiquette The guidelines below are based on collective input from people using Pinterest. These are suggestions to help keep our community positive and to ensure that every pin is useful to other people. Be Nice • Pinterest is a community of people. We know that tastes are personal, but be respectful in your comments and conversations. Credit Your Sources • Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry. Avoid Self Promotion • Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion. Report Objectionable Content • We do not allow nudity or hateful content. If you find content that is objectionable or violates our Terms of Service can submit the content for review by pushing the “Report Content” link. Tell Us How to Make Pinterest Better • We're just getting started, so there are going to be bumps here and there. Let us know what's working, what's not. We take your input seriously. You can get in touch with us anytime:
How Are Brands Using It? • Brand Exposure – content is shared across its category and each pinner’s network, extends reach • Brand Affinity—associate the brand with specific themes or attributes • Shopping Discovery –shift from search to discovery; Users are finding products and services they were unaware of • Search equalizer • Brand Advocacy – as images are shared, users express their support for the products and brands depicted • Promotion of brand “lifestyle” • Link Building – every “Pin” and “Repin” creates a link back to the image source • Gather Buyer Intelligence—use analytics to track leads backward to customer boards to gain insight.
Focus Group / Crowdsourcing
Contests
Overcoming B2B Challenges
Guiding Principles • Pinterest marketing is not about YOU • Pinterest is a vehicle for your customers to show and share their enthusiasm for your company and its products and / or your specific niche or category • Your job is to help them express and share their passion
Best Practices for Brands • Use Twitter sign-in • Profile – Include logo – Describe who you are • what you do? • Tell about your company • Tell what your company sells • Share info that builds credibility – Describe what you will pin • What will users find on your pinboards? – Include links to your website, FB page, and RSS • Make sure “Visibility” is turned on
Best Practices for Brands • Pins and Boards – Pin from the original source and permalinks – Give credit and include a thoughtful pin description – Link to your web site and landing pages – Pinning from various sources rather than one specific site; (Remember, Pinterest is not about self- promotion) – Create boards that cover a broad range of interests, rather than maintaining a single board devoted to one topic (i.e. your company) – Show facets of brand personality or values – Showcase the lifestyle that your brand promotes
Best Practices for Brands • Descriptions – Include links to website – Use hash tags • Following – Engage with other users – Follow, Repin & Like others – Identify and engage with influencers
Best Practices for Brands • Promotion – Add a Pinterest icon to your other social media pages – Add a “Pin It” button to your web or blog pages so users can easily share your visual content – Offer to invite your existing FB / Twitter followers to follow you on Pinterest – Leverage other communication channels to spread the word (blog, newsletter, emails, etc.)
Best Practices for Brands • Content – Share content that is relevant and valuable (not overly promotional) – Analyze what content is or isn’t getting ‘pinned’ or ‘repinned’ or ‘liked’ or ‘commented on’ • Dreams or object of desire • Convey emotions (like love for a cute puppy) • Favorite things • Quotes or statements – Make a visual statement that helps the user to convey something about themselves and their interests.
This Not this
Brands / Pinners to Follow 1. Whole Foods 2. Martha Stewart 3. Better Homes and Gardens 4. Real Simple 5. west elm 6. Bergdorf Goodman 7. Today 8. Travel Channel 9. Style Me Pretty • From mashable
What Is The Potential? • Site is still in Beta • Users and Pinterest are still evolving the platform – Opportunity to innovate – Platform not yet stable • Brands that fit the platform can connect with customers in new and interesting ways • Probably not a good idea to invest significant resources without a lot of testing
Next Steps • Secure the URL www.pinterest.com/yourbrand • Start to follow interesting boards and individuals • Create several boards for your account • Identify influencers and start engaging • Track Pinterest.com as a referral source in your website analytics. • Depending on the results, you may need to tweak your boards with new images and words.
Pinterest 101
Pinterest 101