Pinterest - The Power of the Pin

Hi Mike,
A recent study by marketing consultancy firm Millward Brown has found that Pinterest influences purchasing decisions and helps users to find things they want to buy. According to the report (which was co-sponsored by Pinterest):• 52% of respondents agree that Pinterest helps them find items they want to buy
• Just under half of respondents believe Pinterest recommends relevant product
• 32% of respondents have purchased an item in a store after viewing Pinterest content.

Launched in 2010, Pinterest hit the headlines following an early period of explosive growth. Despite initial popularity, many ‘serious’ marketers snubbed the digital scrapbook, believing it to be the province of fashionistas, blushing brides and craft enthusiasts. Today, with over 47 million people now using Pinterest, and its active user base expected to grow even further, such marketers dismiss the power of the pin at their peril.

According to eMarketer, Pinterest’s US user base will reach 47.1 million in 2015, up 11.4% year over year.

Why Pinterest?
There is no denying that the sales and marketing potential of the image sharing social network is huge. A recent GlobalWebIndex report found that Pinterest was the fastest growing social network of 2014, with active users up by 97%. But its potential isn’t just down to its user numbers.

With the sole purpose of Pinterest to find and pin things that you like, its focus on aspirational products makes it an ideal platform for brands to connect with their target audience(s). So, while it may not be on a par with the social media big boys when it comes to user numbers, its ability to appeal to its user base means that its ROI Return on Investment potential could be unbeatable.

Indeed, when it comes to social media traffic referrals, Pinterest already sends a significant number of potential customers to e-commerce websites. Coming second only to Facebook.

Pinterest has faced criticism from some quarters for the fact its user base remains predominantly female. These women are shoppers. With stats showing women make or influence 85% of all consumer purchasing decisions, Pinterest isn’t keen to rest on its laurels. Developers at the company are working hard to increase appeal to male users. Efforts are paying off. The site has doubled the amount of new male users over the past year. One-third of registrations are now made by men.


Committed to making it even easier for users to find and share content, a number of new and forthcoming developments will increase the appeal of Pinterest. The introduction of the new ‘Pin it’ button led to an initial 3% increase in re pins simply by reducing the amount of clicks needed to share content. Likewise, Pinterest has made no secret of its plans to attract more advertisers to its platform as it refines its ad-targeting tools. With developments such as animated pins, plans to improve the way it harvests user data, Pinterest is set to provide a greater insight into what users want to buy.

The reality is that Pinterest’s reach and influence is growing. But a significant percentage of businesses have yet to realise this. What this means, is that brands that take on the challenge of using Pinterest to create highly visible, sharable content could give themselves an early advantage over the competition.

If you’d like to find out more about how your business can benefit from the power of the pin, join over 1000 fellow marketers and business owners to discover the latest in Pinterest and social media marketing from the world’s top experts. Beth Hayden will be featuring at The Big Social Media Conference in July.

I hope this helps. Mike to explain more about Pinterest. I am not sure this is the right option for you at present but this is some useful background.


I will be in touch next week with another letter in the series ... Using Social Media to boost your profile and your business ...

Warmest Regards,

John

Letters to a friend on Social Media, Dimensions of Strategy from John Ashcroft and Company, Economics, Strategy and Social Media, experience worth sharing.