Let’s talk about Pins, baby. Let’s talk about [promoted] pins and me. Pinterest has rolled out promoted pins last week. Haven’t seen them yet? Don’t fret, because Pinterest is only rolling out promoted pins to a select number of pinners for initial testing. We re using US examples here because we believe US based businesses are embracing Pinterst far more than their Australian counterparts.
Pinterest is hoping for a more native advertising experience than distracting, flashy banners, instead embedding promoted pins within a user’s feed. The few users who have promoted pins rolled out to them will see them on both desktop and mobile.
Thankfully for users, Pinterest is very sensitive to how users will respond to promoted pins and have very thoughtfully input “Why this Pin” and “About this Pin” options within the promoted pins.
While we’re at it, let’s have a chat about Pinterest. Yep, it’s addictive. Indeed, my Pinterest wardrobe is 100 times more fabulous, balanced, and built-out than what I have at home.
I jumped for joy when JCrew rolled out it winter line right on the platform, one of the first retailers to make such a bold move. Pinterest is great for e-commerce, but is Pinterest right for every brand? Probably not, and here are a few reasons why:
Visually-oriented: the platform is great for sharing easy visuals and thus lends well to consumerism, especially that in the e-retail sphere. Is a construction company going to leverage Pinterest as much as a huge retailer like Nordstrom? Probably not. With over 4 million followers, Nordstrom is one of the retailers that’s doing it right. By incorporating customer favorites with store offerings, retailers can expand their customer base.
Is this going to work for all brands? Not likely. Pinterest really has its niche in retail and ecommerce – an important thing to note if you’re thinking about using Pinterest for your brand.
User base: A majority of Pinterest users (a whopping 80%) are women. Most pins (30%) on the platform fall under the “Food and Drink” category, closely followed by “Crafts” and “Women’s Apparel.” With these stats in mind, ponder this: is this platform going to work for every company? Nope. Don’t force it if it won’t – your outlet exists!
Viral Nature – on the platform: Most pins are re-pins from another user’s profile. Deducing from that stat, it’s not unreasonable to infer that fewer pins are coming from outside the platform. What does this mean for actual conversions off the platform? How many are there? Think about that when determining whether Pinterest is right for your brand.
For the brands who can leverage promoted pins, hop on that train! Pinterest has a handy-dandy form on its site to get some info about whether this is a good outlet for you.
Questions? Hit us up at www.socialincite.com.au
Social Incite Team
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