Pinterest pins hopes on a more profitable proposition

March 22, 2013

With the ink barely dried on Facebook’s latest announcement, you could be forgiven for thinking that the social network was feeling marginally threatened by the likes of visual counterparts such as Pinterest.

Facebook’s latest redesign places a clear emphasis on visual content, sending the message to brands that text-only content will no longer cut the mustard if they intend to continue serving content into fan newsfeeds and driving that all-important user engagement.

And with younger generations already making their exodus to the likes of Tumblr and Instagram, a visual sea-change is flooding the web.

Enter Pinterest. The platform has been gaining traction over the past few years with brands such as Ikea and ASOS and is now, according to TechCrunch, only 1% behind Twitter for adult adopters in the US.

The perfect time, perhaps for the platform to introduce its shiny new data analytics tool. Brands can now find out how many people are pinning from their websites, seeing their pins, and clicking their content, as well as gain insight into trends over time.

The move makes Pinterest increasingly appealing for businesses and signals a continued shift towards a more monetisable and revenue-generating proposition for the platform.

Five tips for brands to maximise Pinterest

Incentivise. The simple but effective ‘Pin it to win it’ competition mechanic encourages content sharing and boosts brand awareness.
Optimise. Ensure you have a ‘Pin It’ button on your website to encourage the social sharing of brand imagery and assets. You could also consider plugging a profile widget into your website to pull through your latest pins.
Categorise. You need a balance of boards – some for product and brand marketing, others for inspiration – and each board needs a clear theme and focus.
Influence. Use tools such as PinReach and PinPuff to identify top Pinterest influencers and bring them closer to your brand – the more they pin your content, the greater your social reach.
Measure. Keep an eye on the content that performs well using Pinterest Web Analytics and use this to guide future content development and increase your referral traffic.

Image courtesy of Design Build Love under a Creative Commons 2.0 Generic License

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