February172012

The Point of Pinterest

First.  I have XY chromosomes, AKA I am a guy, and I am on Pinterest.  These are my predictions.

There is lots of hype right now about a social platform called Pinterest.  If you are like me you had heard from girls and guys through the grapevine little tidbits about it that were a turn-off.

            “It is for girls”

            “You can plan your wedding”

            “You can look for cupcake recipes”

And that was my impression and my apprehension towards Pinterest. To be fair,

97% of Pinterest users are female, so there might be some slight truth to those views…for now.  In January of 2012, Pinterest drove more traffic than YouTube…Google+…and LinkedIn…COMBINED.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Now, I understand there is a seriously steep adoption curve whenever a new platform arises (how desperate were you to get a Google+ invite?), but the number of friends I have seen join Pinterest is much more impressive than any new app I have seen so far.

So what is the point of Pinterest from a business standpoint?  Here we go: 

  •  This will be the place for user reviews.  Because of this, there will be some serious advertising dollars committed to Pinterest.
  •  Companies will be able to show off their products and promote product launches (See how Harmonic Media is using it as a work portfolio)
  • B2B companies will be able to share their work in an open space based on someone’s interest. 
  •  Companies can look to others for inspiration and collaboration… think about the engagement with your customer! (I have already seen “Pin It and Win It” contests)
  • This is a site about what you are using, not doing.  (recipe, design idea, marketing ideas or content etc).  These pins create a personality of what you are about.

What you need to know to speed up the learning curve:

  • You have to be invited (if you need an invite, tweet me).
  • Go to the Goodies page to get the “Pin It” button for your browser
  • Pinterest is searchable by engines, so there is SEO equity there
  • You can pin pictures, as well as videos (flash pictures do not work!)
  • Take the same idea of interacting and engaging with others to this platform. 
  • There is not an official Pinterest Android App

That should get you going and settle your nerves a little. Everyone is still exploring and learning about this, so if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below!

You can find and follow me on Pinterest,

Carlo Ritschl

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