How Pinterest Can Turn Your Brand into a Household Name

By Liza Rush A picture is worth a thousand words.  When it comes to Pinterest, the image-based social media platform, the lingering question resonating for retailers across the internet today is: do any of those words describe my brand? With over 136 million daily visitors, 90 percent of whom are female, Pinterest is providing smaller brands a louder voice in an online arena where social media sites are dominated by big box retailers selling generic identities and blaring self-promotion.  The Pinterest approach sells lifestyles—identifying and portraying a well-rounded user—as opposed to focusing on one aspect of a consumer’s life such as food or apparel. With over 260 million unique monthly visitors, its theory appears to be working.  But on a constantly changing and evolving social media runway is Pinterest simply #trending or can pinning be the new black? Makeover: From Current to Classic When Facebook introduced its university-exclusive approach onto the playing field, MySpace was not even fazed.  But in a year’s time, Facebook became the little black dress staple pushing MySpace to the back of the closet with Friendster and gaucho pants.  Zuckerberg created a social site built upon the same foundation as Tom’s creation but with specific tweaks that allowed the now-flourishing platform to acquire Instagram for  $1 billion—snapping its longevity within the social media arena. So, how do companies determine if the freshest platform is worth the splurge of their time and money or if it will be out of style next season?  By following this style guide:

• Ability to evolve and be incorporated with future trends – first came Facebook then Instagram
• A unique approach – why look like everyone else?
• Emphasis on social – no one ever said ‘MySpace me!’
• A place to drive traffic – referrals, where your friend are

Trend Trafficking Shareholic posted a study of referral traffic in January 2012 from more than 200,000 publishers with a combined total of over 260 million unique monthly visitors.  Pinterest made the top five along with Facebook, StumbleUpon, Google, and Twitter, beating out YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Google+, and (surprise surprise) MySpace. With over 10 million visitors every minute, it is no wonder the site has users request an invite regulating the substantial growth.  Similar to Facebook, Zuckerberg started on an invite-only basis, drumming up a feeling of exclusivity for his personal brand—providing a VIP only experience.  Talk about the ultimate personal shopper. Branding the Experience Users are able to interact with brands on the same playing field since there is no category for company or organization.  Successful Pinterest big box companies such as Whole Foods and Starbucks created a boutique feeling by casually stimulating an audience with visual ideas without blatantly exploiting a product or message.  This makes the perfect remedy for the millennial-shop-local-DIY-methodology of the online generation. Creating a Realistic Fantasy The average pinner spends 87 percent of their time re-pinning, 12 percent  liking, and 0.9 percent  commenting.  Essentially, Pinterest allows web surfers to window shop.  This is particularly prevalent in the breakdown of the most popular categories—17 percent Home, 12 percent Arts + Crafts, 12 percent Fashion, and 10 percent Food. The lifestyle approach appeals to all users, providing something for everyone.  The visual nature feels uncluttered compared to the text-heavy interfaces of Facebook and Twitter.  Users and companies alike can create boards with dream homes, dream closets or dream pets, and by simply clicking on the image the user is lead to the product’s site—making the dream a reality.  Utilizing the DIY + product hybrid, brands are able to sell products by offering ideas: create this trendy look using your basics and our current products. Pinterest provides a pivotal shift in the social media realm changing the mindset from self-promotion to utilizing other means to define views in a broader context by highlighting other collaborators and creators who support similar ideas, causes, and creations.  This not only gives brands a more human-like image, but also opens doors to future creative collaborations.  Pinning may not exactly be the new black, but its ability to adapt to the user’s interests is definitely figure flattering—so to speak.