Digital CPG Blog

Here are three ways brands can leverage Pinterest now:

1. Add Pinterest Content to Your Existing Facebook Presence.

Images are more effective than text at encouraging engagement, and an effective technology platform will allow you to surface visually appealing content on one or more Facebook Tabs. This content can be presented as a simple pinboard, as part of a game, or even in the News Feed.

2. Optimize Your Web Properties to Draw People to Your Pinterest Content.

You can always put a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on your website. But remember, a user’s choice to “Follow” may not be brand-specific, but rather board-specific. This gives you an opportunity to segment your followers in ways relevant to your business. Lowe’s does a nice job of this and has seasonal boards (the Big Game, Valentine’s Day), themed boards (Craft Ideas, Unique Pet Projects), and boards that tie to specific merchandise areas (Lighting, Bedrooms, Bathrooms).

3. Make Your Pins Work Harder For You.

This means using a URL shortening and redirection strategy, preferably one that aggregates your Pinterest analytics (views, Repins, etc.) in a central location. This will allow the metrics to be combined with, and compared to, those from your othersocial properties. You also need to combat the link rot that can occur when the source image feeding your Pin is removed from its website.

Lastly, the pinned images themselves can be set to click through to a variety of sites. Imagine a Pin of a product that, once clicked, takes you to a flash sale where the product is sold at a discount after a minimum purchase threshold is met. All of this is possible now!

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Pinterest – which technically is still in closed, invitation-only beta — drives more sales to retailers than YouTube, Google + and LinkedIn combined and is nearly equal to Twitter’s referral traffic.

How moms are using Pinterest:

Women currently dominate Pinterest making up nearly 70% of their active users. Moms are using Pinterest in a variety of ways to organize and learn more about their interests. They follow experts to be in the know about trends on a variety of topics from parenting, to fashion and design, to cooking. They’re also following friends and finding Pinners with similar interests to share and be inspired by.

They’re also following brands. Retailers like Nordstrom and West Elm have significant followings on Pinterest – similar to on Facebook, moms want to connect and interact with their favorite brands.

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Social media agency Ignite has taken a closer look at Pinterest’s demographic data and compiled a profile of ‘those who pin’.

comScore says that the blossoming social curation site has over 4m registered users and is growing rapidly, while Google Ad Planner shows that nearly 1.5m people visit Pinterest every day – spending 14 minutes on the site on average.

Google Ad planner shows that users are:

• Largely women (a 80% to 20% ratio). So there’s some truth to Matt Buchanan’s post on Gizmodo yesterday that proclaims Pinterest as “a Tumblr for ladies”.
• Aged mainly between 25 and 44 (accounting for 55% of the group, 30% are 25-34, 25% are 35 – 44)
• Just 25% of users have a bachelors degree or higher
• The majority live off a household income of $25-75k

Experian Hitwise stats from December 2011 show that in the US at least, alongside the demographics, Pinterest users fall into three of its Mosaic lifestyle segments.

• Boomers and Boomerangs – the baby boomer adults and the teenagers/young adults who live with them. This accounts for more than 10% of Pinterest visits, in which they might pin travel plans and imagery related to their online habits. They also live in older houses so might be tempted by DIY and home improvement content.
• Babies and Bliss – the parents of large families (with five or more in their houses), and in their 30s and 40s. Mothers in this group tend to work full time and pride themselves on being computer literate. This group are ‘power shoppers with upscale tastes’ and value deals on high-quality products. They tend to pin things related to convenience, and so relate to brands that provide good online experiences, discounts and make lives easier.
• Families Matter Most – this group includes young middle-class families with active lifestyles who are interested in things that allow them to juggle work and parenting effectively. This group is not interested in window-shopping however, like the Babies & Bliss group, it’s more likely to pin useful, practical things like easy recipes, child friendly activities and healthy living.

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