We’re all about the web here at Fresh Frog and we like to keep up to date with the latest online happenings. Pinterest is not so new anymore but is still the baby when it comes to social media.
Quick history lesson: development of Pinterest began in December 2009 and the invitation only beta site was launched in March 2010 (pretty quick!). Nine months later the number of users was at 10,000 and it is still growing – no longer invitation only – latest figures suggest the number of users is now 70 million! This makes Pinterest one of the fastest growing social networks and is only third in size behind Facebook (1.1 billion users) and Twitter (500 million users) – impressive!
If you’ve never heard of Pinterest, it is simply a social bookmarking site based on images. You “pin” images that you like and that inspire you. You can organise your pins by pinning them to a “board” and you can have different boards for different themes. Other users can “repin” your pins and they can follow you so that they will see all of the pins you share. You can also follow other users.
Pinterest is not just for the consumer. Businesses can create pages for the promotion of their business – through the use of boards they can effectively create a shop window, and this is proving to be successful as Pinterest has driven more sales to retailers than Facebook has.
You can engage users through Pinterest as much as through other social sites such as Facebook. A good example of this is Ben & Jerry’s Pinterest page – http://pinterest.com/benjerry/ – they are doing a great job of showcasing their company and interacting with their customers (and potential customers if there is anyone out there that hasn’t yet tried Ben & Jerry’s).
You can collaborate with other users and businesses. Create a board for guest contributors giving more exposure both for you and the contributor. Build up relationships with other like-minded people and spread the reach of your brand even further.
Similar to the other social media sites you can increase your exposure by creating contests – encourage people to repin your pins and offer something in return. Successful campaigns have already been run by brands such as Guess, Proctor & Gamble, Peugeot and Sony.
If you would like to see how we can help you get going on Pinterest, or other social media then check out our Social Media Management today.
Pinterest isn’t just a pretty face!
