It’s likely you have heard of Pinterest. With over 10 million unique users and growing, this social media site has caught the attention of many, and consequently, more and more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. Like Facebook or Twitter, to fully access Pinterest, you need to set up an account. Once you login, you can create virtual bulletin boards that others can see, admire, comment on and even “repin” to other boards. But is a presence on Pinterest worth your time and money? A closer look will help you decide!
What is it? Pinterest is a place to share images. Images of everything and anything you can imagine: home design inspiration, completed DIY projects, inspirational quotes, or even an item you hope someday to purchase. If the products that drive your business can be easily photographed and uploaded, then Pinterest is likely worth your effort. Potential customers will be able to see your product and then, pin or repin to get the word out. However, a wide range of businesses are making an effort to be on Pinterest, even when their main focus may be services or other areas that are not image-driven. Why? Well, that gets us to the second most important thing.
Who is using it? Everyone, right? That seems to be the short answer whenever you read something written about Pinterest in the last three months. We’ve already mentioned the over 10 million unique users, but even more stunning is the recent study suggesting Pinterest drives more referral traffic to retailers than LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+ combined! There is more data hiding in those big numbers, however…data that may help you decide if Pinterest is right for your business. First, an overwhelming number of the site’s users are female. More than half the users are U.S. based. And finally, most users are in the 35 and under age range. If these are your target customers, then a Pinterest presence may make perfect sense for you and your business. If not, think again…
After considering the “what” and the “who,” there’s this: Like all social media, it seems free, but it’s not. Someone, you or your employee, must select the appropriate images, create boards and continually update them, all of which takes time and money. Another caveat: Legal issues. The biggest news about Pinterest is related to copyright infringement–with all those images being pinned and repinned, attribution is getting lost along the way. However, a “no-pin” meta tag was released by Pinterest last month to allow websites to opt out of their images being pinned, and while this is a formidable stumbling block, it’s clear Pinterest is going to be with us for awhile.
There’s no quick answer as to whether a presence on Pinterest is right for your business. The best thing to do is to visit Pinterest. Think about the “what” and the “who.” It just might be the thing that gives your company a much needed social media boost. Whatever you decide, the vast and visually stimulating Pinterest is certainly worth a look!
