Pinterest isn’t just another social network. It’s much more than that. For brands and individuals looking to provide value to their specific audience, Pinterest is an opportunity to provide particularly relevant content through curation.
No one’s audience is at a loss for information. In fact, most people are inundated with useful information. The key ways that you provide value to your audience in an information-rich atmosphere are:
- Providing context
- Curating the content that’s most useful for them
A museum without a skilled curator is just a warehouse. The value differential between a warehouse and a museum is obvious.
To start evaluating whether Pinterest is a potential channel for your business, ask yourself these questions:
1. Does your ideal audience hang out on Pinterest?
If your audience consists of women or creatives, you’ll probably find them hanging out on Pinterest. Before assuming that your audience isn’t on Pinterest, take a look around. You might be surprised!
2. What original content can you share on Pinterest? Is it visually appealing?
An easy litmus test for this is to ask whether or not your audience would want to pin your content to their digital bulletin board. Infographics or articles that have featured images are a great example of engaging, original content.
3. Is content that’s relevant to your business already being shared on Pinterest?
Think about the value of re-pinning that relevant content for your audience. (That’s an example of providing value through curation!)
4. What’s your goal for being present on Pinterest?
A few examples are to drive traffic to your site (it’s now the third highest traffic referrer) or to build relationships with your audience. Identify a clear goal before showing up on Pinterest, so you can make informed, strategic decisions.
Here are some brands that are actively participating on Pinterest:
Real Simple
Real Simple uses specific pin boards, hash tags and themes to curate content for its audience, all of which make Real Simple a valuable resource.
Behance
The Behance team inspires pinners with boards dedicated to architecture, furniture design and ideas for using space, in addition to pin boards that are relevant to Behance’s product offering – graphic design and web development.
Mint.com
Mint.com connects with pinners by showing their personality – pinning to boards like “All Things Minty” – in addition to pinning practical content to boards like “Food Tips with Frugal Foodie.”
Clickin Moms
Clickin Moms uses Pinterest to offer resources and inspiration for every part of the photographer’s life including how to style their office, branding their business, words of encouragement and gear.
Livestrong
Livestrong uses Pinterest to celebrate, inspire and educate, thereby providing images of cancer survivors, resources for planning fundraisers and tools like books and cancer services.
About the Author
Elizabeth Ippolito is co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of MatchStick Strategies. Find more musings from Elizabeth on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.