Back in October 2011, a friend of mine “invited” me to Pinterest. In a matter of two days I had five boards and 30 pins with a countless number of likes. Needless to say I was obsessed. It started out as my own guilty pleasure, but I soon realized Pinterest could be used in the Marketing world.
I practiced my best nudge approach by continuously suggesting that GTA should use Pinterest to our advantage. Pinterest gives us the opportunity to creatively express our brand personality, culture, and interests through the combination of unique visuals. Well, my Fearless Leader, aka my boss, didn’t get it. Maybe my excited cries deafened my argument, but I continued to survey the scene and brainstormed with a co-worker on how GTA could use Pinterest. This is what we came up with.
1) Brand Awareness & SEO Generator
– Pinning images from websites onto your boards create an inbound link! Theoretically, as Pinterest users repin your pins, your website traffic should increase.
– How can a brand be more strategic? Create unique landing pages for your Pinterest pins so you have the ability to track what visuals are driving the most traffic. The perfect opportunity is to enhance your blogging content with relevant topics and imagery that will encourage others to share (pin) more website content with others.
2) You Can Target Bloggers
– Bloggers love Pinterest, so it’s easy to find them on the site by searching for specific topics in the search toolbar. You can comment on relevant pins, repin a blogger’s content so you are benefiting their website traffic, and request that blogger to test & share their opinion about your products or services. Not only is this free press but it allows your brand to align with bloggers and their communities.
3) Very Engaged Audience
– The Pinterest Audience LOVES Pinterest, so if one person repins your pin all of their followers can see it as well, which means more brand awareness and inbound links for you! YAY
4) Free Advertising (minus the potential time suck)
– Your boards represent your brand and demonstrate what other businesses & ideas you align with. Pinterest is a great way for potential customers to see your brand and what it offers.
– Warning Human beings interpret visuals based their unique life experiences. Provide descriptions that tell people why your brand chose to pin certain images.
5) Free Focus Group
– The pins you post can be commented on and liked by others. Pinterest users openly share how they think and feel about your brand and its offerings. You can even engage with your audience and ask questions like “what do you think?” and followers can answer.
Needless to say, my Fearless Leader started to formulate Pinterest’s potential and decided to explore a Get Talked About Pinterest Board. I was ecstatic and went straight to pinning! Below is GTA in essence.