Your Brand on Pinterest: Pushing a Different Kind of Content

Although everyone's latest social media darling experienced a slight drop in growth this past March, Pinterest was recently announced as the third most popular social network, behind Facebook and Twitter. Also, despite the recent decline, ComScore reported that Pinterest became the fastest independent site in history to hit 10 million monthly unique visitors in the United States (article via TechCrunch). Combine that with reports showing Pinterest accounting for 3.6% of referral traffic in the month of January (.01% behind Twitter), and it's becoming clearer that Pinterest is here to stay.

As marketers, there are a few key principles to internalize as we launch our brands' Pinterest identities.

Folks don't log onto the site to find out what' s new with a product or get the scoop on a company's announcements--Facebook and Twitter are much more capable of conveying that. They simply use Pinterest to look at things; specifically, things they like, want, or relate to. For businesses, this requires a different sort of content--you can't expect to reach anyone with the usual marketing messaging.

Show the human side of your brand. Leverage customer enthusiasm by creating a public board that they can add to.  Showcase your personality by creating boards like "Things Developers Like" or "Must Haves for the IT Pro's Desk".  Des Moines pizza place Gusto Pizza has a board titled "Beards."

Showcase your expertise. In this case study describing Bailey Apartments' use of Pinterest, the property management company created boards for the different cities properties were located in, highlighting interesting locations and spots in those cities.  Other boards contain tips for décor and interior design. Additionally, a consultant might pin infographics relevant to their field.

The author of the Bailey Apartments study writes:
"Selling is overdone. Telling a story and sharing experiences isn't. It is contextual content. And it is proving to be the king of showing the human element in digital relationships."

For more on Pinterest Marketing, check out Maxymiser's infographic (via Mashable) and "The Marketer's Guide to Pinterest" by Neil Patel.