According to a recent report from the Cambridge, Massachusetts content sharing site, shareaholics, there’s a newcomer that’s driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn combined. Having made its way into the social media world in 2010, Pinterest allows users to connect with other users from all around the world. Here’s how it works: to open an account, there are two options. The first option allows you to create an account by linking it to your Facebook or Twitter account. If Facebook and Twitter just isn’t your thing, no worries! Go for option two, where you can request an invitation from directly from the website. There is a third option, but that means you would have to wait for an invite from a friend with an active Pinterest account…but why wait?
After you have opened your account, you are then directed to download a “Pin It” tab that will appear on your bookmark toolbar. From there, you are now officially open to instantly share your ideas and interests with pictures, videos, and thoughts to the world via Pinterest. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Oh great, another Facebook wannabe”…Wrong! Say if you’re browsing on a small, independent electronic retail store website and you come across a nice 60” flat screen television; while being on that page, all you have to do is click on your Pin It tab, You will then be prompted to choose the particular item’s image that you want to share that’s on the site, write a short comment about the T.V (eg. “found this T.V with a great price!”), and then click “share”. When you go to the home page of Pinterest, you, among millions that share your interests (aka followers) of T.V’s and electronics in general will see your post. Your followers whose been exposed to the product by your post will then be able to click on the T.V image you’ve posted and they will then be directed to the page where you originally found the 60″ flat screen T.V (on the small electronic retail store’s website). Pinterest certainly differentiates itself from the current “biggies” of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) by not having the user required to be on the actual website in order to share stuff with because of the Pin It button feature you have downloaded. Pinterest is an emerging social media channel and a useful marketing tool that companies (big and small) are going to want to take advantage of in the near future.
What’s interesting about Pinterest is how much this site has the capability to increase traffic to company websites. Pinterest will standout to be the dominant spoke to the hub (a company website) among all other social media channels. This will greatly benefit businesses in the long run as this will help increase exposure to businesses and potentially, in the long run increase profits. From entrepreneur.com, a user commented on a recent article about Pinterest and how it’s becoming the next big thing in social media for business. Here’s what a user said,
“I think companies are not fully utilizing Pinterest to their favor because 1. they don’t understand the ultimate values and 2. do not know where to start. I recently started a Pinterest page for our website, and it brought more views and user sign ups quicker than Facebook or Twitter has. Literally in ten minutes of doing my first “pins”, I was having people come on the website like wildfire.”
Small business are going to greatly benefit from Pinterest because it will allow businesses to find their niche market. My professor was explaining in class not too long ago about the Long Tail Theory, where companies can sell to either the traditional market or a niche market via certain channels. I think Pinterest has the ability to let businesses reach out to their niche market where (particular) products are in demand but are not available in traditional channels, such as a products like a three legged elephant statue.
Keep in mind, not all of the content shared in Pinterest is directed to other sites wanting to sell stuff online, but it’s still upcoming and slowly people are getting exposed to Pinterest. Inevitably, businesses will see the value it will give them. The amount of consumers who shop online has been increasing every year and more and more people probably wouldn’t mind social media channels as a tool to shop with, especially with the help of innovative phone applications. Pinterest is able to connect with people via Facebook and Twitter. Each time you pin an item as you browse online, your Facebook friends will be able to see what you’ve pinned on your homepage. This is where there is cross-promotion of Pinterest to Facebook and Twitter.
The site does have some drawbacks for businesses. If your product or service isn’t particularly visual, your images may not tie directly back to your brand. Pinterest also doesn’t offer business-oriented features, and its search function prioritizes pin and board subjects ahead of “people,” the category that brands would fall into.
Also discussed in class was the Gartner’s Hype cycle. The Gartner’s Hype Cycle is used to characterize the over-enthusiasm or “hype” and subsequent disappointment that typically happens with the introduction of new technologies. Hype cycles also show how and when technologies move beyond the hype, offer practical benefits and become widely accepted. According to Gartner, hype cycles aim to separate the hype from the reality, and enable SEOs and CEOs to decide whether or not a particular technology is ready for adoption. The cycle is divided into five stages: 1) the technology trigger, 2) peak of inflated expectations, 3) trough of disillusionment, 4) slope of enlightenment, and 5) plateau of productivity.
Of the five stages of the Gartner’s Hype Cycle, I would say Pinterest falls under the first stage, the technology trigger, while it eventually heads its way to make it to the peak of disillusionment. I believe this is the appropriate stage because Pinterest is still a new concept and its currently at a stage where many people and businesses are still adapting to the site and learning about what it’s all about. The site can be considered to be a potential technology breakthrough in an innovative way that will allow companies to sell products online. Currently, the sight has gradually been capturing media interests and has been receiving significant publicity. It obviously hasn’t reached to the second stage yet (peak of inflated expectations) because there is yet to be stories of failures of the site. Overtime, when Pinterest gains more popularity and users, the site is going to want to attempt to upgrade and change features in light of its hype and success to help users navigate the site efficiently (like what Facebook did). Eventually, when the site adds features and upgrades, the website will likely have more glitches and more problems improving the site which will result in extravagant failures. Once it has received its scores of failures, (a characteristic of the peak of inflated expectations) you will then see the transition of Pinterest getting from the first stage into the second stage of the Gartner’s Hype Cycle.
All in all, we’ll just have to wait and see how big the newcomer will become. It will be interesting to see how businesses will take advantage of the site as a useful marketing tool. Perhaps, more business sites will focus and emphasize more on quality images that are on their websites which will, in return, attract people who would be “pinterested” in a certain item. Below are some data that will show some self explanatory info with regards to the metrics of Pinterest.
Here’s a chart showing the growth of Pinterest and how it’s catching up with the “biggies” of social media…
Here is more data to give you a better understanding of the demographics of users, presented by ignitesocialmedia.com
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Reblogged this on Patsy Ferrer a Digital Marketing Lead's Notes.