ADOTAS – Have social media platforms pinterested you in how brands succeed in the digital space? Well, here’s the breakdown of how they do it.
Pinterest 101
The driving factor of social media is the user. Without the users’ viral b...
ADOTAS – Have social media platforms pinterested you in how brands succeed in the digital space? Well, here’s the breakdown of how they do it.
Pinterest 101
The driving factor of social media is the user. Without the users’ viral behaviors, social media platforms would serve no purpose, which is why brands need to maintain an active presence on social platforms such as Pinterest.
Having become the third largest driver of inbound traffic, Pinterest opens new avenues for brands. This social media platform is a photo-sharing website that replicates a pin-board style, which helps users make collections based on their interests and other categories. This particular setup allows Pinterest to capitalize on opportunities of viral sharing and content discovery.
Ahalogy: Search and Discovery
“Pinterest is combination of brand equity building and e-commerce sales, and I’ve never seen anything with as much potential,” said Bob Gilbreath (pictured), president and co-founder of Ahalogy (formerly Pingage). Gilbreath calls Pinterest “the first social media that was made for marketing.”
When asked how Ahalogy uses Pinterest to help brands, Gilbreath said, “We make it as easy as possible for brands by allowing content creators to use our tools for free. The re-pins on Pinterest serve as a viral loop tool, which is extremely beneficial to users for the search and discovery of content.”
In terms of the value of Pinterest over other social platforms like Facebook, Gilbreath said, “brands now have a chance to gain attention versus just making friends. Also, those brands that fall into Pinterest-friendly categories have ample opportunities to gain a competitive advantage.”
How important is it for brands to figure out how to integrate Pinterest into their marketing mix? “It is now or never for brands with the constant uprising of other social media platforms,” said Gilbreath.
Flightpath: Coming of Age and Demographics
“Social media is coming of age, and it is becoming an important part of SEO strategy for brands,” said Betsy Smith (pictured), Senior Social Media Strategist at Flightpath, a digital creative agency based in New York. “However, there is room for everyone to play.” Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail marketing, and other social platforms can all play their respective roles in brands’ social media and marketing strategies.
“The best way to use social is to know your demographic,” said Smith. “Goya Foods, one of our clients, is one of the major success stories of Pinterest because of the knowledge behind the desired demographic. Goya wanted to gain the attention of decision-makers of a household and the domestic cooking type, more specifically women. Since women are the predominant users of Pinterest, this was a highly beneficial for them.”
“Flightpath’s white-page formula for brands is two parts Facebook, one part Pinterest,” said Smith. “But there is still so much more than that.” Brands must know who they wish to target, and once they know that, the adoption of the specific social media platforms that best suit their goals will help launch them to the next level of social.
Be Active: Sharing is Caring and Multiple Platforms
Although Gilbreath and Smith might vary somewhat in approach, they ultimately strive to achieve the same goal, which is create traffic and promote sharing. Both Ahalogy and Flightpath help brands create and use valuable content for their particular category in hopes of generating mass traffic and inducing users to re-pin.
“Every social platform has its benefits and challenges,” said Smith, “but the best way to overcome these challenges is by being active on the platforms that a brand utilizes.”
Ultimately, the best way to use Pinterest is to apply it when the right demographic is present and combine it with other platforms to achieve the ultimate level of success. “Do not look at social platforms as isolated communities,” said Smith. “Use them in appropriate combinations depending on brands’ goals.”
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