As Facebook prepares to begin printing money, Twitter tweaks its functions to lure brands to the fire hose, and President Obama ”hangs out” on G+, what quietly started as cupcakes and quilts has suddenly exploded into social media’s Next Big Thing.
Skeptics rolling their eyes thinking Pinterest is merely One More Thing, take note: Last week it was reported that Pinterest vaulted Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined in referral traffic. This should raise the eyebrows of every marketer.
On Pinterest, images are “pinned” to online bulletin boards by category such as Food & Drink and Travel & Places and/or user-determined topics like “French Wine” and “Island Travel.” When someone follows a board, they’re subscribing to whatever specific content or “pins” are placed there.
Pins can be liked, commented on, and re-pinned to make sharing a snap. Category-wide searches turn up results across the entire network based on tags and keyword matches.
What’s so Pinteresting about it? Facebook and Twitter are an open spigot of information about anything and everything flowing with very little organization. They’re about what other people are doing, which the reader may or may not care about. Pinterest, on the other hand, is a lean-back experience around subjects relevant and meaningful to the reader’s interests.
It’s much like the evolution of cable TV. Not that long ago, there were three major networks that broadcast a little bit of something for everyone. Then along came cable TV with programming designed around particular topics like 24-hour news, sports, food, travel and so on. Where Facebook might be ABC, Pinterest is part Food Network, Travel Channel, and TMZ—all rolled into one.
Pinterest is a unique twist on the social media experience. It’s simple and relevant and easy to browse thanks to the organization of content. It also represents a tremendously easy, cost-effective way for marketers to reach their target audiences. In our next post, we’ll pin some ideas for brands to get started.