Pinterest has traditionally had categories of interest that users could explore. However, they might have been a little too broad. A person that enjoys gardening might not get a lot of new and exciting information about vegetable gardens or potted plants directly from the gardening category. The new Interests page on Pinterest is intended to keep social media exciting -- and it can be big news for marketers.
What About Something New?
One of the reasons why Pinterest can be an exceptionally effective local social media marketing tool is that it is visually engaging. Pinterest has an innovative layout that allows users to see and share unique content without too much effort.
Instead of being limited to the categories Pinterest provides to all its users, Interests shows users pins related to the topics they show the most interest in, serving as a way to expose users to new content. Similarly, targeted pages for user interests can help marketers experience more success.
Connecting with an Interested Audience
Providing new ways for potential customers to further explore interests solves many problems for businesses. Instead of trying to reach out to someone that might be interested in a niche sub-segment of an industry, marketers can practice more inbound sales techniques. Pinterest has completed a lot of the necessary footwork for both marketers and audience members by creating a promising foundation that is intended to encourage consumer education and spark consumer interest in new products. Marketers have to keep content engaging, fresh, and relevant.
Improvements Are Ongoing
Pinterest decided to release the Interest page in preview mode. It will take a little time before algorithms are perfected and all glitches are addressed. It will also likely take a little time before further improvements are implemented.
Next Steps for Social Media Marketers
Local social media marketing is often more difficult than most amateur marketers assume. Primarily, it is difficult to tell if a modest number of followers are interested audience members or friends of cousins of neighbors that simply want to show support for a small business.
In many ways, the new Interests page is a highly interesting experiment in identifying interested audience members through a social media platform. Few users want to scroll through pages of material that does not interest them. However, imagine the possibilities that could present themselves if users could quickly and easily find relevant products that they did not know existed. Users with broad interests could quickly turn into highly interested audience members.
Key Points for Marketers
It is important to identify if building a presence on Pinterest is worth the time. Pinterest could be a highly lucrative channel for lead generation. Listed below are a few key points:
- Marketers that have no current interest in working with Pinterest directly should continue to keep an eye on the results that the new Interests page yields for comparable businesses.
- Marketers already on Pinterest might want to invest more time and resources in Pinterest in order to improve conversion rates.
- Marketers can use Pinterest to re-purpose visual and written content from their website in addition to creating new content, in formats that include Youtube videos, infographics, and blog articles.
I like the re-purposing concept Chris. Leverage each idea into a visually appealing format. Users dig eye candy and Pinterest serves up eye candy as well as any network.
Thanks!
Thanks Ryan. Pinterest, more than any other platform encourages re-purposing content. Imagine 80% of all pins are repins. It means you can take content from your other platforms, then share it and then have it shared by others again and again- since your boards can be continuously updated, and they remain relevant overtime (unlike a wall post that only shows up in other users feeds shortly after it’s posted).