Pinterest is the newest rapidly-rising social network where users “pin” photos to create online idea boards to share with friends.  While other social media sites are focused on where you are or what you are doing, Pinterest encourages you to think bigger by sharing visual representations of what you like and want. So far the demographic using Pinterest is 90% women and the age range of the majority is 25-32, but it is beginning to gain momentum attracting men and users of all ages.

Internet retailers can get in on the action by abiding by these simple commandments.

1. Thou shall use excellent photography that makes your product look sexy. Hire a photographer, stylist or graphic designer if you need to, but don’t bother with Pinterest if you are short on eye candy.
2. Thou shall link every image to the direct page where the consumer can purchase it. Nothing is more frustrating or disengaging when you click on a photo of something you want to buy and it goes no where or goes to the homepage of a site where you have to sift through everything to try to find the item you want.
3. Thou shall add the pin button to every item in your e-commerce store, not just the follow us icon.
4. Thou shall not be a constant sales pitch. Be social and allow others to post pins to your profile by selecting the me + contributors button. If you are solely self-promoting, your audience will find you boring and insincere.
5. Thou shall create boards with varying topics to reach different audience interests in order to broaden your reach.
6. Thou shall draw attention through pictures. If you have something you want to promote, even if it is not necessarily a tangible item for sale, express it in an image that pops and it will be noticed.
7. Thou shall promote Pinterest. Your customers will not know you are on Pinterest unless you tell them. Add a “follow us” button to your website and signature block and cross-promote it on Facebook and Twitter.
8. Thou shall add the link in the image description field. Not only does this make it easy for users to find your site, it is great for search engine optimization (SEO) because links in the description text are follow links. Conversely, when a user clicks on an image, the link is a no follow link and will not boost your SEO value.
9. Thou shall be timely. Post news-worthy events as soon as possible and target your general posts to times of day when you think your audience is most likely to be online like the lunch hour or before bedtime.
10. Thou shall encourage interaction. Comment on other people’s pins and ask questions in your posts that will elicit responses. Social media is, after all, a popularity contest.

Why Pinterest for e-commerce?

It’s a social selling dream because users are basically sharing bookmarks of what they want to buy with their friends of similar interests. Consumers cannot upload personal photos; they are pinning images posted on websites and the vast majority are from e-commerce sites. To users, it feels like creating their own fashion/bridal/mommy/travel/cooking magazines only with the option to click to buy. Pinterest is advantageous for SEO, branding and driving traffic to your site while sharing insight into who your customers are and what they are in to. The simple, user friendly, visually appealing format is perfect for iPhone and iPad and is available as a free download in the app store.

Case study

Kate Spade New York is our pick for the best business Pinterest page. It is fun, engaging and visually appealing. Is it going to directly sell more handbags? Maybe. Is it a captivating and fun way to reach current brand enthusiasts and attract new ones? Undoubtedly.

This campaign promotes a contest to win a custom Kate Spade New York designer Vespa LX50 clad in a Florence Broadhurst print by creating a pinboard “inspired by where you’d zoom off to on (their) splashy special-edition scooters.” Users create their own “ride colorfully” pin board, pin the scooter, pin the locations they would ride the scooter and tag everything with #livecolorfully. It’s wild popularity can be credited to great marketing, a simple concept, a hot scooter, but above all, encouraging daydreaming.  It’s all about the Kate Spade New York lifestyle. Who doesn’t want to imagine cruising anywhere in the world on a designer Vespa? And hey, if you can’t buy a scooter right now, you can hold onto this dream, and your Kate Spade New York handbag, in the meantime.

The Technical Stuff

To add the pin button to your site add the JavaScript to the bottom of each page containing images to be pinned directly above the closing </body> tag.

JavaScript

<script type="text/javascript" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>

Then add the code in each place you would like the pin button to appear

Code

<script type="text/javascript" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>

For technical information on Pinterest visit http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/ or for social media strategy or help adding the code to your site contact Unleaded Group at 720-221-7126 x 223 or Danielle@unleadedgroup.com.