Can Pinterest Really Earn Small Businesses more revenue?

Can Pinterest Really Earn Small Businesses more revenue?

NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED

​When it appeared on the scene four years ago, Pinterest offered a unique platform where women could enjoy swapping decoration ideas, fashion trends, and home-style recipes.

Think that sounds stereotypical? In a report published in March 2012, it revealed 83% of global users were in fact women. According to the findings, the number of men using Pinterest is still minimal. The only country where a high percentage of men are showing interest is the United Kingdom, where 56% of Pinterest users are male.

Although Pinterest holds a solid fourth place in the social media industry – with over 58 million subscribers – it‘s slowly becoming one of the better marketing podiums.

PURPOSE OF PINTEREST

Before the age of the internet, swapping recipes required physically getting together with friends or family members, carefully copying ingredients onto index cards, then later filing them in a tin box.

Fortunately today, people don’t have to schedule appointments or spend hours swapping information about their favorite recipes, hobbies, or other unique interests.

Pinterest is a way to connect people online who share similar interests.

​If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, the concept is quite simple. Envision an empty room with a number of bulletin boards hanging on the walls. You label each board with a specific theme or topic.

When you come across a publication which contains an interesting article or picture, you cut it out and pin it to one of the bulletin boards, under the appropriate the heading.

Friends and family can then browse your boards and take copies of items they find interesting on your board and place it on theirs.

Of course, this is what Pinterest would look like in the physical sense.

Online it’s much easier.

Pinterest allows users to label multiple boards (or folders) with different topics and themes.

As the user surfs the web, if they should come upon an article, photo, or specific website they want to store, they can place it onto one of their boards to view at a later time. This process is known as PINNING.

If something you pinned is of interest to another viewer, they can take a copy of it and place it on one of their bulletin boards. This is known as RE-PINNING.

HOW CAN PINTEREST DRIVE BUSINESS?

Since its inception in March of 2010, Pinterest has slowly shifted from a hobby-swapping platform to a free business promotional and revenue-driving avenue.

In fact, Pinterest is becoming the ideal interface for many retailers.

​There exists greater potential for driving business through a portal which allows users to showcase their products and direct consumers toward their websites. For example, the main page is set up like a visual storefront with each board labeled with a certain theme accompanied by a picture.

As consumers browse through a retailer’s Pinterest account, they click on images or titles which intrigue them. In most cases, consumers are sent to the retailer’s business website, where they can research, shop, and make purchases.

RichRelevance, a data research company, revealed Pinterest users shop more when they follow links to retailers’ websites.

IF IT’S HONEST FEEDBACK YOU WANT, YOU’LL GET IT

Another benefit retail store owners have noticed with Pinterest is the ability to better monitor which products are popular with consumers.

Owners can set up their account to notifiy them when postings are re-pinned or shared. Plus, each pin provides a section where visitors can add comments about the benefits or shortcomings of each product.

This type of information is significantly useful when it comes to better understanding what customers want and determining future marketing strategies.

OVERALL BENEFITS

The Pinterest concept allows businesses to create theme-specific boards where users can post relevant information and visuals to attract clients and prospects to their business website.

However, one of the biggest benefits to Pinterest is the ability to optimize the social media platform to discover what consumers want and how to best deliver it.


Content contributed by Matthew Cassady, IASourceLinkIASourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S. SourceLink, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs.

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