Pinterest: The Evolution of Social Bookmarking

So what is it?

Pinterest is a social bookmarking site used to “pin” media found around the web to categorised boards. Members pin and re-pin items onto boards that they name. They can also follow people by choosing to see all of their posts or only posts from specific boards, which increases the sense of community and brand itself as a social network. Pinterest can be best described as a mix of Tumblr and Delicious because it’s heavily based on graphics but has the functionality and organisation of the bookmarking platform.

Here’s a quick overview of Pinterest’s features:

Pins: A pin is an image or video, either from a website or uploaded from the user. A description can (and should) be added to pins. By default, Pinterest starts users off with a bunch of boards, but these can be deleted or renamed to suit the user’s interests.

Boards: Pins can then be organised onto boards created by the user. By default Pinterest starts with a bunch of boards, but users can then create their own.

Repinning: Repins are the retweets of Pinterest. Repins allow you to share someone else’s image and repin it to one of your boards. Repinning gives credit to the first person who pinned the image, and you can also edit or add to the description.

So why use it?

Although is has all the elements of a social network Pinterest seems to attract a different sort of user. People seem to use Pinterest to find and nurture inspiration, they aren’t on their because their friends are, they’re on their to actively look for things that interest them.

The recipe for the passion that is inherent in Pinterest users comes from the two main ingredients of Pinterest: Shiny visuals and sharing your personality. By making the main content pictures from anywhere on the web Pinterest basically makes everything likeable, sharable and engage-able to you and your followers.

Why brands should pin

Pin it Button: If your brand currently isn’t on Pinterest make it easier for visitors to your website to pin items that they like by installing a “Pin It” button. To add a “Pin It” button visit the Goodies section and follow the instructions. Visit etsy and see how they’re utilising the “Pin It” button.

Get Seen: Pinterest levels the playing field for smaller retail businesses that don’t have the budget or resources to compete in search results. If you search for jeans on Google Shopping,you’re going to see Levi’s and a bunch of other brands you already know sell jeans. Whereas with Pinterest search results are based on user interaction, meaning that the most popular, and most shared by friends.

Building Links: Anytime someone pins something from your site, it automatically pulls in not just the image from your site, but also a link. There is a chance for that pin to be repinned multiple times (even hundreds of times, in some cases), building up a healthy amount of backlinks.

Brand Advocacy: If people love your products and they’re on Pinterest, they will not only pin your stuff, but they might dedicate an entire board to your brand. There have been many social bookmarking websites that have tried and failed, but Pinterest has gained 3.2 million users in an invite only model, and is featured as one of Time’s magazines top 50 websites of 2011.

Campaigns:  Once your brand is more comfortable with the concept of Pinterest you’ll be able to create campaigns solely based around the site. The viral reach for campaigns on Pinterest will be huge. People are constantly searching for eye-catching content, things they like and also watching what their friends are pinning. Therefore, each pin//board needs to be marketed as if it’s a single campaign. Boards can’t be haphazardly added with the hope that they’ll go “viral”. Remember if you’re running a campaign on Pinterest make sure to promote it on other social networks that you use. If you are going to run a campaign be careful to not break their pin etiquette. So let your community do the work for you!

Which brands are pinning well

Travel Channel have been pinning their favourite travel photos, quotes, destinations, travel activities and ideas for future trips. They have also been repining travel photos from other Pinterest users.

High Point Market recruited home fashion trendsetters to capture images of their favourite finds as they walk the High Point Market, listing the exhibitor name and showroom number with the photo.

Lands’ End Canvas ran a “Pin It to Win It” campaign that got users to pin their favourite Lands’ End products and 10 lucky people won $250 gift cards.

We’re on pinterest and if you’d like to follow us click here.

We’re a full service social media agency. Check us out on Twitter and hook up on Facebook. Please leave your comments below. . .

Looking for more posts like this. Then check out the below links.:

• Pinterest: What It Is, Why It’s Awesome & Why Brands Should Be Using It

• Darwinian Evolution of Microsoft Windows [INFOGRAPHIC]