Pinterested in Shopping?

July 31, 2014 By Digital Operative,

Has a new ecommerce tool arrived? Pinterest has successfully pigeonholed itself as the "virtual scrap board" of social media with its mosaic style layout. The browsing experience has been converted into a visual experience. Some believe this is taking online shopping to a whole new level. The image based discovery platform allows users to identify their favorite categories. For instance, a user can follow a category such as fashion. Topics within the category like "hand bags" and "watches" will become visible at the top of the users home page. Moreover, users of such categories can connect through sharing pins from other pinners, which will then be found in their home feed. Such a segmented market creates a gaping opportunity for brands reach and engage with the most relevant users to facilitate a two-way conversation between the business and the consumer. According to Kurt Abrahamson, chief executive officer of ShareThis told ClickZ, "Pinterest's user base has been growing overall. And they launched a new feature this quarter, Guided Search, which is exclusive to mobile." How can a marketer fuel this fire?

Diversification Is Key

With the launching of Pinterest's "Guided Search" feature in the second quarter of 2014, coupled with their rapidly growing user base forges a new path for marketers to engage segmented consumers with their favorite brands. However, marketers should not just limit this leverage to mobile alone. After all, mom always said not to put all your eggs in one basket. It is up to the marketers to take the data from the upcoming Q3, to continually keep up with the times. Emerging trends will tell the marketers which way to turn down the path. For now, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Keywords are King

You've heard, "Content is King" - well for Pinterest, Keywords are. Create a clever caption that will not only engage users, but will likely make it more enjoyable for the user to search more frequently. The Guided Search tool will pin to pinners with similar interests. With the keywords embedded into the text, Pinterest can ease its way into Google, making the Pinterest promotions relevant to Google searches, too.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Bedazzle the brand by capturing products in a way that creates an experience, rather than just any old irrelevant interaction. Tap into the emotion and your brand will boast well to consumers.

The Takeaway

We can attribute emerging trends in technology to the shift we have seen is social media. Embedded YouTube videos and pretty pictures with clever captions will not only entertain users, but give them a voice and a part in taking brands to the next level. Encourage the conversation amongst consumers and interaction between the brands and users will create loyalty and a family sense. Lastly, don't forget the data! Analytics from Pinterest, Google and other sources will help marketers and brand ambassadors measure the success of their investments.