How Brands can use Pinterest
Pinterest is the 3rd most popular social network following Twitter and Facebook.
Haven’t heard of it? You’re missing out. Think it’s only for cookie recipes? You’re wrong.
70% of the content on Pinterest is generated by users so you need to play their game. If you use Pinterest just to push out your own products you will be ignored. This is a true collaborative space. Be an authentic participant and you’ll reap the benefits.
3 Easy Pinterest Steps
- Find and share other user’s pins that relate to your brand
- Think lifestyles and storytelling – not products
- Remember everyone likes baby animals.
An example
Say I sold travel coffee mugs. What kind of boards would I create on Pinterest? I’d think about the story someone would tell if they were using my product and I’d pin:
- Dream vacations I could travel to (with my mug)
- Fun beverages (I could put in my mug)
- DIY Coffee Cups/Mugs
- Cool exercise tips (I can do because I’m caffeinated thanks to my mug)
- Baby animals in coffee mugs
- User generated pins of fans using my mug
Make sense? Here’s 5 of my favorite brands on Pinterest. Check out how they’re winning at pinning:
5 Brands Winning at Pinning
1. L.L.Bean 
Remember when I said everyone likes baby animals? The most popular board (4.7 million followers) for L.L.Bean is “Woodland Creatures.” L.L.Bean finds pictures of animals in the areas customers live in or would like to visit with L.L.Bean products. Genius.
Other highlights include “Rustic Living,” “National Parks,” and “Take Me Fishing.” These three boards all ring true to the L.L.Bean lifestyle without coming off as a sales pitch.
2. Lowe’s 
I’m seriously geeking out at how brilliant Lowe’s is. Why do people go to Lowe’s? To do at home repair. What’s one of the most popular trends on Pinterest? DIY projects. Match made in heaven. Lowe’s has pinned hundreds of other user’s DIY projects on boards such as “Helpful Hints,” “Build it!” and “Curb Appeal.”
To be fair, Home Depot also has some awesome pinning action. http://pinterest.com/homedepot/
3. Ben & Jerry’s 
Our favorite little indulgence doesn’t have millions of followers, but it’s still representing some awesome best practices. Ben & Jerry’s has always been a company focused on peace and love and its Pinterest account is no different. Pins include lots of peace signs and recipes using ice cream. Other cool aspects are a board dedicated to the company’s home state, Vermont and another with home footage of Ben & Jerry themselves.
4. Oreck 
Is this the vacuum company you ask? Yup. Their slogan is “clean made easy” and they make Pinterest look easy. Purely brilliant boards include one dedicated just to beautifully styled wood and tile floors, another of furry friends which subtly points at the type of mess these cuties might make (and an Oreck can help clean up) and even one just for all things blue (thanks to the Oreck blue logo).
5. Chobani 
I’ve already written an entire blog about how awesome Chobani is and here I am doing it again. Chobani is at the core of the main goal of Pinterest – focus on a person’s lifestyle and encourage sharing with likeminded friends. My personal favorite board is “Simple Swaps” which is filled with recipes where ingredients like sour cream or cream cheese can be swapped with Chobani for a healthier option. And I know I said everyone loves baby animals, but I also meant baby people. The “Chobani Champions” board is a goldmine of “can’t I just squish his face” little children.
In summary
Pinterest is huge. The more we associate brands with lifestyle choices, the bigger platforms like Pinterest will get. Remember, think social not selling and you’ll be on your way to winning at pinning.
