For marketers adept at recognizing new opportunities. the online bulletin board Pinterest can provide their companies with a competitive advantage. Pinterest is used to share photos and other images among Internet users. Users communicate mostly through images that they pin to their boards. Other users can repin these images to their boards, follow each other, like images. and make comments. Links to websites can be added to the images to move more traffic to company websites, turning Pinterest into an effective digital marketing tool.
Larger companies such as Dell and Whole Foods are more involved on Pinterest, but some smaller businesses are using it as well. The Pinterest community is dominated by the female demographic, so companies that target women have the opportunity to reach them in innovative ways. Companies are marketing their products by posting images that evoke an emotional response representing their brand. For example, Whole Foods has topic boards on Pinterest featuring recipes farm scenes, and more. One image features a Nicaraguan who received a small loan to buy materials for her business to support herself. This reinforces Whole Foods' philanthropic program of providing small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Pinterest also serves as a customer relationship management tool because the images people pin to their boards reflect interests and aspirations, thus alloviiing marketers to interact with users on a more personal level. Marketers can inspire an emotional response among potential customers with the way they organize their boards. The effectiveness of this marketing can be monitored by how many repins, likes, and comments are posted. Marketers are reporting increased web traffic and sales because of Pinterest.
Discussion Questions
1. Describe how marketers can use Pinterest to enhance marketing communications
2. Why might it be better to post an image that conveys an emotional response rather than a simple advertisement?
3. How does Pinterest act as a customer relationship management tool?