Pinterest: The Fusion of Traditional and Innovative Marketing

Pinterest is the social media smorgasbord of all things interesting and commercial. From recipes to interior décor ideas to the latest fashions, Lipschultz refers to the enriching experience that is Pinterest marketing as social media capital (2015). I recently asked a friend for a recipe for her favorite salad dressing, and she directed me to her Pinterest Healthy Eating recipe board, which showcased not only recipes and methods, but the cookbooks they initially appeared in.

Education as a Marketing Strategy

According to Google Trends, one of the most oft-Googled phrases that begin searches is “How to…” (2017). Next to YouTube, Pinterest is one of the best resources to learn how to create crafts: scrapbooks, baby bonnets, clothing, and jewelry. Honing a new ability is one search term away.

Are you in need of inspiration for your vision board? No problem. Pinterest contains many images ready for use.

Do you feel stumped about your nursery’s color palette? You got it. Pinterest is the place to go!

Frustrated with the picky eater in your life? That’s OK! There are countless Pinterest boards dedicated to catering to picky eaters.

Creativity Sells

Pinterest is the place where dream boards of your future dream wardrobe lives, and purchasing the desired pieces are a click away. Just like eBay and Craigslist, Pinterest users are able to create boards of items listed for sale. It does not matter if these items were hand-made, second-hand, or vintage. There is a market for all sellers on Pinterest.

According to Bough, the best marketing strategy to utilize on social media – including Pinterest is to focus on uniqueness and creativity (2011). Novelty sells just as well as creativity, and if there is something unique, unusual, and beautiful, post that item right up, because it will sell like handmade, hotcake earrings on Pinterest.

Don’t Be Board

Pinterest is a collection of categorized boards that are useful in not only an organizational marketing context, but also as a means to personal enrichment in the form of visualization for future goals and aspirations. Inspiring words and images that are pinned to boards are a nice reprieve from traditional marketing that flood social media platforms.

Vision boards gained popularity in the late 90s, and Pinterest is very much a virtual vision board overflowing with merchandise waiting to be purchased, ideas ready to be used, and artists ready to be celebrated. Pinterest fuses traditional values with fresh, new marketing strategies that result in not only creative vendors, but creatively fulfilled consumers.

Resources

Bough, B. Bonin & Agresta, S.. (2011). Perspectives on social media marketing. [Books24x7

version] Available from http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=34484.

Google Trends. (2017). Google Trends. Retrieved 16 July 2017, from

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=how%20to

Lipschultz, J. (2015). Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and

Ethics (1st ed.). New York: Routledge.