Pinterest – new territory for brand communication

Creative Director of our digital agency Brlog Tin Kadoić talks about Pinterest for the Media Marketing:

Much has been said about the Pinterest social network in recent months. We asked the creative director of the Brlog digital agency what sets Pinterest apart from other social networks and how it is used by brands.

Unlike other social networks, Pinterest is much more visual and transparent for users. It is easier to find new content, to follow and download that content.

Pinterest is constructed on the principle of pins and boards. Pins are pieces of content that the users publish, and these are photographs in 99% of cases, though it is also possible to load video and other content. Every user can organize the photographs into groups, or boards, and these groups are then organized according to interest or characteristics, for example, types of photography, like black and white, or the like.

These boards, and they way they function, make up the basic difference between Pinterest and other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which organize their content in a linear fashion, according to its posting time. Though Facebook is making great efforts with its timeline to bring users to look at what happened several months ago, in principle, quality content is quickly lost in the mass of information.

Unlike this, Pinterest groups content independent of time, instead it is grouped according to how important they are to a certain user. When we open a user’s page, we see their boards the way they have sorted them, if a certain board is most important to that user, it can be placed at the beginning, even if it has content that has not been refreshed for a long time, if it is relevant it can be emphasized.

How do you comment on the exceptionally fast growth of Pinterest?

One of the reasons for its rapid growth is its connection with other networks. Though this initially was not necessary, today it is not possible to create a Pinterest account without additionally linking it to your other accounts on other social networks. In this way, your activities on Pinterest also become visible to your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

With regard to users, the US is specific, because 80% of its users are women, while in the UK, the ratio of men to women is about 50:50.

Another important reason for its popularity, and the reason why Pinterest is my favourite, is its functionality and openness. If you are interested in automobiles, you can find that category on Pinterest and follow everything that’s happening in that area, what is most liked or pinned or commented on, and find the most popular content on any topic. It has a simplicity that neither Facebook nor Twitter have, which is great, but which also requires a certain critical mass.

What does it mean for brands, how can they use it?

For brands, Pinterest is a whole new territory for communication. Unlike other social networks that can be positively used, you can follow everything about a brand on Facebook or Twitter and everything it publishes, while on Pinterest, you can decide to follow just segments of a brand (boards) that are most interesting to you. Taking fashion brands for example, if we only want to follow its accessories board, because you are only interested in shoes, you won’t be bombarded with information about men’s or ladies fashion.

Pinterest has provided a new method of organization and presentation for brands that is primarily visual and is absolutely focused on the visual, while the design, comments, likes and pins are in the background. The individual or the brand becomes a type of curator of its own visual content.

Finally, take a look at some interesting infographics on this topic here