The Power of Pinterest
Apparently Pinterest is the next big thing social media ‘thing’. If you are not acquainted with this site, the best way to describe it is a virtual pinboard. I have only just started using it, but it really is addictive. I see an outfit inspiration or a design I like (yes, I am using is solely for personal use) and I pin it. It’s a great mood board for my virtual blog and real life wardrobe. I’ve recently started using it for recipes and interior design ideas… are you seeing a common trend?
58% of users are female and this is unsurprising when you look at content that is available - it is broadly content that is of interest to women. The site is a pastel pink colour with elaborate red writing - I hate to say it, but it is pretty and certainly appealing to people who want to get inspiration for their next interior design project or dinner party. The majority of comments are positive and boast emoticons. I admit it, most of my comments are “I love this” or “:)”. It is a very happy social networking site. But, is it the next big thing?
I am not convinced that men are going to start using this to pin photos of their football teams or work interests or anything else for that matter. Pinterest will instead continue to grow in popularity amongst the female population, rather than tearing out pages and pages of magazines (one of my mother’s habits), I will use Pinterest to store all of my information and have the ability to share it with others.
However, Pinterest is also seeing a rise in the number of companies joining the social networking site to promote their merchandise. My concern that this will begin to detract users from sharing content - one of the charming qualities of Pinterest is that the majority of content if from people’s blogs, people who aren’t making money from the information they are distributing and instead sharing with passion.
I love it, but is it for everybody? I think not. Should companies be working out how to market themselves on Pinterest in the calm before the storm? Maybe. But for the moment, I enjoy using Pinterest for what it is, a “virtual pinboard, that let’s you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.”
