Pin, Pin, Pin!

So I must admit, I am slightly addicted to Pinterest. However, I don't think I am the only one who has this addiction. I found some statistics about Pinterest from www.Digday.com. Pinterest has about 25 million users and the average activity of a user is 2,757 pins; 35 boards; and following 355 users. Clearly, Pinterest is a great way for companies to show their products to pinners and show them ways of how to use their product. Pinterest is a great way for companies to integrate their products within pins so that people don't even realize that they are being exposed to an advertisement about the brand.

Pinterest accounts for more than 25% of retail referral traffic. I see this so much on Pinterest. I have found multiple ways on how to use a certain product in several different ways. I just looked at my "likes" on my Pinterest profile, and in the first two rows I had two ways of how to use one product for a different use than what it is originally intended for. The first one was a scrub made out of vinegar and cold water to get stains out of my leather boots. The other product suggestion was to make a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda and apply to your teeth with a Q-tip to easily whiten your teeth at home. These pins on Pinterest will increase the sales of these products because pinners can see all of the different ways they can use this product that they probably would not have known about if they weren't on Pinterest.

I also came across several recipes that are based around one product. I thought this was interesting because it is huge product promotion. When I saw these pins I was wondering where these recipes came from. They could just be people who created a delicious recipe, or maybe it was people who work for that food company that want to make people buy their product. For example, I came across a recipe for Oreo Balls and Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies.These desserts cannot be made without the customer purchasing either Oreos or Snickers. I actually thought this was a really good idea on how to advertise because they catch someones eye and they might want to try it. I think it is a great social media marketing strategy for companies to use.

I also came across some things that would discourage people from buying a product. This shows a slightly negative side of Pinterest. The example I found was a duplicate recipe for Red Lobster Spinach and Artichoke Dip. If people really like this dip and typically go out to eat at Red Lobster just to eat the dip, then they will be interested in trying to make it at home. It might be cheaper and easier for them to just make it at home. Then that means that Red Lobster just lost a customer because people can just make their product at home. Even though Pinterest has a slightly negative side, I still think its a great website and offers many opportunities for companies to reach out to their customers.