Been intending to write a post about Pinterest…the latest social media marketing craze…when this superb cartoon from the great Tom Fishburne popped up!
Full post at “pinterest marketing”.
First up, why would you consider Pinterest for your marketing?
“Pinterest is the talk of the marketing town. It’s the fastest growing social network, stars a highly engaged high-income audience, and is driving more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and MySpace combined.”
One other point, according to my understanding, is that a very high proportion of Pinterest users are women. So, as with all social media marketing, if your prospective audience is using Pinterest, it’s worth taking a look to see if it can fit in with your marketing plans.
Having said that, pay CLOSE attention to this comment from Tom…
“As brands jump on the Pinsanity bandwagon, remember the lesson from every social network that preceded it. What’s more important than the platform is what we’re asking our audiences to share. It’s not about the network. It’s about the content. More than ever, brands need a plan for content worth sharing.”
At this point, let’s take a step back and review some marketing fundamentals.
In direct response marketing, in the modern era, you can think of the way you attract leads as falling into 2 “channels”.
Firstly, there is what you might term the traditional “direct” channel…
…that’s to say, advertising.
Put up an ad with an appeal relevant to your prospects…
…and then capture their details in some way so you can continue to market to them.
Them there’s what we might call the “indirect” channel.
(OK, I know it’s a little bizarre to talk about “indirect direct response marketing”, but it will have to serve for the time being.)
With this approach, the strategy is to attract the attention of your prospects with relevant content and then direct them to your lead capture device.
This approach covers areas such as social media…
…but also more conventional strategies such as article marketing and blogging.
The important point to keep in mind is that social media activities are in essence a traffic building strategy…
…which is merely what should be the first step in a well-constructed plan to acquire leads and convert those leads into paying customers.
If it seems to you that I am merely stating the blindingly obvious…
…I apologise and salute you. You are one of the few.
When it comes to social media and whatever the “craze-du-jour” happens to be…
…my observation is that even many capable direct response marketers seem to go into a swoon and lose all sight of the fundamentals and what’s important.
Back to Pinterest and Tom’s comment. If you’re going to use Pinterest, you’re going to need plenty of attractive graphical content that people can use.
If you’re not prepared to provide that kind of content…
…then Pinterest is probably not for you.
Now, if in principle, this is a channel that could work for you, how do you go about integrating Pinterest into your marketing mix?
To start with, here’s the basics of what it’s all about…
Next, read this to double check this is going to be an effective channel for you…
“What Marketers Should Know About Pinterest”.
This might help as well…
“Pinterest Infographics Reveal Marketing Potential”
Then you’re ready to tackle…
“Pinterest Marketing: The Ultimate Guide”.
Finally, here’s a pretty good “Pinterest Primer” video…