Pinterest: It’s not all about recipes and crafts
Before joining the Engauge team last week, I didn’t think twice about Pinterest. I would hear about it in conversations between two girls and the conversations usually revolved around recipes or crafts – two subjects that don’t really spark my interest. I did, however, know about Engauge’s Drew Hawkins before joining the company. I knew him and his team of contributors had created The Board of Man. When I joined the team, I became a contributor and that is when I truly discovered the whole new world of Pinterest.
Board of Man has had explosive results mainly because of one reason: it is something that “shouldn’t be on Pinterest”. It is the counter culture and bends the lines and “rules” of what is appropriate to post on Pinterest. Using this inspiration, I dug around the platform to try and find brands that may not “belong” on Pinterest but are using it effectively. Keep in mind, Pinterest still does not have a large brand presence and the presence that is there is usually occupied by bridal magazines, cook books, artists, etc.
AMD was one of the first brands I searched for on Pinterest (yes, I am a nerd and a huge fan boy). I wanted to feature AMD in this blog for the sheer fact that they are a brand that you would never think would be successful on Pinterest, yet they are doing it right. AMD has boards that feature their latest products and technologies. The brand also utilizes boards to showcase their partners, developers and presence at industry events. This just gives the public another reason to choose AMD over NVIDIA, right? ;)
Ah, Case Mate. This brand is extremely successful in the social space and extremely creative. I wasn’t surprised that this brand was on Pinterest, but I was extremely surprised at how successful they were at utilizing the tool. Boards include new products (cases for iPhones) as well as style guides and inspirational pieces.
Nothing is as boring to Pinterest’s target demographic (young females) as AARP. However, this brand utilizes Pinterest to highlight inspirational quotes, healthy recipes and entertainment/technology for those over the age of 50. AARP doesn’t do anything mind blowing on their Pinterest and follows the trend of duplicating content from their magazine onto their boards (like most magazines do). I am, however, impressed that this brand made the jump to the tool.
This could be my favorite brand on Pinterest. GE does a tremendous job utilizing Pinterest. First, GE has creative board content and names, which gives insight to their company culture. The brand has a board titled “Badass Machines”. The photos used are pulled from Instagram, filters and all. The brand also utilizes Pinterest’s search tool and comments on anything that is pinned to the site with GE in its title. Of course, a member of the GE team, personalizing the brand, signs these comments.
It may not be a surprise that this brand is on Pinterest. It caters directly to their content in terms of interior decorating, crafts, recipes, etc. The reason I wanted to highlight this brand is because they have public contributors on their boards. These contributors could be members of the HGTV team, but to publicize this information (none of the other brands searched did this) makes the brand much more transparent. Bravo, HGTV.
Pinterest didn’t stick out to me in the past because of the stigma it had. What I have come to realize is the potential of this tool. Any type of content can be shared. Users and brands are both starting to realize this and Pinterest continues to grow.
You can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/chadatl/
Or visit the Board of Man here: http://pinterest.com/drewhawkins/board-of-man/
