Since its launch in March 2010, Pinterest has grown faster than any other social network in the US, including Facebook and Twitter. Now with nearly 50 million users worldwide, the site has nurtured a devoted and highly engaged user base. People a...

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Pinterest
July 2013
Colonizing the Web’s INSPIRATION Platform

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anner ads are passing away without so much as a eulogy. Good riddance. The clickthrough
rates on banners have been abysmal since the beginning of the internet. Pinterest is here
now, offering a similar aesthetic – an image, some text, and the chance to click through –
but to a far more engaged audience. The platform is already attracting huge numbers of
users, approaching 50 million around the world, and reached 10 million monthly unique
visitors faster than any independent site in history. People are going to Pinterest for the
sole purpose of being inspired. They’re seeking visual stimuli, and willingly clicking on
the things they find interesting. Visual marketing on Pinterest fits the context, and the
behavior everyone on the platform is familiar with. Since any product-related content is
identical to non-marketing content, the rates of sharing and clicking through on brand
posts are just as high as non-branded content.
And it doesn’t stop at clicks. Pinterest is a conversion machine. Sephora has reported
that customers who follow the brand’s Pinterest page spend 15 times more on Sephora
products than the average Sephora Facebook fan*. So the user base may be smaller
than other networks, but they certainly pull their weight.
Welcome to the
world of opt-in
advertising
*Source: http://www.digiday.com/brands/5-brands-winning-at-pinterest/

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t’s important to understand exactly how the user experiences Pinterest in order
to understand how people will find your brand page. Users will most often
navigate to your brand’s boards through re-pins from other users, by actively
searching for related content, or by scrolling through the related content on
another board (i.e. “People who pinned this also pinned”).
These illustrations demonstrate how a user sees Pinterest, and how the typical
pathways to brand discovery look. Note the emphasis on related content, which
helps keep users engaged with a steady stream of targeted pins.
The Pinterest user
experience is designed
to favor discovery
and sharing.

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The home screen displays recent
imagery from any Pinterest accounts
or boards that the user has followed.
As you can see, Pins have a standard
width, but the height can vary.
What does a user’s Pinterest space look like?

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What are the methods of discovering new content?
Users are also offered related boards to browse
beneath every pin.
Aside from scrolling through her personal feed of
followed content, the user can discover content
one of three ways. The first is a simple keyword search
on the home screen, pictured above.
Lastly, just below the related boards on any
pin are the suggested pins – a huge board of
content pinned by users who also interacted
with the page.

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When viewing a board or individual pin, you may repin,
like, visit the linked website, send to another Pinterest
user or share via Facebook, Twitter or embedding.
When repinning, the user can add a personal caption, which
replaces the caption of the original user when the pin is
displayed on the new user’s board. The website behind the
image always remains when an image is repinned.
How do users interact with content and repin back to their own boards?

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efining yourself through social activity is a big part of any social network,
whether that means 140 characters on Twitter or a square photograph of your
homemade chili on Instagram. On Pinterest, the way for users to build their
digital personalities is by curating boards of products and imagery that they
want, or want to be associated with. This is where the inspiration comes in –
users spend their time looking at and interacting with items that move them
in some way. They aspire to have or to be associated with the things they pin.
If a user has been inspired by a pin featuring a product, then it’s safe to say the
hard work of convincing a customer that they want that product is already done.
It should come as no surprise that on average Pinterest traffic spent 60% more
money on discovered items than did traffic coming from Facebook. Pinterest
traffic converted to a sale 22% more than Facebook traffic.*
Pinterest
traffic converted to
a sale 22% more than
Facebook traffic
*http://readwrite.com/2013/04/17/social-networking-for-marketers-pinterest-crushes-facebook-infographic#awesm=~ocDRhX0aiZbHQy

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Top 5 Motivations For Using Pinterest
1. A source for creative ideas 76%
2.Exposes me to new things 69%
3.Provides ideas for specific
occasions (e.g., wedding,
holidays, etc.) 67%
4.Helps me to organize things
in my life that I am
passionate about 57%
5.Is a form of entertainment
for me 50%

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Facebook
Of note: excluding Twitter, women felt stronger than men about nearly all motivations
across the social media properties.
The motivations of Pinterest users are quite different from other social sharing sites.
Twitter
Instagram
1. An effective way of sharing information because
most people I know are on the site 76%
2. Allows me to connect with people who I wouldn’t
normally be in touch with 76%
1. Can follow celebrities/public figures who I may
not know in person 60%
2. Provides quick updates 51%
1. Ability to upload pictures I take 67%
2. A way to appreciate good photos/photography 62%

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2Mhome
Categories with
the most repins
1.7Mrecipes
695Kfood
458Kwedding
392Kfashion

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57% of Pinterest users
interact with
food related content
THE #1 CATEGORY
OF CONTENT

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s of May 2013, 93% of all U.S. Pinterest users are female*. However, that isn’t
to say that the platform itself can’t hold a male audience. In fact, reports in
2012 showed that Pinterest users in the U.K. are actually predominantly male,
and brands like Mashable and Jetsetter that index well with both male a female
audiences host some of the most popular boards on the site. But at least for
now, Pinterest is dominated by women.
Attitudes toward brands are much more favorable on Pinterest, where 43% of people
say they prefer to associate with retailers or brands, vs. just 24% on Facebook.
The demographics of
Pinterest users
are as unique
as the interface.
http://mashable.com/2013/05/08/pinterest-most-popular-brand-boards/

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48.7Mnumbers of
users globally
47.5%of users
are married
4.75Mpeople follow
L.L. Bean’s
Woodland Creatures
board, which is nearly
10% of total users
21-30
37%
31-4023%
41-5016%
+5017%-2011%
58/100of the top brands
have an active
Pinterest account
U.S monthly unique visitors faster
than any independent site in history!
Pinterest hit
10 million

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60%
40%
Online consumers that have found
an item they’ve bought or wanted to buy
Pinterest referrals spend
70%more money
than visitors referred from
non-social channels

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93%of
Pinterest users
are WOMEN
while
50%of
Pinterest users
have CHILDREN

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Great branded content
comes from brands who
understand why their
product matters
n order to make a brand page into a Pinterest destination for users, the key
is to host the type of content that has drawn users to the platform in the first
place. Ideas and inspiration are the currency of Pinterest, so think about how
your brand can offer that type of content. You don’t need to dilute your brand’s
lifestyle message at all, just understand what that lifestyle message looks
like as a series of pins. The platform rewards brands who can successfully
compartmentalize their message into visually stimulating suggestions for how
users can achieve that lifestyle.
Highlight the moments when your brand really matters to people. This should
help your products seamlessly integrate into your Pins.

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What’s working for brands so far?
here are a few recurring themes in the top boards on Pinterest, and they tend to align
with the site’s female-skewing user base.
The following are a few examples of content that’s getting attention on the platform.

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DIY
Recipes and small DIY projects are
a huge draw for the inspiration-
seeking crowd.
Etsy has earned about 250,000
repins from their “Yum! Recipes to
Share” board.

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There is only so much furniture that
fits in one house, but there’s no limit
to the space on a Pinterest board.
Lowe’s has been extremely successful in this
category as well with their “Time to Shine” board,
pairing imagery of chic outdoor living spaces with
suggestions or useful product information.
Lifestyle imagery

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L.L. Bean claimed “cute” with their
“Woodland Creatures” board
Jetsetter’s “Daily Moment of Zen” is
a one-stop shop for beautiful and
exotic vacation settings.
Inspirational and emotional scenes
These two boards are also the Top 2 most followed boards on Pinterest.

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The rest of the Top 5 most followed boards
Nordstrom – Garden Wedding
Ideas: 4,199,549
Everyday Health – Joy Bauer:
3,761,427
Lowe’s – Build It!:
3,549,154

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Top 4 most repinned boards on Pinterest
Better Homes and Gardens – Blogger
Recipes We Love: 1,021,643
Real Simple – Real Simple Finds:
Recipes to Try: 289,908
Better Homes and Gardens – Blogger
Faves From BHG.com: 444,215
Swarovski – Wedding Bliss:
253,296

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Pinterest Best Practices
s the most popular boards have demonstrated, consistency and simplicity are
key to making a board successful.
Here’s a quick guide to making the most of your investment in Pinterest, followed
by two case studies – one of a branded Pinterest stunt, and another of a brand
building a loyal following on the site.
Your Brand
Build a personality space for your brand that users can align themselves with through
repinning.
Your Boards
Focus on the simplicity of deliverable, sustainability of content, and consistency within
the board.
The more users know exactly what to expect, the more likely they’ll come back to see
similar content.
Your Pins
Make your product part of your post. Don’t just make a post about your product.
Keep the captions relevant. Treat them like a little bonus to the image – maybe a
helpful or entertaining nugget of information
Use positive and beautiful imagery – things that people will want to claim for their own.
Your Followers
Create content that adds depth to your followers’ virtual personalities by aligning them
with your brand’s image.

24. Lowe’s Pinterest Strategy
STUDY
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25. Capitalizing on the interests of the regular
Pinterest fan base, create boards that
engage Pinterest users in their passion
points. Home related content is already
one of the most popular categories on
Pinterest, so the real challenge for Lowe’s
became making their home content more
compelling than other brands and user
generated content. The mix of DIY content
and seasonal boards helps keep the page
fresh and worth returning to for users at
each login.
Create a Pinterest presence that inspires
consumers to take on home improvement
challenges with the help of Lowe’s.
Challenge
Results
Idea
Top Boards by Followers
Lowe’s Pinterest shows the depth of their brand identity at the same time that it showcases the retail
offering of the store. Through inspirational pins that appeal to user interest in seasonal and holiday content,
Lowe’s has been able to build one of the largest retail communities on the platform, which has helped to
drive preference for their brand over competitors.
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• Build It!: 3,546,438
• Organize: Get to It: 83,479
• It’s Time to Shine: 83,057
• Craft Ideas: 83,023
• Noted as a top retailer brand on Pinterest,
with over 3.5 million brand followers
• Published the 5th most popular
Pinterest board on the platform, “Build
It!”, with over 3.5 million board followers
• Continues to garner large scale
engagement, surpassing top competitor
engagement on Pinterest by nearly 9 times

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Build It! (3,567,985 followers): Lowe’s most popular
board features DIY projects, often including the price
of construction right on the description. Content is a
mix of original Lowes.com projects and pins/repins from
other websites.
Fix in Six (77,625 followers): Taking Lowe’s successful
Vine campaign, this board translates the same helpful tips
into pins. The images link to the originalVine content on the
Fix in Six Tumblr, helping to grow Lowe’s digital ecosystem
outside of Pinterest.
Time to Shine (81,972 followers): Showcases home
outdoor spaces, with furniture, appliances and recipes
that make those spaces special. All pins link to purchase
or recipes on Lowes.com.
Emerald: 2013 Color of the Year (77,549 followers):
Everything emerald green. It can be this simple. Mostly
repinned,mixed with purchasable content from Lowes.com.
Examples from Lowe’s Top Pinboards

27. Campbell’s Kitchen The Most Colossal Casserole
STUDY
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28. In a first-of-its-kind Pinterest hack,
Campbell’s transformed a Pinboard into a
giant casserole and developed a way to let
fans make it grow. Every time the recipe was
repinned, Campbell’s would add another
portion to the Pinterest board casserole.
Each portion added also represented a
dollar donated to Feeding America for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanksgiving is America’s biggest food-
focused holiday. To drive more traffic to
CampbellsKitchen.com during this time of
year, the brand leveraged the world’s fastest
growing recipe referral site - Pinterest.
• 250% increase in traffic on CampbellsKitchen.com
• Over a million new Green Bean Casserole recipe views
• The longest-scrolling food image in history
• Over 50 million impressions
• Over $10,000 donated to fight hunger over the holidays
Challenge
Results
Idea
In this first-of-its-kind Pinterest hack, Campbell’s turned a regular Pinboard into one
crowd-sourced, almost endlessly scrolling casserole. With the help of Thanksgiving
casserole fans, the brand created the longest scrolling food image in history and drove
a ton of people back to the recipe website.
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WWW.BBDO.COM
WWW.PROXIMITYWORLD.COM
WWW.DIGITALLABBLOG.COM
WRITTEN BY
Jack Leonard
EDITED BY
Zach Pentel
DESIGNED BY
KATHLEEN HANNA
MEGHAN MILLER
NINJA
For more information or business opportunities,
please contact: Simon Bond, Chief Marketing Officer,
BBDO and Proximity Worldwide
Simon.Bond@bbdo.com