Pinterest isn’t the Next Facebook, It’s Taking on the World of Search

OSP Episode: 017

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On May 24, 2013 an article by Eric Fulwiler was published on AdAge.com that blew me away! Here are just a few of the jaw dropping statements from the article:

“Pinterest doesn’t see itself as a social media platform. It is not an alternative to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for consumers or marketers. It is positioning itself in the world of Google and search.”

“It’s about demand generation instead of demand fulfillment….Pinterest is well-positioned to take advantage of the rise of the visual web…”

“While most people use Google for factual answers, though, Pinterest is about the search for inspiration, helping people discover the things they love through other people… The visual web has a human heart, fulfilled through not only algorithms, but individual curation and context as well.”

WOW! Powerful statements that give us much to consider as we incorporate Pinterest in to our marketing strategies. Pinterest isn’t trying to compete with Facebook or Twitter it’s goals are much different and the foundation is the people who use it.

Power to the people

In Pinterest’s model, it is the people who use the platform that have the power to push content to the forefront.  It is the pins and repins that will ultimately drive traffic back to businesses’ websites, not what an algorithm or bot calculates that should be placed at the top of the list.

Google itself has placed more of an importance on ranking sites based on how content is shared on social sites (including Pinterest). The recent changes to Google+ which make it look a lot like Pinterest, show that they recognize the importance of images in the developing visual web.

On the podcast

In this week’s episode of the podcast I chat with Jason Lange, a social media marketing professional currently working with Social Media Japan  in developing training for Japanese businesses and marketers.

Jason and I talk about:

• What these statements could mean to businesses currently using Pinterest.
• How the approach to ranking in Google has changed and what businesses should consider.
• What does this mean to small businesses?
• The possible strategy behind the evolution of Pinterest.
• Rich Pins (more information on these in episode 16 of the podcast).
• The human curation aspect of Pinterest’s approach.
• Pull though sales vs push sales.
• Listening to trends on Pinterest for the smart small business owner.

Special thanks to Jason Lange for coming on the podcast to chat with me about this. To connect with him, don’t worry, you don’t have to go all the way to Japan, you can find him on his blog.

Click to read  As Pinterest Meets With Marketers, Evolving Business Model Gets Clearer: Pinterest Isn’t About Social, It’s About the Visual Web and Search by Jason Fulwiler on AdAge

For a more in-depth look at the partner event where Pinterest revealed their strategy, check out Tom Edward’s article 1st Pinterest Partner Event Recap on iMedia Connection’s blog.

What are your thoughts on this strategy for Pinterest? Will this change your approach to using social media in general?

Let’s hear from you

Please leave your thought s or questions in the comments below or leave me a message at 773-669-7461 (773-NOW-Pin1). Your question or comment could be used in an upcoming podcast episode so be sure to leave information about your blog or business 🙂

I hope you found this episode insightful and helpful. To help the podcast grow, I would really appreciate it if you went to iTunes by clicking here and left a rating or review. Thanks!

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