Pinterest and Social Commerce: The Social Networking Site Retailers Shouldn’t Ignore
- by Jeri Kelley
If you are in the midst of remodeling your home, researching
the latest spring fashion trends, or simply trying to figure out what to cook
for dinner you’ve probably been on Pinterest,
and like me, find it extremely useful for generating new ideas and storing them
all in one place. Gone are the days of
folding over corners of magazines or bookmarking the URL of a Web page – Pinterest
makes it easy for you to “pin” ideas, photos, links, and more to virtual
bulletin boards where your “followers” can repin, like, and share.
As a consumer, Pinterest has gained my attention and I’m
definitely not the only one. According
to a Monetate
infographic, Pinterest’s unique visitors increased 329% from September to
December 2011. With this explosion of users,
what does it mean for social commerce?
Also according to Monetate,
Pinterest is one of the top traffic drivers for retailers – driving even more
traffic than popular social networking sites like Google+. For businesses, creating a presence on
Pinterest is a great way to extend the reach of your brand, increase inbound links,
and drive more traffic to your site. Socialnomics
has a great post
on how some of the biggest retail brands are using Pinterest to connect with
consumers, offer cool content, and engage on a more personal level.
When evaluating your social commerce program,
while Facebook still delivers the most referrals, Pinterest shouldn’t be
ignored as a way to help reach and connect with as many consumers as possible.
