So our Pinterest Marketing Plan is taking shape. We’ve got:
1. The Anchor
2. The Offer
And today we want to talk about our third step – becoming better visual curators.
Traditionally a curator is a content specialist responsible for an institution’s collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material.
For our efforts in Pinterest, that has several implications. Specifically,
1. We are looking at our product photography in new ways. We are lucky in that we run a visually driven ecommerce business. So, Pinterest is ideal for us. But even still, we are learning a lot about what does and does not get ‘pinned’ or ‘repinned’ or ‘liked’ or ‘commented on’. The feedback is a beautiful thing. For example: We sell our work using images like this:
but in Pinterest, a more popular image is one like this:
The lesson? While good photography directly related to your product offer is okay, and does get shared in Pinterest,
the more popular images are ones that help a person share something about themselves – not about YOU.
Are they a doll collector? Give them an image that helps them express that in a visually effective, but not ‘sales oriented’ way. Fuel their self expression. A quick scan of Pinterest in general will demonstrate that the most loved pictures help people express:
A. Their Dream or object of desire, (house pictures)
B. An emotion, (like love for a cute puppy)
C. A favorite thing, (food pictures, hobby items, favorite product shots, etc.)
D. A quote or statement, (as in a method of sharing knowledge/insights/interesting lessons)
Can you figure out how to assist people in their self expression through effect image curation? That’s our new goal.
2. Can we take pictures with more emotion, more drama, or more intrigue? We like photography. It’s an important part of our business. But we’ve had a specific goal in mind with our product photography until now.
Old Goal: Get shots that clearly show the item. Good light, no clutter, zoom in & zoom in again. You know.
But Pinterest asks a more challenging question. It asks us to shoot in order to make a statement.
New Goal: Make A Visual Statement. How do you make a visual statement? I guess we’re all learning. But I’m pretty sure it has to do with products as art, rather than products as products. Or a better way to say it is – artistic photography that includes your product. Are we up for the challenge? Yeah, we’re excited by it.
3. Can a Pinterest User be a source of discovery & learning for their followers? A ‘visual sherpa’? We’re not sure, but we’re working to find out. Can you position yourself as an expert in a niche simply by the images you share? That’s an interesting idea. It’s our goal.
Who would have thought that six months ago we would all be saying that in addition to being an SEO Expert for our business, and a Social Media Expert, and a Webmaster, and a Facebook Fanpage moderator, that we’d need to add a new title – Visual Curator?
The time has come.
marketingonpinterest.com 