There are two questions you need to ask before jumping into a new social media platform:
- Where on the buyer’s journey is the person we’re hoping to captivate?
- How do we draw her or him to the next stage?
For Pinterest, the buyer is in their discovery phase, making it more difficult for a brand to address what the target might want since even the target doesn’t quite yet know.
To be the what that a pinner wants, you must first be the who the consumer wants to become. Unlike other platforms, Pinterest hones in on the future, on the consumer’s potential and on the pinner’s specific dreams.
Pinterest users spend an average of 34 minutes per visit on Pinterest, according to a study by Ahalogy. Users are bound to scroll through hundreds of pins that don’t resonate in order to find that spot-on pin that encompasses exactly who he or she wants to become.
This leads us to recognize the popularity of personalities on Pinterest.
Pinners are no longer satisfied with pins that teach them how to become a better cook. Rather, they’re looking for pins that help them become a master wielder of kitchen knives or an ingredient-stingy saver or a minimalist recipe maker—all of which are specific ambitions to pursue in order to satisfy a particular persona’s desire.
Pinterest boards allow a brand to start with a personality and pin items specific to it, including products, how-tos and just-for-fun pins. While a pin description will help with a user finding your pin, the board will help with guiding a user to all your pins that coincide with the personality for which he or she is searching. If you’ve ever had someone pin multiple pins from a single board, it’s because you’ve matched that individual to the pursued personality.
Now that you know about personality pinning, you may be wondering how you figure out the personalities your target is working to fulfill. You begin by categorizing your product or service and then analyzing the problems each category solves in order to guide your choice of a personality.
With personality pinning in mind for Fiskars, we crafted a “Gifts for Gardeners” board in lieu of the holiday season, tapping into not just what someone might use but who they want to become.
That’s not to say general boards like “Garden Tools” shouldn’t be on your Pinterest account. In fact, the best-added benefit to creating multiple personality-specific boards is the ability to repurpose pins on general boards (or vice versa if you’ve already endeavored into the world of Pinterest).
By creating both personality-specific and general boards, you’re creating a better chance of discovery on one of the platforms with the highest purchasing power, averaging $50 per order according to data gathered by Shopify and Pinterest.
By better using Pinterest, your target is a step closer to becoming who they want and you’re a step closer to exceeding last year’s profit margin.
To learn how Hiebing can help develop or redefine your Pinterest strategy, reach out to Ted Jun at tjun@hiebing.com.