For anyone that knows me personally, you know I am not in the Pinterest target demographic. In my mind, I couldn’t be any further from it. I personally couldn’t care less about a new toilet paper holder or a picture frame that can also be used as a dry-erase board. I’d rather pick up heavy weights five times a week, watch a sporting event, dabble in social media, or eat my protein…just like any man would.
The line is drawn here, however, because as a marketer I have a want and need to understand exactly what Pinterest is, what it does, and why it is important. In other words, yes, I have been watching the site for the past few months and no, I have not accepted my invitation to join.
I am sure many of you understand what Pinterest is, but to those of you that are still on the outside:
“Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”
As a man, I have highlighted the words above (taken directly from the Pinterest website) that stand out to me. Some of those words terrify, intrigue and excite me but I am not going to give you a breakdown of which words those are. If you are wondering why this brand statement is important, it is because this is something that current popular social media channel is not currently engaging in. It is stating exactly what they are and who they are, with no hidden privacy statements or hidden agendas. I think this adds to the popularity for the platform.
Why I think Pinterest is important to social media…
Social media is nothing new, nor is it going away. But Pinterest has tapped into a very sensitive demographic: One that gets excited about new ideas, fun weekend projects, and lives for the new things around the home. Even though I have well over a 400-lb. bench press, my downtown Cleveland apartment’s interior is decorated, and I’m almost positive I have spent more money at Ikea during the past year than I have at GNC. Pinterest is giving people a new way to share ideas, and at the end of the day isn’t that what social media is all about?
Although Pinterest is in its infancy, this form of social media is quickly growing. As more and more people join the platform, marketers and companies are taking notice. As a social marketer, it is part of my job to better understand these platforms for my clients and Fathom. I understand what is going on with Pinterest and why people get “addicted” to it.
Do I think we will all be users of Pinterest? Of course we will. It’s like everything in life: we all want that new shiny object, and no one wants to be left out. Do I think more males will jump on the Pinterest bandwagon? Of course they will. Did you know currently in Europe more males dominate the platform than females do? Can brands and companies benefit from this newer form of social media? Duh. If your brand has potential to excite and be shared by millions, what are you waiting for? Will Clinton Dugan be pinning anything anytime soon? Personally, no…but for clients, yes, as it will help pay my bills from Ikea and GNC.
Any bets on Clinton caving in? How do we know if you aren’t already on their under a different name??? Haha!
Great post! I have a Pinterest account and have little to no activity yet, but I’m not ashamed to admit I joined to try to figure it out and how it can work for our clients.
Haha, I promised I have no accepted my invite.
It’s something we will be on soon enough, as long as its client related of course.
Kurt, I bet that he caved already – I saw a great pin recipe today for homemade peanut butter protein bars. I might have to do a little investigating on who the “pinner” actually was (could it be Clinton Dugan?!)
Great post! Pinterest is an interesting phenomenon – it is indeed in infancy as far as potential, yet strongly publicized and thrilling for both social media nerds and active social users. I’m excited to see the site evolve through social marketing and determine how it is best fit for our clients.
I got on Pinterest a few months ago, but I use it to pin pictures of ways to fix things around the house, workout plans, foods I want to make, and recently, I created a board just for items I want people to buy me – a Christmas List/Birthday List of sorts.
I have often commented on how I wish there were more guys on the site that I knew that I could follow so my Pinterest homepage isn’t covered in 100 ways women want to style their hair, wedding dress and other female clothing ideas, and sewing ideas.
C’mon guys! Jump on the bandwagon and help a fella out!
I honestly can’t see making any use of it. I have enough trouble keeping up with what I have already. I’d like to know about it because I should — but use it? Probably not.
I never knew it was considered a “chick thing” until I joined, and then I realized how alone I was…
But I think it’s pretty cool, and more importantly for us it looks like a promising marketing tool.
Good post Clinton!
Make a board called MANTERIST and pin what guys like you are really interested in!
Great idea! I agree, Pinterest is heavily concentrated on women and not meant for most businesses besides retail (right now that is). However, just like the birth of most social sites – men, women, and companies will learn and adapt to find their place.
What’s great about Pinterest is if you want it to be more “manly,” then you can join it and post things in your life that are “manly.” For instance…I’m a big fan of wooden floors and leather chairs and couches and plan to have a lot of wood in my home and even have a summer plan of making a dining room table for my father this summer. That all is pretty manly, and I have found a lot of great ideas on Pinterest when it comes to these things.
Why does everything have to be geared or labeled “For Men” for men to get something out of it? Nowhere on the website do they say it’s for women or men exclusively. I found the book King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine from Pinterest, and it’s a book about masculinity!