Pinterest Extravaganza! The Latest Tips, Tricks and Inspirations

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With news that Pinterest growth is starting to slow, the Internet went in to a frenzy of speculation as to why – could it be that the massive influx of users overwhelmed Pinterest’s early adopters and drove them away? Do users not like the recent redesign of the site? Was there a decline in mobile usage because of bugs in the iPhone app? Maybe it’s that during the peak of the hype cycle, many new users flocked to the site but never returned?

Regardless of the reason for this slow down, we have a good feeling this site isn’t going away any time soon – and in fact, this gentle slow in usage might mean an opportunity for marketers to investigate what’s keeping users around and how to better play in to their interests (or should we say, Pinterests?).

Plenty of resources continue to become available for communicators looking to make the most of their Pinterest engagements. Here are some of the recent things catching our eyes:

• 5 Ways Pinterest Success Comes From Great Writing – Pinterest may be image-based, but the text that goes along with it is equally as important. Consider how your brand uses keywords, length, tone and comments to its advantage.
• 5 Ways to Create Highly Shareable Pinterest Pictures for Your Business – Successful Pinterest images tell a story and intrigue the viewer. Here are some tips for capturing users’ interests.
• 10 Video Tips for Businesses on Pinterest – Pinterest is slowly becoming a video marketing vertical. Here are ten tips on how to get the most out of using video on the site.
• 8 rules of Pinterest etiquette – Pin responsibly. That means attributing, including links, writing captions and not overdoing it.
• Pretty Your Pinterest With This New Photo Hack – Turn your pinboard’s cover photo into an attractive spliced image.
• Why Your Pinterest Boards Have More Followers Than Your Account – You might have noticed that some of your pinboards have more followers than your entire account. Here’s why.
• 3 must-have Pinterest tools – Handy new Pinterest tools Pinstamatic, SpinPicks and Pinerly, plus their implications for businesses and marketers.
• How to pitch bloggers via Pinterest – There are bloggers abound on Pinterest, and like any social platform, there are a number of ways to interact with them and get them to notice you.

And three of the latest Pinterest brand campaigns to get your creative juices flowing…

Kotex – It’s being called the first-ever Pinterest marketing campaign – and what an inspirational one it is! In celebration of Women’s Inspiration Day, Kotex targeted 50 influential women and analyzed them based on their Pinterest boards. They used this information to create customize gift boxes based on their interests. In order to receive the gift, all the users had to do was re-pin their gift. The result? Tons of buzz around the campaign, and a lasting brand impression that Kotex goes the distance for its customers.

Harrods – UK department store Harrods created a Pinterest-based contest to build engagement and loyalty around its brand. Known for its beautiful window displays, the contest asks users to pin images for a store window to go along with the theme “Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Street Party,” then tweet @HarrodsofLondon with the hashtag #HarrodsWindows. Finalists were posted to the Harrods Facebook page and the winner will be selected by votes from the community. He or she will then be flown to London for the reveal of the window display inspired by their board. This is a great example of a brand using cross-channel social engagement to build buzz around its brand.

Honda Leap List – Honda is making its debut on Pinterest with a promotion tied to its Leap List (like a bucket list) campaign for its CR-V model. They’ve targeted several top Pinterest users and asked them to take a 24-hour “Pintermission” to focus on crossing things off their leap list in real life in exchange for a $500 prize. An interesting component of this program is that Honda didn’t set any metrics goals for the campaign and instead are using this as a way to “get their toe in the water” and launch their page in a creative, engaging way.

Check out Text 100’s Pinterest Page for a look at more Pinterest campaigns that inspire us.