Pinterest is the talk of the marketing town. It’s the fastest growing social network, stars a highly engaged high-income audience, and is driving more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and MySpace combined.
As brands jump on the Pinsanity bandwagon, remember the lesson from every social network that preceded it. What’s more important than the platform is what we’re asking our audiences to share. It’s not about the network. It’s about the content. More than ever, brands need a plan for content worth sharing.
I like the WholeFoods approach to Pinterest, profiled in this Mashable article recently.
“To make a lasting connection, the goal is not to promote the shampoos, strawberries and steaks that are sold in the actual stores but to communicate the lifestyle that the Whole Foods team aspires to — an appropriate ambition, given that Pinterest has often been likened to a digital inspiration board. And by creating an aspirational lifestyle, Whole Foods can convert casual pinners into brand enthusiasts and, hopefully, customers … And because the point of Pinterest isn’t to push products, but to help people explore and deepen their interests, consumers don’t feel like they’re being marketed to.”
What I find most interesting about Pinterest is the focus on visual content. As a cartoonist, I’m obviously a believer in the power of visual storytelling (and was excited to discover how many of my cartoons are already being shared on Pinterest.)
Pinterest has helped validate the next stage with Marketoonist. I’ve been growing Marketoonist into a content marketing studio to help brands create visual content worth sharing (like this Kronos cartoon series featured in CMI last week). I’m starting to expand with New Yorker and nationally syndicated cartoonists and look forward to sharing more detail in the coming weeks.
If you’re interested in more on the idea of content worth sharing, I’m speaking Friday 3/9 at 1:00 EST at the MarketingProfs Conference on Content Marketing (a free online event). My topic is “Content Worth Sharing: What Marketers Can Learn From Cartoons”. I hope to see some of you there!
(Marketoonist Monday: I’m giving away a signed print of this week’s cartoon. Just share an insightful comment to this week’s post. I’ll pick one comment by 5:00 PST on Monday. Thanks!)