Will Pinterest Replace Facebook?
Last week I was in a meeting with Elmer’s, and one of our Collective Bias clients and we started talking about the Pinterest page we help them manage. Our discussion centered on how using technology personally helps develop a better understanding of the business value of new platforms. Want to understand the value of Foursquare? Check in everywhere you go for a week. You’ll learn more than anyone could possibly teach you, and you’ll discover if the platform actually has any value for you.
What really caught my attention, however, was when this woman shared, “My friends and I don’t use Facebook to connect anymore, we all share Pins on Pinterest, it’s much more interesting.”
Wow, that was pretty interesting! She took her marketer hat off and was thinking like a consumer. This revelation confirmed anecdotal evidence I’ve been seeing over the past several months that a fair amount of Facebook fatigue is building and other ways to share and express oneself are on the rise. According to Alexa, Pinterest has become the 47th most trafficked site in the US. Sharing inspiration and ideas is engaging; it also speaks volumes about the interests of the user.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of social media is the power of the medium for self expression. Marketers tell me often about Twitter or Foursquare, “I don’t care what someone had for breakfast this morning.”
Maybe they should care why someone would want to share something about their lives since that creates an opportunity for engagement. Practically everyone has the ability to be a broadcaster today. Facebook and Twitter democratized the trend. Pinterest, Instagram and Oink are adding creativity and discovery functionality.
The real reason marketers should pay attention is simple. Pinterest is quickly becoming a powerful traffic driver. Many members of Collective Bias’ Social Fabric community are reporting that Pinterest has quickly become one of their top traffic sources. Über-crafter Tonya Staab has a highly developed Pinterest page featuring her creations along with those she finds inspiring. According to Alexa, the site is now the #4 site that her readers visit immediately prior to coming to her blog. The same is true for brands such as Elmer’s which sees over 11% of its site traffic coming from Pinterest.
Will Facebook one day be overtaken by Pinterest? No one knows, but engagement will. If people are able to express and connect in a more meaningful way, you can bet they will take advantage of that. Brands that participate in that engagement will benefit from increased loyalty.
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Great insights! The most important advice is your suggestion to have business owners roll up their sleeves and acutally use these platforms. “You’ll learn more than anyone could possibly teach you, and you’ll discover if the platform actually has any value for you.” – I couldn’t agree more.
In the past few days alone I have seen people join Pinterest that I would never have imagined. I think businesses are definitely moving towards having a Pinterest presence. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s true. While you can’t ever really get the inflection in a facebook or twitter status, a picture can give you an idea and emotion all in one step.
As a content creator, I love how I can see, on a single page, what people are pinning from my site. Yes, I could dive into Google Analytics or other tools, but Pinterest really makes it simple. I have noticed that old pins may fall off of the source board, but it still gives a good idea of what’s appealing to my community in the recent past. I take this into account as I plan upcoming content.
I have a Pinterest account but haven’t started “Pinning”. Those of my friends who are on seem to have become addicted in the last few weeks. I know, that when I start, I, too, will be addicted.
While this iteration of Pinterest may not be ready to overtake Facebook, we must keep our eyes open in regards to what they have in store. I’m beginning to wonder if, although Pinterest is very new, Facebook’s push for Timeline is a more direct response to its new competitor. If you look at Timeline’s layout it really isn’t all that dissimilar.
Regardless, have some fun with Pinterest people!
Pinterest is my favorite site to go to, above any other, including Facebook. I don’t think, however that it could “replace” Facebook. Facebook is where I share my everyday mundane-ness, Pinterest is where I show/find my potential.
Well it can not replace facebook, but this kind of niche services will get more and more traction as people get saturated with facebook uses.
I have been a very active pinner and have found so much good information from Pinterest, from writing inspiration to connecting with my readers. It has also been a great way to increase my blog traffic.
i think it needs facebook to work. either way i ended going with juxtapost.com because a. it’s automatically fills in the description for me and 2. i can make private postboard.
no point in planning a suprise event if everyone can see all the ideas your collecting.
Many years ago, AOL was a powerhouse and brands that were in touch began using “AOL Keyword (whatever)” in all their marketing efforts. The same can be said of Facebook now… “Find us on Facebook at…” I suspect that it won’t be long before we see Pinterest used in marketing efforts.
The interesting thing about Pinterest is that it is changing how non-marketers present their information. People who love Pinterest – whether they engage in marketing efforts or not – look at their photos in a different way. I’m not currently utilizing it as a tool but I’m starting to rethink the way I take photos and share them on my blog so I CAN start to utilize it. I’ve also considered going back to some of my older posts that still have high traffic and revising (or adding) a photo so that it can be pinned. The fact that Pinterest allows videos just adds more depth to it.
Pinterest offers photo/video sharing and commenting on those. All I can think is… what will they do next? Allow users to create themed bulletin boards so their friends/followers can share random thoughts and comments on virtual post-it notes?
Will Pinterest overtake Facebook someday? Who knows? Maybe we should ask AOL.
I’ve been with pinterest for a year and a half now and couldn’t live without it to organize things for me. Also after google it sends me A LOT of traffic to my blog. {more than FB} It is part of the future as is G+ I think.
At first I thought it was just full of DIY craft projects and recipes, but I see now the full potential and power of Pinterest … Both as a consumer and a social media marketer.
Re-pin something for me ~ http://pinterest.com/twelvetwodesign
There’s a ton of different content, it’s a pretty valuable inspiration search engine! Repinning for you now Rob.
All of that said, eBay has made some big improvements (that few have noticed). The powerseller
say the power seller
has cut fraud rates, is leveraging PayPal well and seller reviews are ditching ineffective participants in the market. Simply put, eBay has improved the customer experience, but needs to put some marketing heft behind the improvements. That’s a hefty excerpt but I included it verbatim to show that Lindsay’s improvement list made it all the way to the letter “h.” Bottom line: ebay power seller
is highly unlikely to close the Amazon gap. Amazon isn’t the type of company that will stand still and eBay is improving at a slower pace. By time eBay matches Amazon the e-tailing giant will have rolled out a bevy of new improvements.
PINTREST got me very upset after working on it for 3 hours yesterday then I cannot log in and then given an invitation?. I am a “beta tester” a person who professionally tests apps, I tested the first software for the internet when there were the first 140 websites. I’m IT specialist, Intel, Microsoft Partner. I spent a lot of time on the Pintrest.This is their way of getting emails, mining data, etc. while creating excitement. These apps, liike Google+ don’t know if they will survive, so they do this type of thing. I am very upset that I gave them all my COMPANY info. I would have used personal if they were going to do this. The They let me try use it [this was at the launch] I spent a lot of time thoughtfully making the board, as you. It annoys me about the online companies like this mining data. The same exact thing happened with Google +. I was one of the first to get an account connected with Intel, the took all my time then. bang! NOW they ask for someone ELSE to invite me so you can get the linkage data by seeing our relationship . It was more than a disappointment. I am overwhelmed and have to pick my battles, don’t have time to waste. If it becomes the new FB great, I have had too many experiences that leave a bad taste.The people I invited could not get in either and were told they could wait for an invite. I’m thouroughly disgusted with schemes like this. I don’t like the intent.