Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you know that Pinterest has taken the social media world by storm. The photo/idea/product-sharing platform has vaulted into the third most visited social media channel. And this has millions of entrepreneurs and marketers wondering — how can I take advantage of business opportunities on Pinterest?
Though the platform is still quite young, what we do know is that it has a proven track record of referring traffic back to websites. For this reason alone, many businesses are taking the plunge and signing up. Organizations such as Real Simple Magazine, Whole Foods, and Scholastic have done a great job of leveraging Pinterest’s demographics and expanding popularity to benefit their brands.
One low-cost way to make a high-impact splash on Pinterest is by hosting a contest.
When developing a Pinterest contest, it’s important to make the value clear. Users are easily persuaded to repin a post, but the more incentive you can give the better. And get creative! Pinterest is still establishing itself, so users have the unique opportunity to become a trendsetter in this new platform.
Here’s a look at two contests that are being executed very effectively.
Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk, wine retail owner and social media guru, has come up with an easy way to promote his product and his expertise with very little cost to him.
Every so often, Gary will pin one of his favorite bottles of wine and encourage others to repin his post. After a few days, he will randomly select one person who repinned his post and will send that lucky person a bottle of the wine.
Result: thousands of people are exposed to his wine and his brand, and he only has to give away one bottle of wine. Nice work, Gary.
Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens is putting up a lot more collateral, but they are also asking more of their followers.
In order to participate in the contest, users must create a board on Pinterest called “My Better Homes and Gardens Dream Home” and pin at least 10 images from bhg.com, explaining how they would fit into a dream home. Then, the users submit the board’s URL on Facebook for a chance to win $5,000.
This contest is more involved than Gary’s, but there is the opportunity to reap a much greater reward.
Ultimately, both of these contests do an excellent job of expanding the company’s brand and referring potential customers to their websites. For Gary Vaynerchuk and Better Homes and Gardens, the rewards that the contests bring are well worth the cost.
Pinterest’s uses will continue to evolve as the platform’s popularity grows. These two examples give you just a taste of how early adopters have been able to utilize the new social network. With Pinterest really starting to take off, now is your chance to get creative and establish your own Pinterest contest!
Interested in how Pinterest can be used for your business? Give our Digital Division Director a call at 919-858-6914 or shoot us an email. We’d love to have a conversation with you.
