Just when you have Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook finally figured out, recent data may convince you to add another social media platform to your marketing repertoire: Pinterest.
Just when brokers have Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook finally figured out, recent data may convince them to add another social media platform to their marketing repertoire: Pinterest.
"We tracked eight of the most popular social media platforms to see how they were driving traffic to our network of publishers,” according to a report that tracked social media trends from September 2012 to September 2013. “Here’s what the numbers mean… Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter are dominating."
More interestingly, perhaps, is the fact that Pinterest drew more traffic than Twitter and LinkedIn combined. Moreover, Pinterest’s share of visits grew 66.52 per cent over the prior measured yearly period -- more than any other. With Pinterest gaining traction in the social media sphere, brokers are starting to notice the benefits of establishing and maintaining a Pinterest account.
“I did some research before I did it for brokers in the office and I started to see people re-pinning some of the stuff,” Laurie Baird of Verico Complete Mortgage Services told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s unique; it’s not the same as Twitter and Facebook – you’re giving information that people want to share because it’s neat, new or something they haven’t experienced before.”
The simplicity and visual aspect of the service is what draws members. It provides a page with which a user can collate and share images or videos by “pinning” them to their personal “board”.
“The thing that I find that is unique about it is you can load videos to it and it’s got a lot of pictures,” Baird said. “A lot of people are more attracted to pictures in social media and it attracts attention.”
Another reason to add a Pinterest account to your growing portfolio of social media, according to one consultant, is because it attracts a different kind of user than Facebook or Twitter – allowing you to broaden your audience.
“Social media attracts different kinds of people; some people are attracted to Twitter, others to Facebook,” Sabrina Rousseau, a social media consultant for Dominion Lending Centres the Mortgage Source said. “Pinterest is unique because it is more about pinning things you find interesting to your wall. Pinning rates doesn’t work; people want to see information.”
And it can function as to your website or other social media profiles.
“I use the photos on Pinterest page to drive traffic to my Facebook page; I look for articles that are relevant to the local and Canadian real estate markets,” Baird said. “I usually post a daily news story and something from Pinterest, such as helpful hints for things to do around the house or just nice pictures of houses, décor, gardens.”
