Delana and Kevin Harvick from Pinmarklet
The Great American Race starts in a few hours.
Social media will definitely factor into the experience. Twitter will be abuzz as favorites take the lead, get squeezed out, held up in pit alley or bend a fender.
What about Pinterest? The online bulletin board’s usage last year jumped from 1.6 million registered users in September to 7 million in December with more views than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to Shareaholic. Not bad for a company started in 2010. Who’s using it and how will the sporting world take advantage of it?
According to Google Ad Planner and Ignite Social Media, 80% of Pinterest users are female and 81% of all users are between the ages of 25 and 54 with 77% earning more than $50,000 per year (the U.S. average median income). Do I hear ‘disposable income’?
The company’s mission/goal is “to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people . . . “ Eye candy and inspiration of every variety can be found as you enter key words in search or simply use the random approach of scrolling through images of all things gorgeous (and some very funny).
As would be expected, opportunistic marketers are paying attention. Pinterest encourages individuals to share their favorite things while following rules of “etiquette” (love it). It also gives businesses the opportunity to create billboards of their favorite products, people and designs to help followers discover what makes them special through images and brief captions. Visitors can “like,” “repin” (to their own page) or comment – very engaging.
Among the people you’ll find “pinned” on the site are athletes. I chose to include an image of our local boy Kevin Harvick and Delana with this blog, which came from Pinmarklet. Many sports teams are jumping on board – visit pinterest.com to find your favorite team’s page or sports hero. Hopefully, if it’s Danica Patrick, she’s fully clothed. (oops, did I say that out loud?)
If you’re new to the site, here are a few tips. Rather than “request an invite” to create a page, ask a friend who already has a Pinterest page to “invite you,” you can get started right away with your boards. And if you’re a small business, tie your Pinterest account to your Twitter or Facebook account so you can share your pins with them as well. Pinterest allows you to choose which pins you share on those feeds/timelines, so your followers don’t get sick of seeing you “pin.”
What’s the future of Pinterest? Will it continue to grow? Is it just another social media trend? My bet is on growth. First, because it’s a fun break from life’s responsibilities, it’s inspiring, can make us happy and laugh, and encourages us to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Second, it has strong word of mouth and last, you don’t have to create an account to enjoy the site. You can visit pinterest.com and browse (for you commitment-phobes).
This 25-54 year old female is enjoying the Pinterest moment.
And you’ll probably find me pinning while the cars circle the track at the Daytona 500 today.
