Pinterest: Why Women Love It, (Most) Men Don’t Get It and (All) Businesses Need To Pay Attention To It

As I was “Repinning” a photo of a fabulous pair of shoes on the new social superstar, Pinterest, my husband asked, “What do you get out of telling people you like those shoes?” He just doesn’t understand the allure that millions of people have found (10.4 million unique visitors as of February 2012 and 9 million of them connecting their Pinterest boards to Facebook).  Hmmm good question.  What do I get?

Pinterest is kind of like sitting in a room with a group of friends, each of us with a stack of our favorite magazines, thumbing through them and showing everyone the dream kitchen photo, a wonderful vacation spot or bacon bandaids, that we all agree “must be purchased immediately.”Some warrant a nod of approval and a statement of “I could never wear those,” while others ignite the “oh my gosh, what is the website, I am going on and ordering those right now.  This is exactly why most men join Pinterest, scroll a few pages and scratch their heads, asking….”Huh?”

I started wondering if these beautiful photos have enticed anyone to actually click the purchase button (aside from me).  After seeing a pair of Kurt Geiger beaut’sI went to the website, discovered they could only be ordered if I lived in the UK, and then sent an email and called the customer service number to find out how I could get them sent to me.  I WORKED for them! I have also ordered an iPad case and planned a vacation based on “pins” I have seen.I threw the question out to the Twitterverse and here are a few responses:

I once suggested that hotels share photos of their beautiful gardens, bridal staircases, workout rooms, menu items, drinks and more, and a follower on Twitter asked, “Why can’t they just share these on their Facebook page instead of duplicating their efforts?” Well if you knew you could get everyone to come to your Facebook page, that would be great, but with Pinterest you are gaining exposure to another group of people…people who just might yell to their girlfriends, “Oh my gosh, I love that space for my wedding!”

Is Pinterest JUST for women? NO! There are more and more men joining each day and for those that “get it” there is big business to be had, but for many it is just filled with too many recipes, dresses, and “how to make a flower lamp shade” crafts for their comfort zone.  For those men, there is another site that popped up recently…. GentleMint. This site has lots of manly car pictures, musky cologne, and sports team memorbilia.  No is sharing or commenting, but that’s probably just how they like it!  I do love their little mustache icon though.

So for businesses that are already overwhelmed by Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube, yes Pinterest is another tool in your already over-stuffed tool belt, but it is worth checking out.  Who knows, your next customer might be sitting right now scrolling through looking for you!

If you are on Pinterest- leave your user name in the comments so we can check out your boards. If this leaves you scratching your head and wondering if it even makes sense for your business, give me a hollar, I’d love to help.

My Pinterest boards (including the Bacon Bandaids) can be found here!

9 Comments

• Christina DiMicelli

  February 14, 2012 at 10:48 am

  I love Pinterest and use it to collect ideas for the classroom, PD, apps, etc. It is the digital version of ripping pages out of magazines and pasting them in a notebook. My boards are at: http://pinterest.com/mrsdi/

  Reply
  • GinaSchreck

    March 9, 2012 at 2:19 am

    That is exactly what I feel like–Like Im sitting with a stack of great magazines in my lap and I am ready to rip away and share my treasures )

    Reply
• GinaSchreck

  February 15, 2012 at 1:34 am

  Thanks Christina for sharing your PIN boards –Im going over to check them out! )

  Reply
• Pernilla Ellström

  February 22, 2012 at 3:38 pm

  I really like Pinterest. I’m working as a copywriter and by making these boards I’m sure I get more creative as well as inspired. Everyday. My boards are at:

  http://pinterest.com/pernillas/

  I’m following your boards now

  Reply
  • GinaSchreck

    March 9, 2012 at 2:18 am

    Love it Pernilla~Im going to follow yours right now

    Reply
• Sheri Gourd

  March 9, 2012 at 2:06 am

  I thoroughly enjoy Pinterest! It’s a great way to discover much about yourself and those you follow.
  http://pinterest.com/sagourd/

  I have also seen how smart it can be for businesses, especially in the area of tourism. http://pinterest.com/travelok/guest-pinner-gallery/

  Reply
  • GinaSchreck

    March 9, 2012 at 2:18 am

    I agree Sheri and I love learning more about people via photos! So beautiful~

    Reply
• Christina

  March 24, 2012 at 6:15 pm

  Pinterest is so addictive!
  http://pinterest.com/christaystay

  Reply
  • GinaSchreck

    March 24, 2012 at 6:52 pm

    HA!! I know–I can’t let myself log on until after 8pm! )

    Reply