To effectively use Pinterest as part of your company’s marketing strategy, you have to understand its users and the different Pinterest mindsets they carry. Pinterest Researcher Larkin Brown recently shared some insights on the Pinterest Business Blog about the different types of users on the site.
She said that Pinterest users display four main mindsets:
- Maybe I could.
- Just looking.
- I know what I want.
- I’m narrowing it down.
1) The “maybe I could†visitor is exploring a new interest or considering starting a new project or hobby.
2) The “I’m just looking†visitor normally browses without a particular goal in mind.
3) The “I’m narrowing it down†user has more of a defined need but isn’t necessarily ready to commit just yet.
4) And the “I know what I want†user knows what they’re looking for and they have a short time frame to find it.
Social Media Expert and CEO of Keysplash Creative Susan Gunelius agrees with the four classifications, but says they should look pretty familiar to marketers. She said in a phone interview with Small Business Trends:
“It’s not anything new. All users fit into these four categories at different times, depending on where they are in the buying process. So the marketing theory has not changed here, this is just how you apply those behaviors to a different tool.â€
In his post, Brown states that different pins can trigger certain modes with consumers who don’t necessarily have a specific goal in mind when visiting Pinterest. And and a single pin could even trigger different reactions from different users:
“One pinner might look at your military-style jacket pin and see something they’re going to buy right away while the other might look at it as something that inspires them to change up their style.â€
For that reason, Gunelius said it’s important to build a network and focus on your target audience as a whole. Though it might be tempting to go after the “I know what I want†crowd who could be more likely to translate into quick sales, that means you’d have to catch the right person at the exact right time.
Instead, she said brands should focus on consumers throughout the buying process who, at some point, will get to that “I know what I want†stage:
“What you need to do is publish interesting, share-worthy pins that are relevant to your target audience so that they will form an emotional connection with your brand and think of you later when they are ready to buy. And, the more you connect with people, the more likely you are to put the right content in front of the right person at the right time.â€
Pinterest Photo via ShutterstockMaybe Photo via Shutterstock, Choosing Photo via Shutterstock, Just Looking Photo via Shutterstock, Determined Photo via Shutterstock
