Pinterest – The Toast of Social Media

Pinterest has been gaining a lot of attention as the belle of the ball in Social Media. The hype around the new ‘invitation only’ visual platform is not without reason: having launched only in March 2010, it has already achieved an impressive 4 million followers. Moreover, it recently witnessed staggering popularity with 11 million visits for the week ending December 17, 2011, which was almost 40 times the amount of visits compared to the previous six months.

According to online research company, Experian Hitwise, Pinterest’s astounding growth rate is similar to that of Facebook when it started in 2006. The rapid 4,000 percent increase fittingly earned Pinterest a coveted place in the top 10 social networking and forums of 2011.

So how does Pinterest work? The platform serves as a virtual mood-board where users (a.k.a pinners) post images to create and manage theme-based collections called boards. These boards are sorted into 32 different Pinterest categories (such as, My Style, Products I love, etc.) and are filled with different images (pins) organized in very attractive displays. Pinners tailor their tastes by following other users or specific boards they like. Based on these interests, they receive real-time updates in a simple and captivating pin board-type feed. Pinterest has also replicated ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ function by the ability to repin, comment and share images.

Within the last 12 weeks ending December 2011, it was recorded that the majority of Pinners (almost 60%) were female aged between 25 and 44. This trend is no doubt attributed women’s fascination with alluring images and tendency to quickly spread word-of-mouth- in the case about the ‘pinning’ phenomena. Not surprisingly, the most commonly posted images on Pinterest tend to feature home décor, weddings, crafts, fashion, and food.

Sure enough, Pinterest’s charming visual displays have already struck a chord with luxury brands. At the forefront are luxury retailers Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman with Nordstrom leading the way with a sizeable 6,000+ followers. Both brands have created a range of boards to showcase their offerings including product categories, current trends, specific brands, gift ideas and events. Fashionably forward brand, Kate Spade has also leveraged off Pinterest’s appealing aesthetics by displaying a range of vibrant inspiration boards to allow fans a glimpse into the Kate Spade world.

Photo source: http://pinterest.com/bergdorfs/

What’s especially convenient for these brands is that the images on Pinterest automatically link users to the URL source, allowing them to directly share images without having to laboriously spend time downloading and uploading each picture. Another key factor that is likely to lure in luxury brands is Pinterest’s discreet philosophy: unlike other social media sites, Pinterest does not encourage self-promotion, but rather nurtures community collaboration through image sharing and providing an insight into each brand’s universe.

The pressing question for luxury strategists is, “will Pinterest become a household name for luxury brands using social media?” Given the recent spotlight and impressive figures to show, this is just the tip of the iceberg for Pinterest. The niche appeal, strong growth and visual desirability of the platform are sure to resonate favorably with luxury brands. DLG will be following closely to see how Pinterest’s growth evolves.