I used to hate the end of Summer holidays. Or even worse, the first day back at school. My Mum would come into my room at some unaccommodating hour and flash open the curtains to that burning, white sunlight, blinking into my being. She'd be smiling, bouncing around the room. "Back to school today," she'd sing.
Yes, as much as kids want to avoid it, the end of Summer means the start of school, and for those marketing to students and families, this is a crucial time. One social platform that's looking to help brands maximize this is Pinterest.
At first thought, Pinterest doesn't seem like an obvious match - most people associate Pinterest with clothing and art, visually focused products that best utilize the platform's image browsing focus. But in a blog post on the Pinterest for Business blog, Pinterest's Market Development Manager for Partner Marketing, Shahrnaz Shifteh, outlines some of the key benefits in using the platform for 'back-to-school' marketing.
Critical Mass
Shifteh produces some impressive stats to back up the case - for instance, there are 172 million 'back-to-school' pins on Pinterest, and there's a 290% increase in pinning related to the subject from July to September. That's a lot of content, and it puts into perspective why Pinterest would be looking to emphasize this as a potential audience outreach market for the platform.
To help brands establish a better understanding of what's resonating with the Pinterest 'back-to-school' audience, Pinterest has put together a list of their most popular 'back-to-school' content for 2015, a list that includes computer cases, colorful notebooks and even ideas for packed lunches.
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The list immediately establishes a context to what pinners are looking for, in regards to 'back-to-school' content, which will help brands understand if and where their products might fit in - maybe there's a more creative way to use the platform for this purpose, or a different angle you could take on your offerings.
Brainstorm
Shifteh notes that 85% of 'back-to-school' Pins are related to five specific categories: Food & Drink, Kids, DIY, Education and Photography. To help brands capitalize on this, Shifteh suggests three ideas for content that brands could consider adding to their boards:
- Food: Think about quick, portable breakfasts like smoothies and breakfast burritos and don't forget healthy after school snacks.
- Style: 30% of hair Pins are styles for teens ages 13-17: buns, braids and fresh cuts.
- Activities: There are 30M Pins for school crafts, activities and games.
While these categories and segments won't appeal to everyone, it's worth considering Pinterest as an option if your brand, or brands you advise, have offerings related to these areas - and they certainly get you thinking about the potential of Pinterest in a wider sense. 30 million is a lot of pins about school craft, and there's a heap of opportunity for a wide range of retail outlets on that front.
Dorm Life
Shitfteh says there are more than 49 million pins about college across more than 27 million boards.
"College Pins are mostly about dorm life and decor (25 million Pins), cheap and healthy eats (3 million Pins) and study tips and hacks (11 million Pins)."
This is another application of Pinterest that brands may not yet be utilizing, the sheer numbers and activity showcase a huge amount of outreach and audience potential in the image-based social site. One of the best ways to get a better understanding of how these pins are being discovered and shared is to familiarize yourself with Pinterest's 'Guided Search' functionality, which highlights related terms around search topics based on most common correlating queries submitted through user activity.
Shifteh also takes the opportunity to suggest Promoted Pins as a good means of connecting with parents and students - and given the data, this may be an option worth considering. Shifteh also offers a range of examples of how different brands are using Pinterest to reach 'back-to-school' pinners, including JCPenney, Best Buy, Paper and Cake, The Dating Divas and Fresh Family Meals.
It's an interesting guide, and one which highlights the ever-expanding world of Pinterest and the potential the platform holds for various audiences and purposes. When you consider too that research has shown that 87% of active pinners have purchased something because they saw it on the platform, and 96% use Pinterest to research and gather information, there's a pretty compelling case for considering ways to better utilize the platform. As the network closes in on 50 million monthly active users in the US, now might be a good time to start getting your pins in order.
Main image via Pinterest