I am the 4%. A Chaps View of Pinterest.

I’d hate to feel this is jumping on the ‘lets write an article on Pinterest' band-wagon, but I’ve got something I wanted to say - and that’s that ‘I like it’

I’m a 45 year old married Englishman. I’m not a scrap-booker, not genetically disposed to care about soft furnishings, and I’m not planning a wedding. I am, however, quietly addicted to Pinterest. Admittedly I’m quite rare. Out of the 12 million monthly unique users only 4% of are male, and it’s a platform populated with aspirational graphical content offering little stimulus to most chaps. These stats are based on US users, however, so there may be some cultural deviation here


Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being dismissive of the content or the audience – far from it – but the bulk of content in general streams isn’t stuff I’m interested in and that’s just how it is. I’m fully aware - as a strategist of all things social – that this platform is a pure fried gold if I want to target the lifestyle market, people with families (50% of users have children) or women in general.

So, what do I find so good about it? Here are 6 things:

• It’s easy to sign up. Do I want to sign in using my Facebook details and be able to find my friends? Why yes, don’t mind if I do. Over 9 million monthly Facebook-connected users so far, and rising.
• It’s visual. It appeals to the graphic designer in me. As developers we should be optimizing our web images for Pinterest starting immediately – especially if you or your clients are in ecommerce.
• It’s always there. Pinterest uses a browser-based snipping tool I just click on, pick a category, and it’s saved and shared. Very clean and simple.
• It really is social. My friends are my friends because, on the whole, we share at least some similar tastes. It’s adding to my life and helping me find things that I care about right now. It seems to be genuinely providing me a service. Honestly, how often does that happen?
• Repinning, liking, commenting – just the right balance of information to make it friendly, but without loosing track of what my content is about due to other peoples irrelevant activity in my stream.
• I rather like the iPhone app. It’s good for a browse on the train after Flipboard’s given me my aggregated daily ‘need-to-know’. As with all platforms built to promote use, it’s easy to access and fills a gap in my casual browsing. If it ever pulls into Flipboard with image import (and sharing out to Pinterest) I’d be a happy man.

The problem of being outside of ones demographic is self-replicating. I sometimes find myself in social media channels talking to other social media people about social media if there’s nothing else to do. However, that’s not happening and I put some of this down to the way I’ve deliberately made my boards and what I opt into. I am a bit of an RSS and feeds-geek, admittedly. I follow a lot of actual boards (which are far more targeted) than ‘individual people’. Pulling in their niche interests that correspond with mine as opposed to the total stream.

As a guy it’s initially hard to find content in the general content, and when you do it tends to be culinary related, clothing, or the more aesthetic side of gadgettery. Where are the fast cars, and gentlemen’s grooming accessories? A new service still in beta might be the answer. Gentlemint pitches it’s self as a ‘mint of manly things’ and has promise. I started playing with it last week. It has a good stream of moustache products, classical and impractical automobiles, cocktail making and real ale tips, and other visual treats that appeal to my content tastes. While it currently lacks the well balance features set of Pinterest this appears to be only because of it’s age and I’ll be keeping a friendly eye on it as it develops. Also worth a look, professionally, is Fancy - less popular but with a head-start at moneterization through a built-in deals platform with notable ecomms already signed up.

For business Pinterest has great promise. There seems to be some ambiguity on ownership of content that still warrants investigation for clients, but if you have a lifestyle brand or service appropriate to the audience there’s real social potential (and an SEO boost as a possible hidden extra). Pinterst could offer a nice client service as well as being a place to share your wares with a growing audience.

What Google+ Means for Direct Marketers

The tools may have changed, but the song remains the same.

The Web is now personal. VERY personal. Everyone is a content producer, whether they realize it or not.

Google realizes this. Google's deal with Twitter has run out so it no longer has Twitter content in its search, and Facebook is giving content to Bing, so Google needs its own source of social from which to draw content and, most importantly, in which to embed its advertising platform (AdWords).

Google knows personal recommendation is important, and so do we. It knows business has to have its place in any new channel in order to generate advertising revenue. Google, still the search king, knows it needs to sell advertising, and that Facebook social ads lead in the social space. Google, just like those of us in one-to-one marketing, realizes it's all about people. Because of this, Google has built its own social network: Google+ (which is now open to everyone, no invite required).

Everyone is posting links, sharing content, making recommendations, telling their friends about the good and bad in their daily lives, about the great coffee they just had, about the lousy service at the hotel they just stayed in, and about their love of a million long-tail niche hobbies and interests (perfect for generating ad revenue by displaying relevant opportunities along with the public message). The basic principals are there across every tool and channel.

Strategy should not be based on tools like Google+. Strategy should be based on business objectives. Tools like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are, as appropriate, a means to achieving business goals through communication, but are not strategies in themselves.

Content is king, even today, and the not-so-secret sauce is in the message and what you do with it. That's not going to change for direct marketers anytime soon. Research, engagement, listening, measurement, creating good content, fostering relationships, these remain the same. What is changing is the opportunity, and how you can use it.

When people choose to be a part of your community, it's important to give them something in return. They are letting you into their Google+, Twitter or Facebook streams, and it's critical to give something back. That may be as simple as offers, entertainment, a behind-the-scenes look at our brand, 'secret' knowledge, breaking news, etc. but should always be human and engaging. You still have to generate genuine opportunities to get your community talking and sharing. A community should feel that it is being heard and that, when opinion is sought, it is being acted upon. Being inclusive, and being personal, is being social. These are the fundamental principles of communication, and regardless of your goals or the delivery method they're key to good community. That's unlikely to ever change.

We can bet that soon Google+ will give us business profiles and then paid advertising. Just like Facebook, this is your opportunity to reach out to your audience and show them the value in becoming a part of your community and tuning in to your message. It's your chance to listen and gather opinion and deliver good, entertaining content value. How you do this should be based on clear strategy, and should be sympathetic to the community you gather. Here you can say "Join us. It'll be fun, rewarding, and advantageous."

One of the most valuable elements of one-to-one marketing in the social space is the ability to recognize those loyal customers who make repeat purchases, and to let them know they are appreciated and that they are important. Who is adding to the conversation? Who is taking your message forward? Who CAN take the message forward? These people are the ones to foster and reward above all others. Heck, you owe them that even if it's just though personal thanks and good messaging. A bottle of wine in the post or a voucher for a special event goes a long way to turn someone into a lifetime brand evangelist. The tools may change, but the principals remain the same. Social media lends itself perfectly to one-to-one marketing, and this is where powerful lifelong relationships can be forged.

Google+ is new. Anyone who claims to have a secret answer to making it work for business right now is selling snake oil. There are, however, those basic core principals of communication that will see you through. There're a million tricks and tips and tweaks for every tool and channel, but there's always a constant: social media is about people, and what's important is how you talk and listen - not where.

This article was first published on the Target Marketing Magazine website, Sept 21st 2011, and is republished with permission.

Integrated Social Networking: The Sad Facts

A damn good point (above) and I'd like to apologies to my friends right now. Still, I suppose it's your stupid bloody fault for being interested in the first place and jumping on whatever social bandwagon I do. At least it's my job to look at and investigate this crap. Anyway, truthful comment from Implementing Scrum: The Blog :-)