I was talking to a college undergraduate, and I decided I needed to sharpen my social media skills.
I asked her, “I am on Facebook and on Twitter. What am I missing?”
Her answer (“You are missing Pinterest”) came with a warning. She told me that Pinterest was not word-based, it was photo-based, where women pin photos of food or clothes.
Soon after I talked to the college undergrad, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch printed an article about Pinterest, noting that the site was used mostly by women who pin photos of food or clothes or design.
I signed up for Pinterest, and I noticed that most users were women and most photos were about food or clothes or design or wedding ideas.
However, there were a sprinkling of men on the site, and a sprinkling of travel photos. I hatched a plan to promote my St. Louis architectural walking tours. I pinned photos of buildings in St. Louis --- buildings that people would see if they came on one of my tours. I planted tour info in the caption of each photo.
Once photos are pinned, they can be re-pinned by other Pinterest users. So, as my photos move around Pinterest, the walking tour info goes with them.
I am patting myself on the back for being so clever.
I showed off my cleverness to a co-worker who had never heard of Pinterest. “I have put some walking tour photos on a website full of photos that people have pinned.” He is a word-based kind of guy, and immediately labeled Pinterest as a place for Neanterthals.
His comment: "Neanderthals don't read; they grunt and point at photos."
His comment: "Neanderthals don't read; they grunt and point at photos."
I realized that I needed to convince my co-worker of the power of Pinterest. And I had one and one chance to convince him. I asked Pinterest to show me photos of cupcakes.
I didn't grunt; I just pointed at a photo of a eye-catching Boston crème pie cupcake.
The visual won out. At the sight of this cupcake, my co-worker forgot all about Neanderthals and started thinking about cupcakes.
I didn't grunt; I just pointed at a photo of a eye-catching Boston crème pie cupcake.
The visual won out. At the sight of this cupcake, my co-worker forgot all about Neanderthals and started thinking about cupcakes.
Visuals are compelling; visuals are not just for Neanderthals.
To see my St. Louis eastern downtown board on Pinternet:
To see my St. Louis 1904 World’s Fair board on Pinternet:
http://www.pinterest.com/PupOutOfBreath/1904-st-louis-world-s-fair/
- . - .- . - . - .
NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath. Price = $11. You can purchase a copy at http://www.puppyoutofbreath.com/?page_id=108
No comments:
Post a Comment