You don’t have to look very hard to find another article about Pinterest—this social network is hotter than hot, providing more referral traffic than all the other networks combined for some major brands. But even as more and more companies strive to get in on the action, There’s one question many of us still can’t shake, especially in the B2B realm: does Pinterest make good business sense for everyone?
While it’s true that social media’s bright, new toy offers obvious benefits to food blogs and fashion companies, what about the more obscure brands–the makers of precision measurement tools, for example? Will pinned images of an optical particle counter really bring in new visitors? Or is it possible that for these brands, Pinterest could be a waste of time?
Here’s the truth: for B2B brands, there’s a lot that can go wrong with Pinterest, and the benefits themselves are questionable. So before investing too heavily in this platform, consider these facts:
Pinterest Is Made for Merchandise
Because it focuses on attractive photos and images, Pinterest caters more to companies that sell merchandise (like clothes and living room rugs and houses) than to B2B brands that sell services (like tee times online booking for golf courses). If your business sells something that doesn’t make an obvious pretty picture, whether it’s in the realm of technology, human resources, engineering or another field, then Pinterest won’t be worth your time.
Viral Traffic = High Bounce Rates
Traffic that comes from Pinterest is a lot like traffic from sites like StumbleUpon—it comes in waves and brings lots of new eyes to your site, but usually only for moments. Most of the time, Pinterest’s viral traffic means new visits but not engaged ones. And for B2B brands, this kind of traffic reward is not worth the investment.
There’s the Copyright Issue
One of the biggest Pinterest controversies to date is the sticky copyright issue: some sites don’t want their images pinned, especially since Pinterest’s terms of service only recently provided a way to protect against infringement, so when you pin something, copying someone else’s work to your board, you may be doing it against their wishes. And as Donna Ray Berkelhammer writes at North Carolina Law Life, “just because you aren’t making money from your Pinterest site or the copied artwork … doesn’t mean you couldn’t be liable for thousands of dollars in penalties.” With this kind of risk on the table, it might make more sense to walk away.
There’s a Spam Problem
When repinning images is as simple as clicking a button, there are bound to be spammers who will try to take advantage of that. So that’s why some pins on Pinterest, whether they are of funny pictures or cool products, end up linking to unwanted sites. This can pose a real problem for your brand when, unknowingly, you repin and help spread links that aren’t legitimate. Keeping up with all the noise takes time and effort—time and effort you could be investing elsewhere.
And Who Has the Time?
One of the biggest issues for B2Bs is that maintaining a presence on Pinterest takes time—time to find places to pin, time to organize them, time to interact with other users on the network. What’s worse, this is a time investment without immediate rewards. Even if you are one of those rare service-oriented B2B brands that develops a large following and gets people pinning your links, then what? Will it bring in new business? Will your profits go up? It’s hard to say. And when it’s hard to see the direct results of your Pinterest investment, it’s hard to justify it.
What do you think? Does your B2B use Pinterest and, if so, has it been worthwhile? Or do you agree that Pinterest isn’t worth your time?
