As I do my very best to become more and more of a social media savant, I am constantly trying to gain a deeper understanding of the countless social media sites that have taken the web world by storm. In my latest attempt to discover a new corner of web 2.0, I set up a Pinterest account to see what it was all about. For the last year, my mother, sister and countless female friends have been enamored with Pinterest. Recognizing that the core demographic was almost completely female in its early stages, I chose to avoid Pinterest in some superficial attempt to preserve my masculinity. However, after realizing the reach and impact Pinterest has on such a defined demographic, I felt it necessary to investigate the site through the lens of a sports marketer.
So I signed up. By hovering my cursor over the ‘EVERYTHING’ link, all of Pinterest’s subcategories were displayed to me. I selected ‘Sports’ naturally, and upon being re-directed, I saw my very first ‘pin’,
MY VERY FIRST PIN! A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PROMOTION?!?! This was meant to be.
After clicking the pin, I was re-directed to a site explaining the MLB’s unique Pinterest contest. Here is a quick breakdown of how one enters the contest.
1. Creat a pin board titled Pin It For Pop.
2. Pin the photo above to the board.
3. Pin at least 4 items from shop.mlb.com
After completing these three steps, each entrant is eligible to win all of the merchandise posted on his or her board (as a gift for Father’s Day).
As a Pinterest newb, this seemed a bit tedious and complicated to me. However, less than 24 hours after I created my own ‘Pin It For Pop’ pinboard, I have already gained an understanding for just how powerful this promotion is.
After pinning four pieces of Rockies merchandise to my board, I immediately had a ‘re-pin’ from one of my followers. Learning by the minute I quickly realized that each pin I make shows up for each one of my followers to see. When I awoke this morning, it all seemed to make sense.
Essentially, for each participant in this contest, at least four pieces of MLB merchandise are being promoted to all of his or her followers. As pins are ‘liked’ and ‘re-pinned’ the MLB’s reach number of impressions increases exponentially. What better time to generate a viral promotion of MLB merchandise than in the heart of the MLB season just weeks before Father’s Day.
Pinterest is still totally new to me, and that’s all I’ve managed to wrap my brain around thus far. Needless to say, this latest social media discovery may quickly become my new obsession. As I continue to discover, I will continue to share.
