As the internet’s social avenues become more refined and engaging, businesses around the world are weighing up how to capitalise on them. Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram have already been targeted by influencer marketing tactics. Now, it appears that another platform is courting these strategies.

In October this year, Pinterest launched ‘Pin Collective’, a web feature that introduces brands to its biggest influencers. It’s emblematic of how crucial this branch of marketing has become, but will it take off? Our influencer marketing agency explores:

The blueprint for organic interest

Pinterest, ever since its inception in 2009, has eschewed the traditional posting techniques of other social media channels. Instead of providing a continual feed, it functions on a catalogue basis: users ‘pin’ interesting images and ideas they stumble across, grouping them together under a shared topic. Hence, people have been able to arrive at the site with a clear goal in mind – a question that needs answering, or a lack of inspiration that others can solve.

This forms a distinction between Pinterest and its social competitors, since users are actively on the hunt for creative advice, new products and lifestyle tips. It’s the antithesis of casual scrolling through dozens of posts, just for the sake of killing time; instead, the Pinterest audience are switched on and aware of what they want. Such a quality is gold dust for brands who want to maximise their marketing budget, upping the chance that every post will result in a healthy click rate.

How Pin Collective works

Pinterest has been encouraging sponsored advertisements for several years. According to the company’s own findings, Promoted Pins result in a 2-5% engagement rate, which is higher than the industry average. Seeing as its most popular influencers have millions of followers under their wing, the latest marketing feature should be cause for jubilation.

With a Pin Collective account, businesses are delivered a tailored outline of relevant influencers who they can connect with. Companies can bid on the posts they want to include on a user’s Pinboard but, strikingly, there aren’t any minimum bid requirements to adhere to. Thus, smaller brands have a chance of testing the waters with influencer marketing.

Will it gain traction?

Pinterest certainly levels the playing field somewhat for influencer marketing. The ads themselves are incredibly easy to put together, moulding to your industry and the interests of your audience.

That said, there are dangers of taking a D.I.Y approach to influencer marketing, especially if you want to maximise the returns on your investment. Only by taking a measured approach to identifying and managing influencers can brands really capitalise on the trend sweeping social media.

Pin Collective has the potential to send shockwaves through the influencer marketing sphere, and we’re on hand to help you take advantage of this tool. Billion Dollar Boy have a proven track record of delivering targeted influencer campaigns, so visit our website to tap into this prominent form of digital marketing.