The Macrosite for News, Analysis and Opinion about the Future of the Internet
B2B Firms Pin Sales on Pinterest
3/20/2013

(Source: Bizrate)

(Source: Bizrate)

Return to Article

Current display:       newest comments first       display in chronological order
Alison Diana
Thinkernetter
Monday April 1, 2013 10:53:20 AM
no ratings

I was pretty slow to find anything interesting in Pinterest, being totally uninterested in scrapbooking, photo albums, or any other physical actions typically used to compare the site with. But the numbers speak for themselves -- and what I found particularly fascinating when I dug into the stats was that they're relevant for B2B as well as the more obvious B2C companies that have been thriving with Pinterest. Sure, it's common sense that a company selling rings, shoes, or makeup might do well on Pinterest. But a company selling B2B services finding success via Pinterest? That wasn't so glaringly obvious -- to me, anyway.

If I was a marketing guru at a B2B company, I'd certainly want to take a look at this social media site to see what my competitors are/aren't doing; consider whether my customers are in this space, and weigh costs vs expected results. 

DavidSilversmith
Thinkernetter
Wednesday March 27, 2013 11:17:49 PM
no ratings

Intriguing - While you point out a few great examples for using Pinterest, it continues to strike me that only select few businesses can find a niche here.  On Facebook you can add surveys, applications, donation requests (for the nonprofit space), lead gen forms, text, images and so much more.  

Twitter and Pinterest are essentially single media (142 characters or images) which really limits the ability to market and fit your company, your products into that framework.  

I think some, as you showed, will make it fit - but seems more like the exception than the rule.

Mitch Wagner
Thinkernetter
Thursday March 21, 2013 6:16:52 PM
no ratings

The high sales numbers of Pinterest vs. Facebook is surprising, but natural. It has to do with consumer intent. 

 People intend to go to Pinterest looking for things to buy. On Facebook, they're just looking to visit with friends and play games. So it's no wonder that marketing conversions on Facebook are a struggle, while on Pinterest it's more natural (but not necessarily easy). 

The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
previous posts from Executive Clan Editor's Blog
Alison Diana
Almost everyone agrees that data analytics, digital marketing, apps, and APIs will greatly affect their enterprise's results in the next 12 months. But a report suggests that not all large corporations are moving quickly to adopt these enabling technologies -- and that could seriously harm their profitability, customer satisfaction, and chances for ongoing success.
Alison Diana
Alison Diana   5/15/2013   5 comments
Enterprises are embracing open-source to avoid vendor lock-in, get better-quality software, and gain access to larger libraries of applications. In return, they may be putting themselves at risk for higher, more complex support costs.
Alison Diana
Alison Diana   5/8/2013   7 comments
Although hiring a specialized marketing professional may be out of most IT departments' financial reach, it can be money well spent.
Alison Diana
Alison Diana   5/1/2013   8 comments
Whereas some businesses search externally when they need a CIO, Choice Hotels had to look only at its CTO for someone with the necessary expertise, industry knowledge, and technological know-how to continue leading the company's embrace of enabling technologies.
Mitch Wagner
Mitch Wagner   4/24/2013   9 comments
Local social media can be powerful marketing tools, but they can't just be add-ons. They need to be tightly integrated into the corporate culture, according to Whole Foods social marketers.
5
of
Second Shooter
Graphing Facebook Graph Search's Success

1|25|13   |   2:13   |   10 comments


Facebook's Graph Search may face some profound challenges and risks, first, because Facebook users haven't been thinking of their posts as product reviews; and second, because Facebook will now have to contend with the social-network equivalent of SEO "gaming" of results.
Mitch Wagner
TweetDeck Gets a Second Life

11|5|12   |   9:54   |   13 comments


A recent release of the popular TweetDeck app for Twitter power-users gives new life to software that had previously taken a wrong turn. Here's a quick walk-through of the new TweetDeck, to show you why it should be at the top of your Twitter toolkit.
Second Shooter
I'm Socially Fragmented!

1|9|13   |   2:16   |   7 comments


You are, too, and it's going to get worse because social media firms are pulling out of sharing deals to try to own their customers instead.
Alison Diana
Striking a Balance for Website Upgrades

1|24|13   |   1:59   |   3 comments


Companies need to take advantage of new technologies to simplify interfaces, improve capabilities, and enhance back-office processes. But they can't upgrade their Websites too often.
Wisdom of the Big Chair
Get on Facebook Right Now

11|1|12   |   2:42   |   No comments


A growing number of HR managers are suspicious of individuals who do not take part in social media and view them as anti-social in real life as well as online.
Second Shooter
Twitter Tweaks Twist Facebook?

9|20|12   |   2:07   |   8 comments


Twitter's changes are clearly aimed at being more Facebook-like, and this is because both companies are vying to serve the mobile social network market. But can that market work for anybody, given how difficult it is to push ads to social-update readers?
Marketing Takes
How Four Seasons Handles Content Marketing

6|20|12   |   7:47   |   4 comments


Elizabeth Pizzinato, SVP of marketing and communications at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, calls content marketing "the new black" and explains how her brand engages its target audience.
Marketing Takes
The Evolution of Digital Marketing

6|19|12   |   4:12   |   1 comment


Amanda Richman, president of digital at MediaVest, cites the rise of the 'empowered consumer' as one of the most significant changes in digital marketing today.
Reiter's Block
The Web Needs National Grammar Day

2|29|12   |   2:59   |   56 comments


March 4 is National Grammar Day, and you enterprise and consumer bloggers need to pay attention.
The Incredible Hultquist
Web 2.0 – Just Being There Isn't Enough

11|3|09   |   2:15   |   9 comments


As enterprises leap into the Web 2.0 world of blogging, commenting, and social networking, just 'being there' won't deliver ROI. You may want a 'Web Evangelist' to systematically harvest the feedback in order to polish your product or service.
IETV: the thinkerNet on film
5
of
Kim Davis
Big-Data Can’t Always Sell Wine

5|21|13   |   2:23   |   3 comments


Whole Foods Global Wine Purchaser Doug Bell told me about some of the constraints on using analytics in the US wine market.
Paul J. Fleuranges
Digital Signage Keeps NYC Subway Straphangers on Track

5|6|13   |   3:51   |   No comments


New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
Kim Davis
Fast Forward to the Future

4|23|13   |   2:29   |   20 comments


A look back at tech writing in the 90s makes us wonder where enterprise IT will be 20 years from now.
Mitch Wagner
Google Launches Its Most Depressing Service Yet

4|15|13   |   2:59   |   10 comments


Google's new Inactive Account Manager lets you control how Google disposes of your accounts when you die.
Second Shooter
Argument Over Top-Level Domains Is 'Stupid'

4|11|13   |   2:07   |   3 comments


The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
Kim Davis
Ladies, Your Tablet Awaits

3|21|13   |   2:22   |   37 comments


ePad Femme is the world’s first tablet “made exclusively for women.”
Wisdom of the Big Chair
NFC Moves Into the Mainstream

3|20|13   |   2:16   |   No comments


While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Wisdom of the Big Chair
Integrating Security Into Your Cloud Contract

3|19|13   |   3:35   |   No comments


Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Brian Baron
How Edmunds.com Collects Customer Information

3|18|13   |   1:15   |   No comments


Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Brian Baron
How Edmunds.com Uses Analytics to Customize Site

3|14|13   |   0:47   |   No comments


The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
an IBM information resource
sponsored content
big blue blog
Alison Diana
Alison Diana   5/21/2013   1 comment
Ushering in a new era of cognitive computing systems, IBM announced today the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, a technology breakthrough that allows brands to crunch big data in record time to transform the way they engage clients in key functions such as customer service, marketing, and sales.
an IBM information resource
sponsored content
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT
In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator.

READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE!

REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators
Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?

Please email: moderators@internetevolution.com
Internet Evolution – not for thickies
Keep Critical Data With a Knowledge Management System
Taimoor Zubair
Fortune 500 companies lose at least
$31.5 billion a year by failing to share knowledge. A Knowledge Management System (KMS) can help companies significantly reduce these costs.

CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet
David Weldon
In the 1970 science fiction thriller
Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.

CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet
David Weldon
In the 1970 science fiction thriller
Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.

CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet
David Weldon
In the 1970 science fiction thriller
Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.

CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet
David Weldon
In the 1970 science fiction thriller
Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.

CLICK FOR MORE
Yahoo Needs to Break Tumblr in Order to Fix It
Joe Stanganelli
As
Mitch Wagner discussed today, Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr. The big Internet debate at the moment is whether Tumblr will be good or bad for Yahoo. Regardless of their stances on the future of Yahoo itself, many claim that Yahoo will somehow ruin Tumblr.

CLICK FOR MORE