Pinterest celebrates four years of pinning

Happy fourth birthday to Pinterest.

This strongly visual social media site tends to be most effective for highlighting products in context, either with related products or in a usage situation. Think of it as a virtual bulletin board where consumers 'pin' photos of products they like or want, 'repin' photos from other boards to their own and browse pins for social shopping.

Brands can use Pinterest as a way to understand what their customers (and prospects) are interested in, by analysing which and how many pins of their product photos (and competitors' photos) appear on consumers' Pinterest boards. Another way to use Pinterest is to connect with customers by repinning their pins, says a Responsys expert.

Encouraging customers to pin your product's photo engages brand fans and builds relationships. Kahlua's holiday contest campaign, which included Pinterest, attracted 8,000 entries and more than 10,000 pins. Topshop's holiday campaign incorporated thousands of Pinterest pins as personalised gift ideas, with a contest element to encourage participation during the shopping season.

Pinterest is, of course, extremely active in social media: It has a Facebook page (3.2 million likes), a Twitter account (1.7 million likes), a Flickr account (599 photos) and a GitHub account.

The top UK social brand is . . .

According to Headstream, the leading UK social brand in 2012 is Innocent, maker of smoothies and fruit drinks.

Headstream cites Innocent's sense of humour and distinctive voice. Joe McEwan, communities manager, at Innocent, comments on the brand's social media success: “We’ve always wanted to build actual relationships with our drinkers. It started with talking to people on our packaging, inviting them to call the bananaphone, meeting them at events we put on, and so on. It naturally extended into digital and then social media as those channels evolved.”


In a different study, released by eDigitalResearch, Topshop is identified as the leading UK brand on Twitter and Facebook, as measured by followers, likes and fans. Right below Topshop is ASOS. Both are at the leading edge of change in fashion retailing.

Topshop's trendy fashion and fun

The trendy Topshop is about to open a luxe new London store in Knightsbridge. Like Topshop's spacious New York store, which opened last year, the new Knightsbridge store will have an open and contemporary atmosphere. Along with the latest fashions, Topshop will serve up personal service, including a concierge to help shoppers with cabs and offer restaurant ideas.

Fun is as much a part of Topshop's appeal as fashion. The retailer is known for its dance parties, roller-skating events and other activities that add excitement and bring customers back again and again.

Now Topshop has launched its first cosmetics range, expanding its label and its profit potential. What is Topshop's next marketing move?