For those of you marketing to men, you may have passed Pinterest by as a social media tool. But our guest blogger, Dana Rasmussen, has a different take on why real men DO use Pinterest. Enjoy!
If I re-pin you, will it take our bromance to a new level? Image courtesy of Juhansonin
Why Real Men Don’t Use Pinterest… or do they? A look at who uses this popular social media platform and why brands should pay attention.
For many men, Pinterest ranks right up there with women’s fashion– they don’t like it or understand what’s going on – but they’re not entirely sure they want to dismiss it altogether. And maybe they shouldn’t.
True, many men visit the photo-sharing pinboard-style site, take a look at the wedding gowns, recipes, flowers, and abundance of pink, girly stuff and immediately abort their efforts. But Pinterest isn’t just for chicks, and recent evidence shows that both men and men’s brands are starting to pay attention.
Pinning before marriage: Bridegrooms getting hip to the trends on Pinterest.
In a recent article by The Huffington Post, author Chris Easter, co-found of The Man Registry, said that many men are flocking to Pinterest to get ideas for their own weddings. These men are pulling up images of honeymoon destinations, rehearsal dinner venue options, groom style hints, and gifts for their best bros standing at their side on the big day.
What this says is that men are looking at and even using the site, but nowhere near as much as their female counterparts. According to a survey conducted by Digital Flash NYC, only 18 percent of Pinterest’s users are male. That number might make some advertisers think it’s not worth the effort to cater to the world of Pinterest-using-men. But what if it is?
An Edison Research poll showed that 31 percent of men on Pinterest pin items they plan on buying, unlike women who pin items they like or hope to purchase one day. Businesses or brands looking to cash in on the men using the site can take a lesson from the brands that speak to men online.
Red Bull, Men’s Health Magazine, Playboy, and car companies do well with male followers on Pinterest. Perhaps this is because these brands speak the bro-language by pinning video links of extreme sports and avoiding girly terminology on artery-clogging recipes.
In Playboy’s case, pins of scantily clad chicks speak right to the (for lack of a better term) hearts of men. Playboy also cultivates the brand’s culture on its Pinboard and features many different pins regarding automobiles, sports, food and drinks, and music and movies.
If you pin it, they will come.
Men like variety and they don’t like to look too hard for it. Brands looking to get the attention of men need to focus on the topics that interest men the most. These topics include vehicles, apparel, sports, technology and gadgets, do-it-yourself ideas for the home and yard, entertainment, sex, and outdoorsy activities.
Brands should use these topics to cultivate an online man-cave so that no matter what the brand or product is, men will find something else of interest on each Pinterest page or pinboard. No matter what brands (or individuals) post, it is important to ensure items are relevant and make the brand or individual look good. According to reputation.com, online reputation management or ORM is the practice of making people and businesses look their best online.
Ready to start with Pinterest?
Going all the way with Pinterest might be a little scary at first, but if new users start out slow, it’s likely they’ll end up with a memorable experience. And if the experience fails to bring about the wow factor, then cancel the account. Pinterest won’t get all clingy and weird if users don’t want it anymore, which is definitely something men can appreciate.
Dana Rasmussen is an author who writes about a variety of topics, including vacation destinations, corporate jet travel, arts and entertainment and social media.
