Pushing beyond the Pinterest gender gap
Although Bob the Builder might not while away his time on Pinterest, Debbie the DIYer might. And that’s probably just what the folks at Home Depot were thinking when they created nearly 40 of their own pinboards.
“When it comes to the sexes on social media, there are a few places where the battle lines seem settled,” say the editors of a recent Mashable article. “It probably won’t surprise you to learn, for example, that men are from Google+ and women are from Pinterest.”
What may have started as a gender-centric initiative for Home Depot, however, is quite possibly turning into a bridge to close the gap. Men are discovering a whole slew of tools on Pinterest, such as materials lists and schematics for home improvement projects. And what man doesn’t enjoy an excuse to fiddle around in the shed?
Additionally, men are creating their own pinboards, replete with recipes that they want their wives and girlfriends to cook for them or clothing that they wish they were fashion-forward enough to wear. They’re also ogling at photos of muscle cars and motorcycles, pinned by auto dealerships and various vehicle manufacturers. And tech companies are getting on the pinboard, as well, sharing photos of their cutting-edge gadgets and gizmos. So clearly, men are finding more reasons to find interest in Pinterest.
Whether a business caters to men or women, it’s important to understand the power of Pinterest. According to an article published by SocialMediaExaminer.com, Pinterest is truly the best source of referral traffic for websites and blogs.
“At present, Pinterest is driving more referral traffic than LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube combined,”SocialMediaExaminer.com explained. “And the only social media site driving more traffic than Pinterest is Facebook.”
The takeaway, therefore, is that Pinterest may be an effective tool for some businesses that initially wrote it off. The key will be to use it effectively, just as one would on any of the other social media platforms.
Trackback URL for this blog entry.