Are sports teams winning on Pinterest?
Pinterest is quickly shooting up on the social media buzz and hype-factor lists. The newest social media startup “stuff” sharing platform is making its mark on the Internet world, specifically with women (re: wedding dresses and floral arrangements, decor and children’s crafts – enough said).
So what motivates a sports team to join the female user base-driven website? In an article that originally appeared on Mashable, “marketing and engagement managers say [Pinterest] offers new ways to connect with and reward fans and provide different social opportunities.”
According to Mashable, “What intrigued us initially was that the platform seemed to be dominated by women. We certainly thought it was a great way to engage with that demographic and offer a different type of content than can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+,” wrote Nilay Shah, director of digital media for the New York Giants, in an email.
This is a perfect example about how certain social media platforms reach different audiences, and how (as we learned when we went over communications plans) maybe one platform is better for a specific target or audience. Pinterest, in this case, is the best outlet for a male-dominated market can reach women.
DISCLAIMER: Of course, I’m definitely not saying women can’t like sports. I mean, c’mon, I co-anchor a weekly sports show on DCTV weekly. I constantly have my ESPN alerts turned on for my teams of choice. But as of Feb 16, UncommonThinking reports (numbers have increased since then).
Genius. Absolutely genius marketing.
Some teams are using Pinterest to display their own merchandise, photos of past and present, tailgating culture and fan art. Others, according to Uncommon Thinking, are thinking more cleverly, and using Pinterest in new, innovative ways.
Here’s how:
- 1. Anaheim Ducks: integrating snapshots of memorable posts from their fans on Facebook and Twitter as a recent top Tweets/Facebook board. This keeps fans engaged. They want to Tweet and post on Facebook about the team so they have a chance of appearing on this board. It helps keep the excitement of this NHL team relevant. It’s a way of creating dialogue on a non-dialogue-heavy network.
- 2. Contest-worthy boards: The Pittsburgh Pens have a board of art related to the Pens, which could lend itself to an interesting contest, perhaps for kids. The Tampa Bay Lightning also has a board of lightning photos, which is an interesting way to tie the name into real-life, which has potential to grow in popularity if a contest were introduced.
- 2a. The Seattle Seahawks were the first team to successfully run a contest on Pinterest. In december, they asked fans to start a Seahawks themed board with pins tagged with: #favoriteseahawk, #favoriteseahawksphoto, #musthavegamedaygear. The promo was showcased on Facebook and 12 winners received prizes. Extra points for the Seahawks integrating their Pinterest into Facebook.
- 3. College Athletics: University of Washington uses Pinterest to show prospective student athletes what their next four years could look like to show off student culture and the Universities location.
Do you think Pinterest is a useful platform for sports? What about sports teams using Gentlemint, the ever-growing “Pinterest-for-men”? What other ways could Pinterest be used for sports teams?
Originally published for class here.