Social media is fast-changing, and nearly every month a new darling steals the spotlight. But the latest hot platform, Pinterest.com, is snatching up share faster than most and giving restaurant marketers a venue on which they can pin both information and aspiration.
Pinterest had 17.8 million visitors in February, up from 11.7 million in January, according to market research firm comScore, which said Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing standalone websites. Pinterest, which was launched in 2009, has become especially popular in the nation’s geographic midsection, comScore said. Women generate about 84 percent of Pinterest’s activity, comScore noted, but male interest is growing.
Another website aimed more at men, Gentlemint.com, has experienced far less explosive growth despite a similar invitation-only platform that allows users to “pin,” “re-pin” and “like” interesting photos and items on “boards” that users subscribe to, much like Twitter followers.
“Pinterest is a perfect fit for any brand that can establish an emotional connection with its target consumers using pictures,” said Dan Kim, founder of Red Mango and a self-described “Pinterest addict.”
“Although fashion is definitely the industry that can leverage the Pinterest platform from both a visual and e-commerce perspective, foodservice brands can be equally effective, if not more so, simply because consumers love seeing pictures of beautiful food,” Kim said.
Unlike Twitter, which is based on 140-character verbal spurts with photos occasionally attached, Pinterest is all about the pictures, which gives users wide latitude in communicating menus and philosophies. The site’s terms of use have raised some copyright concerns, so corporate users suggest having lawyers read them thoroughly before posting photos and links.
Christina Wong, a spokeswoman for the seven-unit Tender Greens chain, said the brand has found Pinterest an effective way to address some marketing challenges, such as “how to convey Tender Greens’ overall company philosophy and communicate the multitude of ways that they’re so much more than just a healthy ‘salad place.’”
Wong said Los Angeles-based Tender Greens has been on Pinterest for about one month and that the boards are managed by Erik Oberholtzer, co-owner and chef, as are the other social media sites used by the brand, including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
Oberholtzer spends about an hour or two per day on social media, which ranges from posting all of the restaurants’ daily specials on Twitter, responding to individual Twitter replies, sharing content on Facebook and managing Pinterest, Wong said.
“Tender Greens uses their Pinterest page as an overall brand page about the Tender Greens lifestyle, what they’re doing as a company and what inspires the individual chefs,” Wong said in an e-mail.
Nation’s Restaurant News asked five steady Pinterest users to share their top three tips:
Chiara Granado
Social media coordinator for Genghis Grill, a 60-unit casual-dining chain based in Dallas
1. Be strategic: “Post photos [or pins] that will generate visual conversation for your brand,” Granado said. “Think of content that fellow pinners can relate to with your brand. If you have a concept that implements freshness of food, a fun dining environment with family, unique ingredients, etc., pin photos of farmers markets with fresh veggies, a family having quality time together, or even photos of different spices or sauces.” Granado said boards need to be labeled clearly. “If you have a board dedicated to your customers and what they do in everyday life, appropriately name it ‘Our Customers’ Lifestyle,’” she said.
2. Share the board: Pinterest offers the option of allowing users to pin to other users’ boards. Operators should encourage that to build engagement, Granado said. “If you have a board for ‘Summer Recipes,’ let consumers be a part of the ‘visual’ conversation, and have them pin photos of their favorite summertime recipes and summer pastimes,” Granado said. “Let it be fun, and make sure that no one abuses the board, so you will have to make sure you or someone else is managing your social media directly. By letting others pin to your board — who knows? You might come up with an LTO that might be a hit among your customers. It would be even greater buzz to let your customers know that new LTO was influenced by the many ideas from your pinners on Pinterest.”
3. Engage with other pinners: “Use the search function in the top corner and type in a keyword that relates to your brand,” Granado said. “Type in ‘stir-fry recipes’ or even ‘mango-flavored drinks,’ and comment [on] and ‘like’ other people’s pins. You don’t necessarily have to re-pin their pins, but show other pinners that you are watching them in the social space and that you are interested in their pins. This is a great way to gain more traffic to your boards.”
Dan Kim
Founder of Red Mango, a 150-unit frozen yogurt-smoothie chain based in Dallas
1. Post pictures of your food: “People love seeing pictures of appetizing dishes. You can post pics you’ve taken professionally, or those that are generated by sharing communities like Instagram,” Kim said. “In fact, we pin pics from Instagram into Pinterest. Each time someone sees a pic of your food, you remind them of your brand. Make sure, however, that you’re not posting ads — the pictures should be natural and real, not promotional. Pinterest is not about selling; it’s about emotional engagement with consumers so that your brand becomes a part of their lifestyle.” Kim also advised users not to miss the obvious: “Make sure your pics are appetizing.”
2. Post or re-pin pictures of items other than your food: “This is important because Pinterest needs to be relevant to consumers beyond just your products. Otherwise, you’ll be categorized as a brand just trying to sell and promote through Pinterest, and that is not the point of this platform,” Kim said. “Red Mango, for example, believes in healthy living and style/fashion. With this in mind, we post infographics and other useful visualizations with healthy-living tips. We also post pics of colors we love or photographs that inspire creativity. A pretzel retailer, for example, might pin pictures that link to tips on how to bake. The key is to create Pinterest boards that appeal to your target consumers throughout their entire emotional spectrum, not just their interest in your products.”
3. Become an active participant: “Don’t just be a pinner — instead, actively re-pin, ‘like’ and/or comment on other pins,” Kim said. “The key for the brand is to express a personality, because personalities are using, shaping and being influenced by Pinterest.”
Albert Im
Marketing manager of Mama Fu’s Asian House, a 13-unit fast-casual chain based in Austin, Texas
1. Picture it: “Pinterest’s boards are a wonderful way to organize and present information to anyone willing to click on them — they’re like big photographic hashtags,” Im said. “The trick is to give people a reason to click. Since Pinterest is such a visual medium, it’s important to make sure that anything presented on the boards, whether it’s about Mama Fu’s or otherwise, is new, interesting or unique, both in information and presentation. I look for compelling images that tell a quick story from Mama Fu’s perspective: We love our food, we love our guests, and we’re having a blast.”
2. Engage: “Like any social media outlet, Pinterest is a community,” Im said. “As a Pinterest user, it’s a great feeling to contribute content that others pick up and share with friends, so it’s important to reciprocate. I also make a point to involve others in our pins whenever possible, whether by sharing a moment with Mama Fu’s fans or giving a shout-out to the creators of user-generated content. Plus, what better opportunity is there to learn about the passions and interests of our fans than by engaging them on a more personal level?”
3. Have fun: “That’s the main draw of Pinterest. And when we have fun, people pick up on it,” Im said. “Whether it’s photos from a recent promotion, user-generated content or random funny/inspiring bits from the Internet, ‘fun’ is the thread that holds it all together. For example, we have some customized ‘art’ boards on our page that don’t really serve a specific function, they’re just fun to make.”
Erik Oberholtzer
Chef and co-owner of Tender Greens, a seven-unit fast-casual chain based in Los Angeles
1. Build a community: “Pinterest provides a way to virtually build a community of like-minded people who share our philosophy and are hopefully inspired by what we share,” Oberholtzer said. “Pin visually stunning photos that share what your brand’s story and message is all about. People who follow Tender Greens and are customers at our restaurants believe in farm-to-fork sustainability, supporting local farmers and a living healthy lifestyle.”
2. Participate and be a part of the conversation: “Engage with the Pinterest community beyond marketing your restaurant’s own message,” Oberholtzer said. “Comment on other users’ boards, ‘like’ items, and follow interesting people. It’s important to remember that Pinterest is not a one-way marketing or advertising platform, it’s a virtual inspiration board where users pin ideas and what inspires them to reference later. We share what inspires us as chefs and restaurant owners, in addition to sharing content about things we like, including local small farmers and artisans, craft breweries, art and artists, recipes, dish ideas, and inspiring news articles. Ideally, people who like and appreciate the same things will discover Tender Greens.” The more “likes” and re-pins a post gets, the more prominent it appears on the Pinterest main page.
3. Offer useful Information or resources: “It’s not all about Tender Greens all the time,” Oberholtzer said. “We do share facts about our company, but we also share expert tips about what fruits and vegetables are in season, recipe ideas, sustainable design ideas, a local farmer’s market map, wedding/catering resources, craft beer reviews, and even gardening/farming techniques.”
Annika Stensson
Spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Association, noted that the NRA Educational Foundation’s ProStart Pinterest pages are handled by an outside firm.
1. Create compelling captions: These offer descriptive insight, background and value to other Pinterest users.
2. Use hashtags: The use of the pound sign (#) before descriptive words, when appropriate, helps index pinned content and “increase exposure/visibility,” Stensson said.
3. Add the “Pin It” button to your Web-browser bookmarks bar: The feature saves time “and allows you to easily pin things from all over the Internet,” Stensson said.
Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
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