Why Pinterest Is Important For Photographers

pinterest-for-photographers

Why Pinterest Is Important For Photographers

pinterest-for-photographers

This is not your typical article on using Pinterest.

I wrote this for one reason and one reason only.  Why photographers should be using Pinterest.  Not how…but why.

Before I get into it, I want you to think about why photographers are using Facebook or Twitter.  Why are photographers using Google Plus, Flickr or 500px?

If your answer is “to network with other photographers.” – great.  But if your answer is “to network with other photographers AND to interact with clients and potential clients.” then you hit the nail on the head.

So now that we’re on the same page, I want you to think about by photographers should be using Pinterest.

To help guide you in the right direction, I thought it would be good to share some demographics on Pinterest.  These statistics were taken from an Infographic titled, Very Pinteresting.

  • Almost 70% of Pinterest users are women
  • The annual household income of Pinterest users is $100,000
  • 50% of Pinterest users have children
  • Almost 30% of Pinterest users are between 25 and 34 years old

pinterest-wedding

So think about it…

If the bulk of Pinterest users are women around the age that people typically get married, then shouldn’t you be engaging with potential wedding photography clients?

How about the amount of women with children on Pinterest?  Shouldn’t you be engaging with potential baby photography clients?

So the number one, most important, reason to use Pinterest is that your clients and potential clients are there – so join them.

Are you already using Pinterest?  Comment below with a link to your Pinterest page and tell us how you’re using it to engage with clients.

Thanks for reading,

Scott

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This Post Has 20 Comments

  1. Cynthia Blackstone

    29 May 2012

    Thanks so very much for explaining how Pinterest works. I didn’t realize the value until I read this article. Thanks for opening my eyes to a whole new world out there.

    1. Scott

      29 May 2012

      Hi Cynthia – have you started using Pinterest?

  2. Abigail Winters

    29 May 2012

    It’s so hard to keep up with all the social media out there … and this is great that you shared this avenue with us. Much appreciated.

    1. Scott

      29 May 2012

      You’re very welcome Abigail – please be sure to share your Pinterest boards with us.

    1. Scott

      30 May 2012

      Doug, using Pinterest doesn’t mean you have to post your original work to Pinterest. Engaging with your target audience is key. Also, I can’t speak about the legal aspects of Pinterest as I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve heard that they addressed people’s concerns.

  4. PIer

    30 May 2012

    I’m an Italian Photographer and using Pinterest to promote my Stock, Maternity and Travel works. Until now I have found more visits to my website and a little increase of Business (only for PhotoStock)

    1. Scott

      30 May 2012

      You’re getting the traffic, which means people are on Pinterest are interested in what you have to offer. Keep it up

      1. Doug

        30 May 2012

        Right, but my concern is that the main point of Pinterest is for people to “collect” or repin other people’s images that they find all across the Internet and pin them to their boards. When they pin your image, there is no guarantee that they will link back to your site, or credit you in any way. It does little good to you if someone borrows or steals your image for their own purpose. The only one that benefits there is Pinterest.

        When your images start showing up in Google web searches but have no link, credit, or connection to you, those “stolen” images replace your “own” images in Google searches that would previously link back to your blog or site. Therefore, many people may admire and click on your photo, but they will go to some other site that is profiting off your work, and they will have no idea that it belongs to you or should link to your site, and it will bring you zero business while simultaneously reducing your previous visits/ income.

        It is as if someone copied the content of this website/ blog and posted it to their own, and then earned their own advertising or affiliate income around it. Your site gets replaced in Google searches by the infringing site, and your former readers then no longer go to your site/ blog, and thus you no longer sell any more themes. Not only is your content stolen but the income that it brought is reduced or eliminated.

        This isn’t a hypothetical situation for those creating and attempting to earn an income from original content, it is the real, actual results of copyright infringement of images and content in my experience.

        Pinterest’s reaction to copyright infringement is “Safe Harbor.” If you write to them and inform them that your image is being used without your permission, they will take it down. You have to submit individual requests for each image, so if there are 435 infringing images, you have to write 435 take down requests to Pinterest. Safe Harbor is a cop-out that avoids real responsibility for a website to monitor own content (that it profits from) and to comply with copyright laws. Not to mention, do you, as an individual, have the time and resources to not just check Pinterest each day for infringement, but to monitor the entire internet for infringement, and send out letter after letter, as Safe Harbor causes you to do if you wish to confront those profiting from your images or content without your permission?

  6. Jean Singer

    2 Jul 2012

    I’m using Pinterest to connect with my customers a few times a week. They have found my pinnings to be a source of inspiration for their next session. “Can we do something like this, but with this changed?” My boards are set up for different categories of customer in mind, i.e.: maternity, newborn, baby, senior, etc. ideas. They like and repin, and my name goes to people following them and, thus, new potential clients. Awesome marketing tool!

  7. Nick Botner

    10 Jul 2012

    I keep meaning to set up my pinterest account for this very reason. I also need to take the lead and pin my own content, instead of people pinning from Google Images, where I receive no direct credit.

    With any social medium, the best way forward is to lead the conversation, don’t leave that up to others.

    Thanks for the post!

  8. Marieke Koudstaal

    6 Oct 2012

    Very good article. I’m using plugin social sharing toolkit. It looks like Photocrati is not compatible with pinterest. Is it?

    1. Scott

      7 Oct 2012

      The Photocrati theme currently doesn’t have Open Graph support, but it’s in the works.

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