Pinterested

Pinterest rocketed into our national consciousness a few months ago, but it seems like the marketing dialogue is just hitting its stride. The New York Times looked at a cleaning equipment company's experiments on the site and Mashable offered up some examples of clever Pinterest campaigns. Jezebel pouted about the marketing infiltration of a fun-only site and Forbes makes the impressive claim that Pinterest has surpassed Twitter for online referral traffic for some industries.

So will everyone jump on the Pinterest train? Probably not right away. Platform saturation has long since set in among many companies, who still aren't sure if their social media ROI even exists. It's easy to dismiss Pinterest as a giant online scrapbook and thereby irrelevant. Except, as the Forbes article notes, the site caters mainly to women between 25-54 who have an average household income between $50K-$70K. And since most Pinterest accounts are essentially consumer wish lists, these users are clearly motivated to buy.

Whole Foods has capitalized on the site by showcasing their products in eye-catching, mouthwatering photos. This is marketing strategy at its prettiest and more primitive. Pinterest is a visual site, offering up eye-pleasing photos with little sales copy, which can make the site feel more attractive and indulgent than other social media. But it does offer the same linking and endorsement possibilties, which means the corporate invasion of Pinterest has probably just begun.