5 Tips for Using Pinterest in Qualitative Market Research
I am a total Pinterest addict. I was an early adopter – I am the type of person who had folders on my computer full of images I liked, recipes, and craft ideas. Pinterest was MADE for someone like me.
By far, my most popular Pinterest board is my board on food. It has over 250 recipes posted to it, and over 200 followers. Its been interesting to watch as certain pins have their ’15 minutes’ – Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa Puff Pastries had a short brush with fame, as did a Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese. They caught like wildfire for a day or two and then died off, silent ever since.
But even more interesting are the pins that have staying power. They get re-pinned again and again, maintaining steady popularity over time. Here are a few actual examples:
Most of my pins have less than 10 re-pins. Each of these has between 70 and 85, getting re-pinned again and again and again. Why is that? What is it about leek and cauliflower risotto and corn fritters and a weight watchers bruschetta chicken bake that make them viral wonders?
And that got me thinking – isn’t that what qualitative is all about? Figuring out the “why” behind the “what?”
Pinterest is incredibly valuable in regards to consumer insights. It is, in essence, a voluntary study in advertising and communications. It instantly shows us what catches people’s eyes and how are they talking about it through the number of likes and re-pins and the captions. Captions tend to be written in one of two styles, both of which are vital to communications: what is important to people about what this is, or how does it make them feel?
Additionally, it is a trend tracker. While it does not represent everyone (not even close! In our PluggedIn Nation Community only 1/2 had heard of Pinterest and of those, less than 25% use it), it does give us an overview of what pinners think is important and may be able to help us stay ahead of the next big thing. It reveals what has the potential to be shared, and what doesn’t. What are those ideas, like a Bruschetta Chicken Bake, that just don’t lose momentum? And what’s just an Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa Puff Pastry?
And once you’ve used Pinterest for all that – how do you figure out WHY?
Five Tips for How to Use Pinterest in Qualitative Research
1. Using the search bar, search for popular pins (those with high numbers of re-pins and comments) in your research topic area and use them as stimuli. Have respondents tell you why they think it’s popular pin, and what they take away from it.
2. Work with captions as communications stimuli:
- Have respondents re-caption pins to be more engaging.
- Have them compare pins that use the same photo but alternate captions and talk through which is better and why.
3. Curate pinboards as prework or homework. Instead of keeping a journal or diary, have respondents create specific pinboards to be shared during the research.
4. Alternatively, have them continue those boards over time. Use them as a visual diary of important topics or processes.
5. Create boards, as a company, that are “open” – meaning others can pin to them. Allow participants to pin to them to create group boards as a collaborative process.