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Archive 2012 · Anyone using Pinterest?

  
 
Mr Joe
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Anyone using Pinterest?


I'm wondering if any photographers are using Pinterest to drive traffic to their website and to market their work. Seems like it may be great for wedding photographers, but as a fine art photographer I'm wondering if it would be useful.

I've put my toe in the shallow end by putting an image up for a work contest. Feel free to like or repin the photo so I can see your Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/pin/363525001141342215/

Just like any other social network, Pinterest would require a significant time investment in order to gain a following. If I had something more mainstream to sell, maybe it would be worth it.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts.






Sep 20, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Caleb Williams
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Anyone using Pinterest?


Given the blatant copyright infringement inherent in Pinterest, any photographer wishing to use Pinterest should balance that (even if you personally don't infringe on anyone's copyright) with any possible to your benefit for your business.

That's more of an ethical issue, whether you want to support something that can help erode the quality of copyright protection.

Last I heard, Pinterest was 80-90% women and that is a key demographic in certain markets, such as wedding photography.



Sep 20, 2012 at 02:33 PM
Mr Joe
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Anyone using Pinterest?


Yeah, I'm not in favor of the "anything online is fair game" aspect of Pinterest and Tumblr.

I was voicing my doubts about Pinterest working for fine art photography, and a friend told me he's sold a few pieces to interior designers through Pinterest. Interesting.



Sep 20, 2012 at 03:47 PM
tcphoto
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Anyone using Pinterest?


I like looking at Pinterest but the quality varies greatly. The thought of a photographer posting his or her own images is rather self serving to me. The use of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seems to be an acceptable way of self promotion but goes against good taste to me.


Sep 20, 2012 at 04:24 PM
Mr Joe
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Anyone using Pinterest?


@tcphoto - I struggle with the taste issue, too. I post on my blog and link that to Facebook and Twitter. Facebook drives a good amount of traffic. Twitter not so much.

And I'm not finding very much to like about the content on Pinterest. But maybe I just haven't connected to the right people yet.



Sep 20, 2012 at 05:54 PM
RDKirk
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Anyone using Pinterest?


Last I heard, Pinterest was 80-90% women and that is a key demographic in certain markets, such as wedding photography.

That's actually the key demographic in virtually all photography markets.

However, finding the door to the ladies' room doesn't mean you can sell them photography in there. I'm hearing from wedding photographers that being on Pinterest more often means their pictures get carried to other photographers with "do one like this for me."

In other words, it seems brides are not making photographer choices from Pinterest as much as using it to build shot lists. They seem to be making their photographer choices by other means.



Sep 21, 2012 at 01:51 PM
Mr Joe
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Anyone using Pinterest?


@RDKirk - the Pinterest ladies' room analogy is hilarious. I appreciate your insights into how the primary demographic is using the site.

What do you think moves the needle on photographer choice -- word of mouth referrals?



Sep 21, 2012 at 05:40 PM
RDKirk
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Anyone using Pinterest?


Mr Joe wrote:
@RDKirk - the Pinterest ladies' room analogy is hilarious. I appreciate your insights into how the primary demographic is using the site.

What do you think moves the needle on photographer choice -- word of mouth referrals?


My experience is that word of mouth is supreme for women, but WoM can be online.

For a photographer on Facebook, an image tag is far, far more significant than a "like." People "like" for lots of different reasons that don't necessarily add up to an endorsement, but an image tag is a real satisfied client contacting a prospective client--it's better than having clients pass out your business card.



Sep 22, 2012 at 09:52 AM
mdude85
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Anyone using Pinterest?


I would say that taking an approach that targets interior designers is the way to go if you are trying to sell fine art photography. If you Google this topic you will find a number of blogs that give tips for using Pinterest to sell or market photography services. As I understand it, adding value to your Pinterest page is recommended -- such as pinning to other products and services that your followers might like (in your case, if you want to market to interior designers, it could be interesting architectural spaces or pieces that might complement the style of your work). Pinterest will often pay off by increasing trust and loyalty among your customers. You might not be able to quantify its numerical value but you can use the service to create more valuable connections with the clients you already have and hope that those connections extend out to reach new people.

@Caleb Williams. Pinterest raises a number of valid copyright concerns, but there is no settled legal basis for concluding that copyright infringement is "inherent" in the Pinterest platform, especially after the recent changes to its Terms of Use. As someone who has read extensively on how Pinterest is used to disseminate copyrighted material, I would be interested to hear your take on the matter.



Sep 24, 2012 at 04:48 PM
Mr Joe
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Anyone using Pinterest?


@mdude85 - Thanks for your thoughts. Did Pinterest change their terms of use to remove the requirement that you pay their lawyer fees if a lawsuit happens?


Sep 25, 2012 at 09:11 AM





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