Although the number of women using Pinterest greatly outnumbers the amount of men, there has been a demographic shift suggesting the image-based social media site isn’t just a women-only destination. In fact, in addition to major brands that are specifically reaching out to men and encouraging them to use Pinterest, representatives working directly for Pinterest are tweaking marketing efforts in hopes of making men want to get in on the fun. Below, you can learn some ideas for making your Pinterest content more appealing to the men in your target audience.
Use Subjects and Images With Universal Appeal
There are just some things that resonate with people regardless of gender. That reality was not lost on the U.S. Army, one of the major names successfully appealing to men on Pinterest. Some of the pictures feature exciting content such as paratroopers getting ready to leap from an airplane, while other published items included relatable material such as images of people coming home from war to reunite with family members and friends.
This is a good strategy to pursue if you’re very interested in marketing to men, but don’t want to make the women in your audience feel alienated or ignored.
Know What Men Love
It can be dangerous to let any marketing efforts be too dependent on stereotypes. However, there are some major differences in what captures the attention of men versus women.
Women use Pinterest in large numbers. They pin all kinds of things, from recipes, to craft projects, to awe-inspiring photographs of places they would like to travel. Wedding planning is a huge interest area for women on Pinterest, and stereotypes aside, most men will not be pinning a delicate letterpress wedding invitation or a cute DIY guestbook idea. And that’s okay.
Men on Pinterest have a great number of interests, from male fashion and grooming, to tech gadgets they’d love to get ahold of, to that shiny new 2015 Mustang they’ve been dying to get their hands on. Know what your audience is searching Pinterest for and target that need.
Give Practical Advice
Men’s Health is another example of a brand that does well on Pinterest, and you can tell just by the title of the magazine there aren’t likely to be a large number of women keeping track of those pinboards. The magazine struck gold by pinning useful advice about masculine style, sexual health and even sleeping better.
New content gets added frequently, and the publication also has an opportunity to promote its image through Pinterest, because the magazine is already known for giving tips that fit the lifestyles of modern men. Magazine subscribers get more of what they want by checking out Pinterest, and even people who don’t regularly read the magazine might eventually decide to pick up copies of it after being impressed by what they see on Pinterest.
Let Men Show What They’re Passionate About
If someone were to ask you to name a very successful brand on Pinterest, you might immediately think of a famous fashion house. However, you might be surprised to discover the National Hockey League is an appropriate response. That’s because it has more than 1 million fans on Pinterest. Social media representatives working on behalf of the company have realized people love to put their fandom on full display, especially when it comes to sports teams.
Consider running a campaign in which people can submit photos to get periodically pinned for the world to see. Almost everyone loves the chance to show the world what they love. Pinterest offers a great way to let people do that, especially if you’re trying to engage men who are very enthusiastic about something you’re trying to spread the word about.
Marketing to men on Pinterest certainly requires a different approach than appealing to women, but with the help of the suggestions you’ve just read, it may be easier than you thought to gain momentum with your male audience.