After some unusual site activity last week including a period of network down time, Pinterest Business launched their new interactive map pins, or ‘Place Pins’. Designed specifically for travel enthusiasts, travel brands, and explorer-types, the new Place Pins form an interactive map style board showing Pins by location.
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
Accessing the maps couldn’t be easier – Pinterest has placed a large dynamic banner on your Pinterest home feed. To create one however, you must have a Pinterest Business account.
There are a number of different features to the new Place Pins which I’ve detailed below.
The difference between Rich Pins and Place Pins
The size and interface of a Place Pin is entirely different to a Rich Pin. Rich Pins tend to sit ‘within’ the general format; Place Pins are an entirely different kettle of pins. Think of Place Pins as an upgraded version of Rich Pins.
Here’s a look at Place Pins on the interactive map-style board:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
Partnered Travel Organisations:
Pinterest announced a new partnership with brands such as Airbnb, Atlas Obscura, Booking.com, Citysearch, Foursquare, Hotels.com, and Jetsetter who will provide the majority of the sites Place Pins link too. Additionally, you can link Place Pins to TripAdvisor pages although there hasn’t been an official statement from Pinterest regarding this in their latest blog.
What Place Pins do:
Place Pins give personal insights into destinations along with the ability to link to information pages about the places Pinned. So for example, if I am looking for Pins on Geneva, I find the map board ‘Tour Du Mont Blanc’:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
I can locate their Geneva’s Place Pin distinguished by the location pin in the top right. I then click ‘Learn More’ on the location and I’m directed to a FourSquare page in this case:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
This has given me more insight into what activities I can do, the history of the place and other users’ photographs of locations I may have missed had I been using a guidebook.
Innovative Place Pin Examples
The great thing about Place Pins is the scope for individuality and creativity. One of my favorite examples is by WeddingWire whose Pinterest account I stumbled across while my sister was planning her wedding.
Their Place Pin board Getting Hitched Getaways is an escapists dream – fairy-tale wedding locations to tempt you into blowing your entire wedding budget just getting there! Check it out below:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
For the foodies out there, Four Seasons have made a beautiful Gastronomic Travel board stuffed with some of the yummiest food from across the globe. Currently, there only seems to be one restaurant in London worth checking out…but we’ll give them time to get acquainted with the new Place Pins. Here’s the only London restaurant so far:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
If I decide to repin or interact with any Place Pin on the board, I can see the location where I can get my hands on this cocktail for example:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
Definitely looks appealing!
Some Bugs
Currently, when you do a typical search within Pinterest, you can’t tell if your results are Place Pins or not. For me, this is a big faux pas. As the default search is ‘Search by Pin’ rather than ‘Search by Board’ I hope they iron this out soon.
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
If you’re linking your business, place, or product to FourSquare, TripAdvisor, or an equivalent page – it’s essential it’s up to date. This will allow you to deal with any public comments and ensure that any added traffic from Pinterest can easily find information such as opening hours and contact information. Some pages haven’t yet checked which might get them in hot water later on…
Who is missing a trick?
Many local traders and online retailers haven’t started making full use of this kind of board yet. Which is too bad, because it has a huge potential to increase your exposure online.
County Councils
There’s huge scope for local county councils, boroughs and towns to begin utilizing these Pins to make dynamic town maps:
Screenshot taken: 25.11.13 Pinterest.com
One of the best things about social media, is it allows you to become closer to the things you care about. Town websites and County Councils can build local map boards that contain local attractions, businesses, and annual events that will drive online interest and speak to specific groups of people.
Integration is key and Place Pins are a great place to start for those who have minimal online budget. Sync all Place Pin activity with a FourSquare account and then link that account with Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks for an integrated approach to social networking that will have a positive impact on your SEO brand activity.
Online Retailers
Online retailers who operate ‘Click & Drop’ schemes can use Place Pins too. Take ASOS for example, who ship to around 190 countries internationally and use ASOS Collect+ boxes for those who cannot have their goods delivered to a street address.
Creating local or national map boards with interactive Place Pins synced with FourSquare will show customers exactly where they need to go to collect their prized ASOS goodies.
Post Offices & Libraries
Imagine being able to identify and influence a new audience on Pinterest, garner attention for your library’s amazing local mural, or even offer some brilliant customer service for people who need to post a letter? Utilize a Place Pin board and you’re well on your way to doing just that!
Franchises or Multi-Location Businesses
Whether you are a care home with a number of Communities such as Sunrise Senior Living, or a franchise like McDonald’s, people will want to know where you are and what you offer.
Using high quality picture content on Pinterest Place Pins makes each place seem more appealing and provides potential customers with the idea of ‘choice’ within a social network that can be hard to do on networks such as Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.
Place Pins are a great addition to Pinterest Business and one I believe can be successful for a range of sectors. What do you think?
Let me know your opinions in the comments!
