Our February post discussed why retailers should care about Pinterest. Just a few months later, retailers all over the world have acknowledged this photo sharing site! The site presently reaches an average of 1.36 million daily visitors, and has been driving traffic to retail sites in droves! (Mashable)

Some of the savviest brands have begun rewarding Pinterest members for sharing their photos through contests, truly harnessing the power of this fun new platform!

Harnessing the power of Pinterest

Virality is the biggest strength of Pinterest. That is to say, when someone likes your content enough to share it, your photo or video will be distributed to their network in one swift click!

Pinterest Scavenger Hunt

A typical contest brands are running is a “Pinterest Scavenger Hunt”. In this type of contest, participants create a themed board with re-pins of the company’s photos. In some contests, participants are granted extra entries by tweeting about their contest entry or posting about it on their Facebook page; with a mention of the company conducting the contest, of course.

Pinterest Contests that Build Fans on Facebook or Twitter

Contests on Pinterest can be very powerful at building other social networks as well. If that is your objective, include components that require sharing on Facebook, Twitter or even your website!

For example, Kraft asked participants to Pin & Win by creating boards of their favourite recipes; ensuring to tag each pin with #KraftRecipes. This particular contest would not only encourage their consumers to share their favourite Kraft recipes on Pinterest, but promoted the brand through sharing on Twitter.

A Pinterest Lottery

During their “Pinterest Lottery”, conducted by BMI Airlines, the company posted boards from different destinations on their Pinterest profile; along with numbered images from each destination. Participants were asked to create boards and re-pin 6 numbers/images from each board, like one would do when playing the lottery. BMI Airline would then draw 6 numbers and choose the winner of a trip to one of the destinations on their boards.

Each of the contest examples we’ve explored is effective in increasing brand awareness, promoting products, learning about consumer preferences, and likely growing the brand’s online fan base; but most importantly, is an effective way of rewarding and engaging your online audience. Interested in creating your own Pinterest contest? Get in touch – we’d love to help!

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