Pinterest MAY Be Something Dealers Should Consider

First and foremost, if you're not on top of your other marketing priorities, there's no need to even look at Pinterest at this point. Those priorities should be:

Websites
Search Marketing (SEO and PPC)
Classifieds (AutoTrader, Craigslist, Cars.com, etc)
Google Places and Reviews
Facebook
Other Reviews that Rank for your Name (Yelp, DealerRater, etc.)
YouTube
Twitter

If all of those are in order and humming along, NOW you can take a look at older social media sites that have value such as Tumblr and Foursquare as well as the new kid on the block, Pinterest.

Here's an excerpt from an article I just posted on Automotive Pinterest:

1) It ranks well in Google, so having a page like Pinterest.com/ABCMotors would rank well for the term "ABC Motors".

2) With a following, it's possible to get attention to individual vehicles, particularly sporty or classic ones. From a used-car perspective, a properly-posted pin can help drive local traffic.

3) It's exceptionally fast. Having a "Pin It" bookmarklet in your browser allows you to post a pin in literally under 10-seconds while on your website.

Pinterest is NOT for direct marketing. In other words, having a Pinterest board for the sake of spam would be worthless. If you have any questions on how to use Pinterest, please feel free to email me. jrucker@tkcarsites.com

Pinterest has potential. I see Eric Miltsch, Joe Webb, Dennis Galbraith, and other industry leaders exploring it. The secret is apparently out, so before you go jumping in and posting cars, feel free to ask anything here that you'd like to know about Pinterest. Here's a quick infographic. Click to enlarge.

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Comment by David T. Gould on April 17, 2012 at 3:40pm: what a difference a "panda update" makes... pinterest jumped to page (1) position (3) from page (4) position (5). guess google gave pinterest their blessing and / or pinterest optimized their boards. definite should add for dealers. pin your inventory, specials, other content to give direct links. female demographics is still through the roof.

Comment by David T. Gould on March 13, 2012 at 5:28pm: my initial testing has had zero results from pinterest. that is almost as if they are trying to stay off the radar. could not help but see you offered pinterest seminar JD. is there a recorded link?

Comment by David T. Gould on February 27, 2012 at 10:37pm: Female demographics are impressive. It is very easy to use.

@JD I would think this could be part of an SEO strategy with its links and photos as compared to being held off. Any thoughts?

DTG

Comment by Stan Sher on February 27, 2012 at 11:39am: Interesting just two weeks ago I was speaking at the Greater New York Dealers Association teaching a seminar on Online Reputation Management and we spoke about social media. Pinterest got mentioned. Ever since that day I am seeing the buzz on Pinterest get spread. It is very cool.

Comment by Eric Miltsch on February 25, 2012 at 2:23pm: @JD - Totally agree with your comments. Pinterest is not an acquisition tool and It's not even a shopping tool - at least not yet it isn't - especially for vehicles. It'll be one to watch closer ss the platform continues to develop and branded boards become available.

Use a new platform like this to gain insight on user behavior; don't post inventory and label it a new element of your SEO strategy.

If you have something unique to pin & have a different story to tell - by all means, do so. It does have it's benefits, but only if done correctly.

(Here's a post I wrote on the topic recently: 3 Things You Can Learn From Pinterest)

Nice infographic as well - gonna pin that one:)

Comment by JD Rucker on February 22, 2012 at 12:14pm: @Andrew - I'm all about talking to dealers about the latest and greatest, but it always concerns me when I see dealers focusing on something like Pinterest when their SEO is poor, for example.

It's like painting the bathroom while the kitchen's on fire. Priorities.

Comment by Andrew Myers on February 22, 2012 at 3:30am: "First and foremost, if you're not on top of your other marketing priorities, there's no need to even look at Pinterest at this point" ... love your preamble - how true. Pinterest is gaining steam!