Let Pinterest Inspire Your Next Postcard Campaign
Are you searching for a way to bring some much-needed attention to your small business, but don't know where to start?
Maybe a Pinterest-inspired business postcards campaign is the answer.
You might have questions about whether “snail mail” is still relevant in today's modern age, but you shouldn't. Think about this: people like to get mail, and a simple postcard can make a big impact. We may have become desensitized to receiving email from companies, but a postcard from a small business found in a mailbox can still evoke that emotional response that influences buying decisions. Also, the expense could be much lower than you think. Many direct mailing services offer prices that are very competitive with other marketing methods.
How does Pinterest come into the picture?
When Pinterest launched in 2010, the general consensus was that it would only have a niche market and never hold any real value for small business owners. While the social sharing site is clearly not on the same level as Facebook and Twitter, its more than 70 million users is nothing to sneeze at and it's growing at a rapid pace. The "niche" is much larger than most imagined and the simple truth is that it CAN be used for business, as several companies have successfully proven. If your goal is a successful postcard campaign, here are a few ways that Pinterest can transform your efforts into results.
Browsing Pins
As humans, we're visual in nature, which is one of the reasons that Pinterest has managed to survive and thrive. We like seeing pictures and having a dedicated place to share visual ideas makes perfect sense when looking for that perfect image. Part of the beauty of Pinterest is its largely public atmosphere as opposed to what can be a more closed-off feeling in Facebook. As such, browsing what others are doing can help you identify an interesting project and use it as a starting point for your own creation. There are plenty of top marketing designers from whom you can pull a great deal of inspiration. Some ideas straight from Pinterest for direct mail advertising postcards include the following:
- A folding postcard that incorporate the element of surprise.
- A contest postcard that gives receivers the chance to interact and win.
- A classic photo postcard that immediately captures attention.
Choosing a Postcard Image
Another example of how Pinterest can help create a winning postcard mailing is if you open up the design to your followers. Instead of letting a single employee decide which image is best, why not harness the power of the public by posting your designs and use the one that generates the biggest response? The online and physical worlds may be vastly different in some regards, but how a person responds to an image is universal. By asking your followers what images they like, you'll have a clearer idea of what will work best for your target demographic. If you want to take it one step further, you could even organize a contest around selecting the winning design.
If you're stumped on your next custom postcards project and don't know what to do, it might be a good idea to spend some time with Pinterest. Browsing what others have created or opening up your own designs for public response could serve as the little push of inspiration needed to transform your postcard project from a basic idea into a rousing success.
