No social network remains untouched by brands and marketers. Newest kid on the block Pinterest is no exception as it just got more business oriented when Group M Next signed a deal with Curalate, an analytics platform that uses image-recognition technology, to provide data about what works and how on the social network.
Through this deal, whose financial details remain undisclosed, up to 50 brands working with WPP’s media agencies (Maxus, MEC, MediaCom and Mindshare) will have access to precious analytics and will find out which images from their content are in circulation on Pinterest. Curalate will offer this data using image-recognition and can extrapolate insights based on frequency and activity of the social media network’s users.
“Pinterest is the first time in which a social-media platform is based around products instead of around people or places,” declared Apu Gupta, Curalate’s CEO and co-founder. “It creates a significant opportunity to find out what people like about a brand at a very granular level.”
Companies have a lot to gain from these insights, as they can see which of the products they offer are the most appreciated (pinned) and thus make marketing decisions based on these customers’ preferences.
“What this comes back to is identifying the type of assets a brand should have more or less of and letting the visual selection process shape that,” said Group M Next’s CEO Chris Copeland. He considers there is a potential for brands that consists in identifying influencers, selecting celebrity endorsers, and find out which products are the most liked by users.
The discussion on ROI and analytics on social media networks is a long and intricate one. There are people saying there isn’t a general measurement standard, and that is not good for business. There are also studies that show marketers don’t have a clue sometimes when it comes to ROI on social media.
Tools and methods are evolving, however, and social media marketing becomes more of a knowledge-driven strategy than a guessing game.