Click the image above to see it larger.
A lot of companies large and small want to “make friends” with their potential customers by “sharing” on Pinterest. Only they’re not “sharing”; they’re just pinning random generic photos about random generic things.
In the illustration above, “Mary Jones,” a travel agent, wants to make sure people know she cares about things other than booking your Caribbean cruise. She loves fitness! And she wants to share her love of fitness by telling you that… running is a way to exercise! No kidding! It really is! She has a whole board entitled “Ways to exercise!” Did you know that swimming is also a way to exercise? So is tennis! So is yoga! So is Zumba! And she has stock photos of strangers doing all these things so that her Pinterest followers know what swimming, tennis, yoga and Zumba look like when performed by strangers!
Despite her investment in stock photos, this tactic will not make “Mary” a valued member of the Pinterest community. It will make her an UNFOLLOWED pinner. Why?
The photos she shares are not of her, her clients, her friends or anyone she knows.
She didn’t take the photos.
The photos are (generally) not noteworthy as art, and don’t credit the photographer.
The photos are not specific illustrations of something she does, has or desires. (They don’t have the same purpose as, for example, a stock photo of sushi pinned by a non-commercial person to “My Favorite Meals” with the caption, “This photo makes me so hungry for sushi! My favorite restaurant is Savannah Super Sushi. I’m going this weekend!”)
The photos don’t link to articles about exercise or her personal fitness blog.
There are no captions linking her, her company, or anyone she knows to the photos.
In summary, “Mary’s” pins are boring and useless, and they interfere with the pins her followers really want to see.
If YOU were Mary the Travel Agent, how would YOU be relevant on Pinterest? Answer in the comments!
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