Stick a Pin in These Ones—You’ll Want to Come Back to Them Later
Just as social media has taken the B2C world by storm, it is already impacting the B2B world—especially in building products marketing, which offers countless content possibilities such as home renovation, inspiration pictures, DIY information, and more. In previous posts (here and here), we outlined 2015’s Top Building Products Dealers and Lumberyards to Follow on Twitter. But one of the best social media platforms to market building products might not be one that immediately comes to mind when you think of the biggest platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
While Pinterest is often associated with personal inspiration and DIY projects, its role in B2B marketing continues to expand. More companies in the building products sector are tapping into Pinterest’s potential to reach professional audiences. The platform’s visual emphasis aligns well with showcasing detailed building designs and large-scale projects, capturing the attention of both potential buyers and collaborators. Its visual nature enhances engagement, creating a strong reason for prioritizing Pinterest in marketing strategies.
The platform I’m talking about is Pinterest, which boasts a 38% adoption rate among B2B marketers, with 41% planning to increase their use.[1] As it will become even more important for B2B marketers to not only target the right audience, but to target them at the right point in their buyer journey, it is critical that building products marketers have content available on social networks like Pinterest. Here are the top five dealers and lumberyards paving the way on Pinterest:
- Lumber Liquidators: There’s a reason why Lumber Liquidator has almost 8,000 followers. With 4,000+ tweets spanning 40 boards, there are ideas broken down by budget, products, seasons, and even color. Plus, Lumber Liquidator even has a special board for current trends in the industry. This is a great way to use a visual platform to keep followers in the know when it comes to import design and product trends, rather than simply posting an article that they might not have time to read.
- Voyageur Lumber: Voyageur takes a smart approach with a couple of boards that focus on product and location-specific projects. For example, one of their boards features “AZEK® Projects,” which showcases the unique decking designs that can be completed with those specific products. But my favorite is a board featuring only homes by Ely contractors (the town where Voyageur is located). In this way, they combine the aspirational nature of Pinterest home improvement ideals with the realism of projects completed locally in their market.
- Advantage Lumber: If there’s one thing you come away with after spending a few minutes on the Advantage Lumber Pinterest, it’s that the outdoor living trend is alive and well. From fire pits to porches to decking galore, this Pinterest is cram-packed with ideas for those wanting to up their outdoors game. But the best touch is their customer submissions board, which features a gallery of project images taken by customers of the lumberyard.
- Cedar Creek Lumber: Most Pinterest accounts do a lot of re-pinning but fail to post their own content. What stands out about Cedar Creek’s Pinterest is their willingness to create their own content on the platform. From wood carving instructions to completed projects to a board in which they walk users through steps to create their own giant Jenga set, Cedar Creek isn’t just showcasing DIY—they’re leading by example.
- 84 Lumber: Although 84 Lumber has a more modest following than some of the other accounts, they do a great job of creating boards that reflect their specific business rather than industry trends that showcase larger scale projects their products have been used for—perfect for a B2B audience. That said, they also mix it up with some unique boards including throwback pictures from their business’s history and one featuring holiday décor ideas using building materials.
84 Lumber has embraced innovative marketing strategies by collaborating with social media influencers. These collaborations enhance their reach and influence. They have also experimented with interactive and augmented reality features to allow users to visualize products in real-world settings, enhancing customer experience even further. Such innovations showcase the company’s forward-thinking approach while keeping audiences engaged.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. The building industry is often considered a male-dominated field (although hey, I’m writing this blog post); meanwhile, Pinterest is viewed as a female-dominated social network. But here’s the truth: so is almost every social media network in existence.[2] In the case of Pinterest, though, the only thing you need to know is that Pinterest doubled its number of male users in 2014, and a full 1/3 of all registrations now come from men.[3] And no surprises here—at the top of the most popular categories for men is DIY, home, and building.[4]
Tracking success on Pinterest involves more than just counting followers. Engagement rates, such as repins and comments, offer insights into content effectiveness. Using Pinterest Analytics, marketers can monitor how pins perform and the demographics they attract. Services like Tailwind can help optimize pinning schedules and reveal trends in audience behavior, providing a comprehensive view of the platform’s impact on business growth.
In an industry as visual as building, it’s important to find new ways to showcase your products and expertise. Pinterest is excellent at doing just that. And it’s only growing, offering even more opportunities for you to reach your audience.
Engaging content on Pinterest is all about leveraging the platform’s strengths. High-quality images, informative infographics, and clear, step-by-step project guides engage audiences effectively. For businesses, sharing visually appealing before-and-after project transformations can illustrate the impact and quality of their products. Providing tips or tutorials that guide users through complex processes can position a brand as an industry leader while encouraging user interactions.
While these are just a few of the dealers and lumberyards out there using Pinterest, they set a strong example of what social media marketing can mean for building products.
