image

Pinterest has been our breakout channel of the year. Boasting nearly 2400% growth, we see the longest post-life on this channel, and the highest conversion rates from our other channels. This year, we redesigned our page, bringing in new boards such as Michigan Pets, Future Wolverines, True Blue Weddings, #UMInstagram, Quotable, and Michigan DIY, adopting many of the most engaging topics on Pinterest and aligning our strategy with the purpose and demographic of the platform, which is 84% women.

image

Prior to the launch of Place Pins, Pinterest reached out to us to partner with them, considering UMich to have a deep understanding of the platform. We saw this as a unique opportunity to showcase our campus and alumni community, in order to fill necessary gaps in our Pinterest presence.

Our first board, Tour #UMich, is a campus-themed board aimed at prospective students who are looking to get a sense of campus before they visit, or if they are unable to schedule a tour prior to applying. Ed Tech Magazine summed it up as:

The virtual tour provides an informative and engaging experience. It’s a tool that today’s teenagers will find intuitive and helpful. As users browse the page, they can click through to resources on the university’s website. It’s an innovative way to present information that hasn’t been easily accessible in the past.

image

Our second board, Wolverines around the World, emphasizes the true reach of our student and alumni community, and their loyalty and spirit for the University. With fans often sending us photos via email, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, this board is a collection of everywhere in the world the Block M has traveled. Having Place Pins everywhere from South Africa to the North Pole, we are excited to continue seeing the great things our students and alumni are doing around the world!

image

So far, our Tour #UMich board has been our second-most followed on the platform, closing in on #UMInstagram. We hope to continue to direct our prospective students to this board, and would love to see it embedded on a few of our UMich sites when the feature is available. This way, we can drive more traffic to the page and inform students in an innovative way. When analyzing our Pin activity, we have noticed that the most engaging time for us to pin is Sundays at 5pm. On this day, our Repins are 20% higher than average, and at the time of day, 60% above average.

We have found Place Pins to be the perfect addition to our Pinterest presence, and strive to find new and creative ways to utilize all the Pinterest has to offer.

Making a Place Board is simple. Create a board and turn on the ‘Map’ feature:

image

Next, start Pinning! You can ‘add a place’ to your map, search, and select photos from others, or upload your own.

image
image

You can also add Pins to your board from around the web, or upload your own photos, and then add it to your map later by clicking the + sign:

image

Overall, Pinterest has proven to be a great tool for marketing for a University. While every department, unit, college, and even University is very different, each can find unique ways to utilize all that Pinterest has to offer. We do our best to cater to the audience on Pinterest, the interests and categories that are popular, while staying true to the University of Michigan branding, spirit, and academic excellence.