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Will Facebook Collections Kill Pinterest?
I almost hate to tell you about this because it’s not yet available to us, but it’s really freaking cool.
I’m going to tell you and then you’ll have to wait.
But I’m not sure how I feel about it because (as most of you know) I LOVE Pinterest. And this, from what I can tell, will be a direct competitor.
And it’s on the site where a billion of us spend time at least once a week, if not once a day.
Facebook Collections
Yes, that’s right. Facebook is launching what they call “Collections,” which allows you to add “want” and “collect” buttons to your images, automatically creating a wish list where you or your friends and family can buy.
Right now, a few uber brands can add these buttons to their pages so you can want or collect their products to your page.
Facebook says Pottery Barn, Wayfair, Victoria’s Secret, Michael Kors, Neiman Marcus, Smith Optics, and Fab.com will have the first crack at using this new feature.
I checked out the Pottery Barn page and you can see, if you click on the image in their news feed, there is a “want” button.
Then, when I click “want,” a dialogue box appears and asks me to not only share it on my timeline, but I can also decide who sees it.
Pinterest Killer?
I did a webinar yesterday for Social Media Today with Beth Hayden, where we talked a ton about Pinterest, Instagram, and infographics.
During the conversation, ROI came up (of course it did; I was part of the panel) and we discussed not only what a great driver of traffic it is to a blog, but also how much money it can generate for a business.
Twenty-one percent of Pinterest users buy something directly from the visual social network. Which, in and of itself, is pretty impressive.
But our work with clients shows even higher rates. During a three month test this summer, Pinterest (alone) generated $27,427 for their ecommerce site, which was a 60 percent conversion rate.
But with 11 million users on Pinterest, compared to one billion on Facebook, it could be people just stay on one site to do their image browsing, window shopping, and buying.
Now if Facebook bought Pinterest and allowed us to create our wish lists directly from our boards…now that would be something!
In the meantime, keep an eye out for when “want” and “collect” are launched more fully so you can add to your business page.
If I think about my friends on Pinterest, I can really only envision a small handful of them jumping ship for Facebook Collections. Most people seem to relish the disconnect from Facebook. Most of my friends also don't even link their Pinterest profiles to Facebook because they don't necessarily want all their food, clothing and home decor pins to be all over Facebook.
@kendralante And God bless them for that! I'd hate it if Facebook was all pins.
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Interesting article and great comments @ginidietrich and crew . It's still too early too see how Facebook will fair with this over Pinterest. Remember MySpace's upcoming renaissance--so I don't think it's totally Pinterest Facebook is going after in their latest chapter of trying to re-invent themselves. Lest we forget how they did with Friend Feed.
MySpace's sneak peak: https://new.myspace.com/play?pm_cmp=ed_spl_2info_NEW
@LizIsaacs It definitely is going to be interesting to see what MySpace does. The thing I like about it is my account still lists me as 29. I think I'll keep it that way!
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Nah :) RT @steveology: Will Facebook Collections Kill Pinterest? http://t.co/VZCzXN7r via @ginidietrich
@tedrubin ƬӇ∆ик ㄚ◊ㄩ➽ Ted @TedRubin & Yenni @TechnologyBOOM - honored you both stopped by - & I agree, my vote is also no. enjoy your Sunday!
Let's remember that the challenge Facebook has in driving sales is that people go there to socialize, not to do commerce. On the other hand, people going to Pinterest are going there for inspiration, ideas, and apparently to find things they want to buy. This is still a major disconnect Facebook must overcome to be able to drive sales at scale. Not sure collections will bridge that gap, although definitely a place to start. Seems more like a wish list for others to buy things for you than a driver of direct commerce. Someone is going to acquire Pinterest... looking forward to seeing who that will be.
@TedRubin I wish I could acquire Pinterest. Want to create a fund with me to buy them??
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@ginidietrich And... the then acquire another company who can leverage all Pinterest has to offer and create real revenue. Think we can acquire Google, Facebook, or another? ;-)
@ppcbuyers Spoken like a true PPCBuyer! Data. Collection. Indeed. http://t.co/eU9QuUnX #facebookcollection
@ginidietrich Cough gag ... you coulda warn me before I was drinking! :) Yeah ... especially since that stock is doing so well <bada bing>
@lisabyrne Maybe and then Pinterest will do a Myspace and take their users back LOL!
I personally feel that in order to be profitable, Facebook has essentially become the digital equivalent to a newspaper insert that you pass around to your friends. Good or bad, this move seems consistent with Facebook's goal of becoming the digital provider of discounts, promotions and advertising.
As to whether this will kill Pinterest? As a heavy user of many SM platforms, I'm gravitating more and more to the platforms that are more clean and provide a couple of services instead of millions of them. As someone else here said, G+ is an excellent platform, that just hasn't taken off. But with further changes like this in Facebook, G+ may become more and more viable as a clean place to interact with interesting content and people without constant bombardment of promotions and advertisements.
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@taracoomans A few weeks ago, I mentioned app.net in a blog post. You want clean and interesting content, check that out. It's like Twitter was in 2007 without the marketers and affiliates and spam.
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I would rather see The Fancy get the credit for combing retail with "pinning". You can fancy it (pin it) AND buy it from the same platform.
@KristenDaukas These poor social networks that are so freaking brilliant and innovative getting eaten up by Facebook. Why can't they just buy them for $1B like they did with Instagram??
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@peterstringer Can't imagine how horrendous a FB feed will look with the "wants" of engaged/pregnant friends. Like seperate network for it
Ouch ! Poor Pinterest. I think this could really knock them for six. But as @barrettrossie suggests there's always the possibility that such another seismic change could water down their brand and what they've built themselves around.
I suspect Gen X and the babyboomers will like it but it will be yet another reason the Millennials start to look elsewhere. Once something becomes so ubquitious it's almost as if you choose another option just to stick it to the man. Teens rebel. It's normal.
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@jonbuscall I'm Gen X and there is NO WAY I'm leaving Pinterest for this. But then again, MySpace has my age listed as 29 so maybe I'm really Gen Y.
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@ginidietrich As a fellow Gen X-er I can understand that. But I'm hastily heading over to MySpace now to see if I can get a few years back :=)
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@wroush I have a few doozies myself. Most of them involving Second Life... So don't sweat it... ;-)
@ginidietrich "Facebook ... could fill our news streams with unwanted items..." *Could*? You must be on a different Facebook than me.
@lesmckeown Ha! I've managed to filter out most. Now I have to do it again with Collections
@ginidietrich I'm utterly bewildered by FB - I've no idea who most of these people are, or why they think I'm interested in their kids/meals
@sherrierohde I just don't go there...easier to ignore, frankly... I'll get my grandson to fix it when he's a little older :) @ginidietrich
@lesmckeown Are they not your friends? Or they are your friends and you don't care about their mundane lives?
@ginidietrich doubt it. It's nice to go to a one stop shop sometimes, but not all the time. FB is becoming that. Yawn
Great post, Gini! Would you mind if I re-post to the Capitol Communicator? I know my readers will want to know about the new Facebook Collections.
@dfriez Not at all! Thanks for asking.
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@ginidietrich interested if this makes #Pinterest improve itself. personally don't use it for shopping AT ALL and only a little wish listing
@AnastasiaAshman I just bought a hoodie from Pinterest the other day. I am just a number now.
Facebook is in a precarious position. They have to change to be profitable. But too much change and people might lose interest. People already have a love/hate relationship with it. And like they say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULuHJgCos7A
@barrettrossie It is, indeed, a thin line!
Latest blog post: Dear Pinterest: I Loathe You No Longer
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I think Pinterest will be just fine - if anything this is just creating more visibility and loyal users for them. I use Facebook and Pinterest for two completely separate things so it wont affect how I use either.
@Trace_Cohen I LOVE PINTEREST! I mean, what?
Latest blog post: Dear Pinterest: I Loathe You No Longer
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