Pinterest for Kindie Rock Bands {Yes, this is a thing}
Pinterest is not just a social media channel. It's a search engine. And it's incredibly powerful for marketing a wide range of brands that depend on growing and engaging a tribe -- especially authors, artists, musicians, and solopreneurs.
It's especially powerful for helping to elevate the visibility of children's music artists to the moms and dads who would be into what they have to offer.
Why is Pinterest so valuable for reaching parents?
Pinterest has 100 million active users, 85% of whom are women. In fact, 42% of all U.S. women are using Pinterest. More than 1/3 of all 18-to-29-year-old and 36% of 30-to-49-year-old internet users are on Pinterest. The average age of new moms today is 26.
So...basically, kindie rock bands, Pinterest users are your people.
And that's not all. The male user base is also growing rapidly -- men using Pinterest grew 73% in the U.S. last year over the prior year.
And, perhaps unlike Facebook, users expect to see brands on Pinterest. Two-thirds of pins represent brands or products. And there's an average of 2 billion average monthly searches on Pinterest.
Which kindie rock bands are doing Pinterest really well?
Surprisingly, there are only a few kindie rock bands doing Pinterest really well. Just about everyone focuses on YouTube, Instagram, FB, and Twitter. Even though, whether they have a managed presence on the channel or not, they are on it and they're benefitting from it. Here's what happens when I search for Dan Zanes or Astrograss. But here are a few great artists doing the channel really well.
Laurie Berkner uses Pinterest to share some band news and a lot of stuff her fans would be interested in.
Her boards are a collection of things that the families who listen to her music would be interested in. And, wisely, she has a Band News board for her more self-serving content. I think you can get away with putting up even more self-serving content than this. And you can place your own content in the other boards, as well. For instance: if your songs are about animals, create an "Animals" board, then place images there that include links to the songs you've done about animals (either on your YouTube channel or your own website).
Lisa Loeb uses Pinterest to promote all of her ventures, without seeming self-serving.
She's got boards for everything from music to eyewear (of course) to her media placements. The Fan Photos and Portraits boards could also be ideas that would work really well for just about any kindie rock band. Imagine kids sending in their selfies with the band, or their own drawings of the band members!
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the PBS show, does an awesome job of promoting their flagship character.
OK, not really a kindie rock band...but it is kids' entertainment and there is music involved. So. Their boards cover fun stuff like seasons and holidays with Daniel Tiger, recipes, merchandise (they even separate DVDs, books, and albums), videos, and more. And, wisely, there's a board for the show's inspiration, Mr. Rogers. So think about that. How can you feature your reason for being (your why), your inspiration sources, and lifestyle-related stuff that fits your why, on your band's Pinterest boards?
Kindie rock bands can learn from parent-focused brands on Pinterest as well.
They're not bands, but bands performing kids' music can learn a lot from how successful brands market themselves to parents and kids alike. Here are three to check out.
Red Tricycle features tightly branded boards covering every topic and metro area their readers are interested in.
A parent-focused website that offers "ideas that are aspirational and actionable that you can do at home, in your city or wherever your adventures take you," Red Tricycle says their mission is "to help every parent feel like a rock star by inspiring them to do fun things with their kids." So their boards cover every stage and topic involved parents are going to search for on their journey -- First Foods, Back to School, Halloween, and more.
The Honest Co. gives followers a glimpse into the company and establishes itself as a lifestyle brand for moms.
Yes, every aspect of The Honest Co.'s marketing has been pretty spot-on. So how they use Pinterest is no exception. There are loads of boards on various themed nursery designs. Pretty much every holiday is covered, and titling those boards as "honest [holiday]" like "honest fourth of july" is an elegant way to inject the brand. And boards like honest antics, honest products, and honest mentions, give the company a totally not obnoxious way to give followers an inside look into the company, its stuff, and who likes its stuff. Lots for bands to borrow from there!
Want to learn more about how to use Pinterest to market your band?
Of course, you're welcome to contact me to talk about the possibilities Pinterest holds for you! I'm also happy to share a couple great resources for learning more about Pinterest for musicians: