Campaigning through Pinterest

The rapid growth of technology, namely smart phones and tablets, has given a lot of people constant internet access to their fingertips. People find themselves resorting to their trusty smart phones when approached with boredom or awkward situations. These distractions or saviors usually embody simple games or intensified Facebook stalking. However, a new time-taker has appeared out of the past year and its popularity has been noticed by politicians and their publicists as they campaign.

 

Pinterest is a website and app where you select certain interests, and then browse away. The site is popular among females as it provides a great variety of do-it-yourself projects, unique recipes, and cute clothes that are personalized to specific interests. It also works as a social networking site. Friends can "re-pin" certain articles or crafts to share with their friends. The site had 18.7 million users in March and that number is steadily climbing. Recently, politicians have begun campaigning on Pinterest to call the attention of female citizens. 

Campaign managers have inserted the names of candidates in recipes and crafts so that certain users will happen to scroll through a political campaign whilst looking at pie recipes or do-it-yourself curtains. Campaigners are positive that campaigning on the social networking site will attract a lot of voters because of the site's popularity and the data about how much time the vast majority spends on the site. The pictures of the candidates that Pinterest users increasingly scroll past are to serve as simple reminders for women as they go through their daily musings. 

The fact that politicians are trying to reach supporters through social networking sites and up and coming trends is a very good idea. It's important that candidates not only appeal in traditional ways such as through television or radio commercials, but that they also approach the new age of technology. If they didn't think of this approach or put any effort into advertising on new websites or apps, they would find themselves only appealing to older crowds as younger people are shying away from television, resorting to on-demand video websites and have been increasingly listening to portable mp3 players rather than listening to the radio. By campaigning on sites like Pinterest, candidates make themselves known to the younger audience as well. 

I'm a Pinterest user myself and I found myself dangerously addicted to it when I discovered it. I've noticed some of the advertisements through my scrollings and I think it's a good way to interest the younger masses or at least force politics to cross their minds.  

To read more about this campaigning trend, click here.