Pinned with Love

[caption id="attachment_13830" align="alignright" width="191" caption="Ms. Buttercup getting ready to create delicious-ness."][/caption] Santa came early for me this year. Last week I purchased a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. The KitchenAid 5-Quart Tilt-Head Artisan Series in Buttercup Yellow, to be exact. My lucky colleagues now have about 10-dozen cookies to eat because I just HAD to take it for a spin this weekend. Have I mentioned I love baking? In preparation for my mixer’s debut, I turned to the 500 e-newsletters I flagged as “Delicious” in my inbox, and then to Pinterest to drool over some images. I came across a cookie recipe from a local grocery store in the Midwest that made me drool so I repinned it to my “KitchenAid Meets Christmas” board and began following the page. There was plenty more where that had come from, not just from that supermarket’s page, but once I started looking, from a dozen other supermarkets. What a brilliant idea. I have commented on the impact of photos on attracting consumer interest in the past, and I stand by my words. Images work… and the social media site dedicated to beautiful photos is not only influential, it is in my opinion, downright addictive. The geniuses behind Pinterest must have known the secret of pretty pictures – and if they didn’t, the site’s quick trip to the top of pinners’ list of bookmarks has made it clear. Many retailers are already pinning away, and those that are not SHOULD BE… especially if a retailer can get consumers’ mouths watering while they are making their shopping list. [caption id="attachment_13831" align="alignright" width="254" caption="Chocolate Crinkle Cookies with Almond Hershey Kisses"][/caption] I spent more time than I planned on Pinterest – did I mention it is addicting? – following and pinning the grocery stores I read so much about… following and pinning, pinning and copying recipes, following, pinning and making shopping lists. In the end I was very successful. I whipped up three new cookie recipes and a new variation of an ol’ favorite, which I never would have thought of if Pinterest had not told me I could buy Peppermint Bark shreds at my favorite grocery store. So, the moral of the story here is Pinterest works. It is probably one of the easiest methods of attracting consumers to your store. Not to mention, it’s a lot of fun. But be careful, it can be addicting.