Today we launched a small technical release but a significant change in how we feature work on the homepage.
Previously, we chose what to feature on the homepage editorially, each homepage being a “theme” we created. We’ve trialed using Pinterest to get other people to curate homepage themes with our Facebook “Folksy Finds” competition (there’s one running this week actually with £100 to spend at Fred Aldous as a prize). We’ve been really impressed with your collections and have started to supplement our weekly rota of curated content with competition entries. Now we want to increase the use of Pinterest boards to be a daily feature (providing that there are enough boards that are created with relevant items that promote Folksy in the best light to shoppers). We think this is the first use of Pinterest to drive homepage promotion in this way, but we could be wrong.
Why do it?
It makes it more engaging for buyers and sellers who can get involved in showcasing their creativity. And more creativity is a good thing.
How does it work?
- You need a Pinterest account – if you haven’t got one then
blagask for an invite from someone who has - Curate a selection of items from Folksy around a theme, for example “Camping”, you will need a minimum of 16 items to be eligible.
- Use “Folksy” in your Pinterest board title for example “Folksy Camping”.
We’ll keep track of all the Pinterest boards and pick relevant ones to promote on the homepage. We’ll be looking for interesting, relevant and quirky themes, a good choice of different items (by price and type) and also of course great images. Great images are vital to promote work on the homepage.
If your Pinterest board is chosen we will credit you by stating your name, shopname and a link to the shop as well as a link to your Pinterest board. You get to be the homepage Queen (or King) for the day.
But Pinterest is the run by evil aliens bent on taking over the world isn’t it?
We’ve heard it may be. But it’s a brilliant way to show how creative you are and a really useful tool for us to promote your creativity without building lots of additional functionality into Folksy. Also, since the change in their terms of use, we’re not sure they are bad at all. But if you don’t like it that’s fine, don’t use it and if they do prove to be evil and do take over the world and destroy all the flowers then you’ll be well within your rights to hunt us down and poke us in the eye
21 comments
What a great idea & as most of us use pininterest it will be easy to do!
Laura
awesome, have already made 1 folksy related board, do the boards have to be purely folksy products or can they have other pictures too,i know this sounds dumb,but just making sure!
Hi,
It makes sense if they are purely Folksy products. It certainly makes it easier for us that way to pick the items out! OK?
I thought so, just thought I’d ‘play’ dumb ! :)
What a fantastic idea!! Can’t wait to get started!
Love Folksy and love Pinterest!
What a great idea :D
Thanks Jo – hopefully it will lead to lots of people giving it a go
Fabulous idea! I love Pinterest and it’s such a great way to find new shops!
Thanks Dottie :)
great idea!!
Can you clarify if we can feature our own items, as this is frowned upon on some other sites when curating collections?
Hello Rachel,
We aren’t going to refuse to feature a great board if it includes an item from the Seller’s own shop (as long as it suits their chosen theme).
Your shop will also be credited and linked to from the theme title.
Love this idea. If I can ever find the time, I’ll give it a go. Thanks James!!!
Great Idea! I don’t use Pinterest myself but I’m looking forward to seeing these daily homepages and the choices different sellers have put together. It will give me the interest to see who has chosen the day’s page and what they’ve selected!:)
This will certainly help feed my Pinterest addiction!
What a different idea! :)
This will definitely get me using my Pinterest more!
Is there a limit on how many we can put on our boards, or can we just go a bit ‘inspiration crazy’? :)
Hello Rebecca,
The homepage features 12 items. However it’s best to have a few in hand in case some of these sell out. So I’d suggest you choose 18 items then, like a conveyor belt of Folksy goodness, when an item sells the next one pops up.
Andrew
Someone asked a good point on the forum – how do you find the Pinterest board? Does the person send you a link?
Hello Valerie,
It’s a good question. We’ll tend to search for ‘Folksy’ or ‘Folksy Finds’ on Pinterest. Or we’ll simply put the call out on Facebook or Twitter. We’re still working out the exact process for this and will also use some contributions to our Facebook competitions.
I’m a bit addicted to Pinterest so I think this is a great idea. When I pin from Folksy (or any other shop site) I aways take the price out of the pin so it doesn’t show on the picture. This is because I don’t ever repin items with prices on because they look like ads and I think alot of other pinners feel the same. Do you want us to leave the prices on if we do a Folksy board? I have a Folksy board but have removed all the prices.
Hello Luci,
How you use Pinterest and what information you wish to use to describe or comment on the items is up to you. We’ll be looking for great products, a clear theme (the overall concept to the board), if the items are still available on Folksy and don’t contravene our terms.
When we pin items to our Folksy boards (http://pinterest.com/folksy/) using the Pin it button on the item page this automatically includes the price of the item. We feel it’s important information for potential buyers to know the how much things cost.
So pin away and let us know what you find!
Andrew
Oh this sounds great have just signed up to pintrest so will give it a go.
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