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PNC educates Pinterest users, tapping into established consumer behavior

PNC Bank is hoping to make financial information more accessible to consumers with Pinterest boards that focus on fiscal and childhood education, providing knowledge where users are already searching for similar advice. 

The bank is hoping to be the go-to source for Pinterest users looking for financial advice such as tips on creating a budget with its new board, which taps into an already established user experience. PNC is also hoping to help parents with early education through an additional Pinterest board that shares information for young kids such as lessons about clouds and how to make a bird feeder. 

"PNC already has an active social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and we have made the decision to expand into Pinterest because of the unique opportunities that specific channel offers for reaching our customers and potential customers," said Marcey Zwiebel, vice president and senior manager of corporate media relations at the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 

Pinterest planning

The two boards are named Understanding Your Finances and Early Childhood Education and contain PNC-created pins that fit within each category. For instance, PNC has shared pins labeled Making the Most of Your Wedding Budget and Five Reasons to Start Budgeting on the Understanding Your Finances board. 

Each pin shares advice for the given topic. Making the Most of Your Wedding Budget shares money-saving tips for weddings such as making your own flower arrangements and booking off-peak dates. 


The Early Childhood Education board helps parents create learning experiences at home with pins such as Lesson Plan: Learn About Clouds and Teaching Kids About Money. Learn About Clouds gives parents directions on how to create an at-home craft with information and vocabulary related to weather. 

Marketing through Pinterest
Unilever?s Dove similarly continued to boost its image as a supporter of women?s self-esteem with a new campaign leveraging Pinterest, reflecting the platform's ongoing relevance for targeting millennial women even as other marketers flock to Snapchat and Instagram (see more).

Supermarket chain Publix also launched on social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram after realizing that its audience was already sharing branded content and has since seen a positive reception (see more). 

"Consumers routinely are searching Pinterest for ideas and content on the topics/boards we have launched (financial education, early childhood education, home buying and long-term financial planning)," Ms. Zwiebel said. "So by making this information accessible in Pinterest, we have the ability to reach those who already are interested in this type content, in the places they already are searching ? ultimately meeting them where they want to be met.  

"Additionally, Pins are easily saved and frequently resurfaced, and Pinterest offers the opportunity to easily drive consumers to additional resources for further information if desired," she said. "All of this makes the channel a logical platform for us to expand our social media reach and to further share content our audience finds to be valuable."