On Wednesday Pinterest announced the addition of a handy new map feature called Place Pins where pinners will have the ability to add geographic information to pins. Instead of just mentioning in the pin description where a photo was taken, where you can purchase an item or what restaurant you can find that dish, you can now show users on an intuitive map but it doesn’t stop there. Since the map is a Foursquare integration, you have the opportunity to gather additional info such as user photos, tips/recommendations, hours of operation and even menus. This is perfect for travelers! (Where was this when I went to Europe??!!) So perfect in fact, that this is what the Place Pins feature was intended for.
“About a year ago, we noticed Pinners creating more and more boards around the vacations they’re planning, special places near where they live and sites they want to see someday. In fact, every day people Pin about 1.5 million places, and now there are more than 750 million Pins of these destinations on Pinterest. We asked ourselves, how can we help people turn their travel inspiration into reality? Today, we’re taking a first step toward that goal with Place Pins,” said Justin Edmund, Pinterest’s Product Designer.
But don’t limit this feature to just travel! Hootsuite suggests using Place Pins for holiday shopping. Think Wish List but with the ability to have others, say friends and family contribute. Don’t know what to get dad this year? Create a group board, invite other family members to contribute while activating Place Pins. You can make notes in the pin description as to who’s getting what. That way you can divvy up the shopping and each person knows exactly where to go, when the store will be open and how much it will cost (remember you can add price info to pins).
If you’re a local retailer jump on this! Be sure to add relevant info to your pins – URLs, prices, available colors & sizes and where pinners can purchase. That way users will be more likely to repin while doing little editing to the description box, except for adding pure commentary, i.e. “So getting this for the kids!”
What are your thoughts? Will you be giving Place Pins a try? Let us know by commenting below.
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