What does a company in the transportation and logistics industry have to say –and save– on Pinterest? A lot more than you might expect.
The FedEx Pinterest presence began in 2014 with a minimal budget and a "Gifts that Ship" and "Tying the Knot" board, which creatively leveraged existing product pins from businesses who ship with FedEx. As the FedEx Pinterest audience and content grew, this strategy expanded into several different boards, including gifts for him and her, favorite selections for foodies and kids, and even wrapping inspiration to close the loop between buying a gift and shipping it to a loved one.
Today, after relaunching the FedEx Pinterest strategy in October 2016 with a larger investment in creative and paid support, these boards are now full of custom pins linking to FedEx.com and its shipping resources, brand stories and blog posts.
On Pinterest, FedEx showcases how it supports individual customers, small businesses, e-commerce companies and non-profits while using its branding and fleet to tap into niche audiences and seasonal interests.
One of the major strategy updates for the FedEx Pinterest was tapping into the DIY audience. For the past year and a half, FedEx has provided do-it-yourself gifting inspiration including visuals for how to pack the finished product for shipping. Many of these ideas connect to trending topics on the yearly Pinterest 100 and other informational tools that the platform releases for brands' awareness.
Beyond gifting and shipping inspiration, FedEx has found value in representing its fleet and branding in a visually appealing, platform-specific manner on Pinterest.
Because Pinterest is all about unique personal interests, FedEx connects with its own niche audience of aviation and transportation enthusiasts through user-generated content and brand photos, even including old "throwback" pictures of fleet bearing the original company branding. "The Places We Deliver" board, featuring trucks in unique spots to visit around the globe, helps FedEx to also attract the travel enthusiast audience on Pinterest.
Additionally, the bright, recognizable company colors of purple and orange, along with branded merchandise like toy trucks, courier Halloween costumes and purple Santa hats lend themselves to both seasonal content and evergreen pins for brand fans.
Last but certainly not least, the FedEx Pinterest presence includes a "Delivering Good" board designed to catalog many of the shipments that make the world a better place. From precious museum exhibits to endangered wildlife, FedEx makes critical moves happen. Many consumers don't think about how such objects or animals get from point A to point B, so when they come across these pins, they'll be able to click into behind-the-scenes stories that FedEx is telling in a visual way on Pinterest.
While most of the FedEx Pinterest content is still organic, several targeted paid efforts have yielded some of the brand's highest performing pins. A campaign targeting "lookalike" audiences helped FedEx to attract new followers similar to those who currently engage, while seasonal campaigns have helped the brand to target relevant search trends. Recently, FedEx also tapped into the Pin Collective to create an animated video promoting Delivery Manager.
Since relaunching the Pinterest strategy in October 2016 with custom small business content, a new DIY focus, a "Delivering Good" board, a revitalized effort to target niche travel and aviation enthusiasts, and a targeted paid strategy, FedEx has created over 75 pins. Comparing January 2016-September 2016 to October 2016-February 2018, the FedEx Pinterest following increased by 10%. Average daily saves rose from 1 to 22, while average daily impressions increased from 997 to 137,191, and average daily clicks rose from 1 to 252.
