Visual content is fast becoming the way forward and, arguably, no social media platform understands that more completely than Pinterest.

In brief, Pinterest is a platform that allows users to share images by posting or ‘pinning’ images to their own pin boards and browsing other user’s boards. The recent and gradual roll-out of Pinterest Lens however, heralds the launch of what is essentially a visual search engine.

Pinterest Lens allows you to point your camera at a pair of shoes then tap the screen to see related styles or even ideas of what to wear them with. Likewise, point the Lens at a cupcake and you’ll be directed towards recipes and ingredients.

Just imagine how easy this will make shopping. No more trawling the internet to find a bargain, with Pinterest Lens you are directed to similar, potentially cheaper, versions of the item in front of you.

From a business perspective, this is an incredibly useful tool for sussing out competitors. Point the Lens at a product of your offering and Pinterest will find similar products, allowing you to compare price points, advertising and more.

Since Pinterest Lens is armed with AI (Artificial Intelligence), the more use it gets, the more intelligent it becomes. The software can currently recognise over 1 billion objects and brands but, if it has incorrectly categorised your Nikes as Converse, you can go ahead and correct it, informing it for the future.

The Pinterest Lens plug-in on Google Chrome also allows users to find related images to those that they are browsing online without ever having to leave the initial site.

Why is this important? While some of us meticulously research products before making any hasty decisions, some of us are impulse buyers; we see it, we like it, we buy it. What Pinterest Lens has the power to do is to alter even the most impulsive buyers shopping habits.

And that’s where PR comes into it. How often do you buy a more expensive brand because we’re simply under the illusion that insert brand name is better than the cheaper supermarket version? Brand loyalty is something that we predict will become increasingly important as brands fight to retain their customers and stop their eyes from drifting with Pinterest Lens.

Building a strong reputation and a good relationship with your customer is vital to ensuring that they stick to what they know and aren’t distracted by what Pinterest Lens might have to offer. Fortunately, that’s what us PR’s are for.

Image sourced from Max Pixel.