Take a look at the user base on Pinterest and one thing is certain. It’s a social network populated predominantly by women. In fact:
83% of the users on Pinterest are Women
A staggering statistic especially when you compare it with Facebook’s 57% and Twitter’s 42% women’s population. Pinterest is by no means an exclusive women’s network, but it has largely been adopted as such and this is certainly echoed in the content and issues shared on the site. This can be seen through the most popular posts covering everything from cooking recipes to fashion, beauty, crafts and women’s interests.
Pinterest is all about creating and sharing “pins” or images as part of your virtual “pin board”. It has crafted out a niche for itself as a “visual social network” and clearly sets itself apart from the industry leaders Facebook and Twitter with a dedicated user base of 70 million worldwide.
Social networks that focus on image content like Pinterest and Instagram might have a smaller penetration of the market, but they present something new and exciting that Facebook and Twitter lack. In fact while Pinterest and Instagram were enjoying significant growth in their global active users between 2012 and 2013, Facebook was losing them.
Why Pinterest makes sense for businesses
If your target market consists of women, Pinterest is a social network you can’t ignore. Further, if you’re targeting women with children, it is estimated that as much as 50% of Pinterest users are women with children. It has also been found that Pinterest members are more likely to be from a higher income bracket than other social networks.
That said, there are plenty of other reasons why Pinterest makes sense as part of your marketing strategy, and here’s why:
- Users on Pinterest want to connect with brands – Almost twice as many users on Pinterest use the site to connect with retailers and brands they identify with than Facebook.
- Could help boost your search rankings – There’s no hard facts to say that Pinterest usage contributes towards your website rankings in Google. However there is plenty of evidence suggesting Google rewards websites that receive social media affirmations, including Pins.
- 70% of users on Pinterest use it to get inspiration for what to buy – According to a report by Converto from 40 top online retailers, Pinterest represented 17.4% of their overall revenue from social media in 2012.
- Consumers trust information from Pinterest more than Facebook/Twitter – A study by Socialmouths found that women trust information found on Pinterest more than Facebook and Twitter.
Pinterest: 81% Twitter: 73% Facebook: 67%
Who’s using Pinterest well?
It is still early in the day for Pinterest marketing. Many of the brands that use the site have only done so in the past 1-2 years. For businesses that use it right, Pinterest can be a huge online marketing opportunity. Some of the brands that have taken advantage of the picture sharing site include:
- Etsy – With more than 478,000 followers the handmade marketplace is able to visually promote their sellers products, increase traffic to their e-commerce site and drive sales to their listings. Etsy’s Pinterest strategy isn’t just about selling. A large proportion of their pins feature quality tutorials, DIY projects and more.
- Country living – Country living magazine have made full use of Pinterest’s capabilities. Their boards feature branded covers, instead of the default (random image from that collection), making for an appealing selection of boards featuring over 10,000 pins!
- Wedding Republic – After introducing their Pinterest marketing strategy Wedding Republic saw a 70% increase in traffic to their website.
It’s not just women’s interest brands. There are plenty of other brands that have jumped on the bang-wagon too, including Sony, Mashable and Expedia.
Start utilizing the power of Pinterest
Whether you have an extensive product catalog or not, Pinterest can be used to engage fans, drive traffic to your site and increase brand recognition.
- Be Visual – Pinterest is like an endless stream of subtle product recommendations. The more visually appealing your posts are, the more likely they will be noticed and re-pinned.
- Be Personal – Like other social networks, Pinterest is an ideal setting to build trust and closer relationships with a brand’s customers. Consider showing the faces behind the business. Post behind the scenes images that shows your personality.
- Be a curator – Simply promoting your own products and brand will soon turn your followers off. Be entertaining and provide value by re-pinning the millions of pins across the site, not just your own.. You may soon find yourself being invited to “pin” to other users boards, giving you access to their follower-base and ultimately increasing your reach.
- Be creative – Pinterest is a very different platform than Facebook or Twitter. It provides a new set of creative opportunities for you to increase your brand awareness and website sales. An example of a terrific use comes from an unexpected source, Roto Rooter. The American Plumbing Company managed to create a captivating Pinterest page by asking their fans to post pictures of their mascot in their: “Where in the World is Mr Rooter?” board.
- Think about running creative competitions encouraging fans to pin your products or images related to your business. Think about creating individual boards around different topics.
Have you tried using Pinterest as part of your online marketing strategy? What were the results? Do you see a future in Pinterest as part of your own marketing strategy?