We are going to devote this post to talking about Pinterest, a social media network which has recently been in the spotlight thanks to the addition of the stories format to its app, known in this case as “Story Pins”. Let’s discover what Pinterest is, how it works, what makes it different, and why it could be considered a part of your social media strategy.
What is Pinterest and how it works
Pinterest is a social media platform founded in 2009 mainly focused on photo sharing. To be more precise, the app is based on the creation of boards and pins: every user can create their boards in which to organize and collect, in different categories, images, infographics, drawings, videos, receipts and more (the so-called pins).
What makes this app different from the rest is the fact that interaction between users is not the primary purpose, but to help them to discover ideas and find inspiration, that’s why Pinterest is suitable for certain industries like fashion, food, design and weddings.
Should your business be on Pinterest?
We can’t answer that question with just “yes” or “no”. Every case is unique, and we must take into account a lot of factors (the type of company, the product, the target). Nevertheless, it could be a good idea to adventure on Pinterest and start experimenting to see if in the short or mid-term the idea was worth it, always being aware, of course, that good content is the key to success on social media.
However, ever since it was set up, Pinterest’s relevance has been increasing with the passing of the years and, for that reason, it has become an excellent option for businesses. Here are some key issues about this social media network:
It’s highly effective in driving traffic to your site
One of Pinterest’s strengths is the fact that it’s a good tool to drive traffic to your website: every pin includes a link, which makes it easier to lead users to the source of the image. Moreover, you can also take advantage of the Pinterest search engine by including hashtags and relevant keywords to your descriptions. Also, you can see how good your performance is going by using Pinterest Analytics, a tool which will help you collect demographic information about the audience, to see what kind of content works better and to know what the most active hours are.
People are open to follow brands
According to research from Ahalogy, 83% of people prefer to follow a brand rather than a celebrity. Moreover, something similar happens in a lot of retail categories. For instance, 73% of people said they would follow their favourite brand of beauty products than their favourite makeup artist.
Seek the latest trends
Pinterest is also an excellent tool to see what is trending today as they highlight keywords and trending products in real-time, so you’ll be able to take advantage of that information in order to adapt, make decisions, make better content, and improve your product or service.
People on Pinterest are more willing to buy your products
On Pinterest, the buying process from discovery to conversion is shorter than other social media platforms (the fact of being able to go directly to the business website helps a lot) as well as users are more likely to convert into sales, so it becomes a good platform to showcase your products. Don’t believe it? Check out the following stats:
- 87% of users have purchased a product because of Pinterest.
- 93% use the platform to plan a future purchase.
- Over 60% say they discovered new brands or products from promoted pins.
- 29% pinners spend more on retail purchases than those who are not on it.
Do not hesitate to give Pinterest a chance. If the platform doesn’t live up your expectations or if you don’t get the results you expected you’ll always be able to back up.
