By: Zain AlZayani
Why is Instagram such a popular marketing tool for businesses? Because it’s visual. Another visual tool? Pinterest.
Pinterest is a social media platform based upon images and what’s popular—and based upon, well, your interests. Sounds intuitive, right?
Let me tell you how that intuition translates into numbers. According to ExpandedRamblings.com, as of April 1, Pinterest had 72.8 million users. A mind-blowing 85% of those users are women. And here’s one statistic I bet you had no idea existed for Pinterest: according to the Harvard Institute of Politics, the percentage of Pinterest users aged 18 to 29 is almost as high as Instagram! Surprising, right?
Here are 5 reasons why your business needs to take some serious interest in Pinterest.
Sharing your posts is a lot easier than on other social media platforms. Re-pinning posts from your fans gives you immediate and free marketing. The more interesting the photo, the higher its chances of being re-pinned.
Reason Number 1: Pinterest drives some serious traffic. If the previous statistics don’t have you convinced, here are a few more. According to SproutSocial.com, the number of people who see your pins is actually greater than your number of followers. Pins with prices get more likes than those without.
Reason Number 2: Pinterest enables you to get very specific about how you target your market—and run campaigns that are geared for precise requirements (for example, women aged 25-30 who are interested in DIY). Yes, other social media services allow you the same sort of targeting, but the statistics of campaign successes are more powerful for Pinterest. For example, a staggering 93% of pinners have shopped online during the past 6 months (source: sproutsocial.com). Some of those users could be yours!
Reason Number 3: Sharing your posts is a lot easier than on other social media platforms. Re-pinning posts from your fans gives you immediate and free marketing. The more interesting the photo, the higher its chances of being re-pinned.
Reason Number 4: It’s probably the most fascinating social media platform there is. It can be as big or as small as you make it, provides you with considerable insight that is easy to set up and read, and provides special consideration for businesses setting up on Pinterest. Dedicating time to re-pin a few minutes each day is crucial for having a successful account, but don’t let that commitment scare you—all you need is 3 minutes a day, and that’s enough time to curate a board.
Dedicating time to re-pin a few minutes each day is crucial for having a successful account, but don’t let that commitment scare you—all you need is 3 minutes a day, and that’s enough time to curate a board.
Reason Number 5: If the previous four reasons weren’t persuasive enough, this one will get you firing up your computer and setting up that business account. According to JeffBullas.com, the lifespan of a Pinterest post is 1,600 times longer than a Facebook post. In other words, it lasts three and a half months! That’s amazing exposure for free advertising. A tweet, for instance, achieves its peak in 24 minutes, then dies. A Pinterest pin, on the other hand, well…it lasts forever.
Some businesses, both small and large, have already capitalized on the value Pinterest provides—and reaped the benefits. For example, Whole Foods, my favorite grocer, used Pinterest to build their brand. Their boards don’t just focus on food, but also on other things they know their customers are interested in: growing, fitness, health, gadgets, and the environment. They gained a substantial number of followers in less than a year just from opening their account.
Artifact Uprising, another favorite of mine, used Pinterest to help take their company from a basement startup to a multi-million dollar company seeing triple-digit growth in 18 months.
Check out the business page at Pinterest (business.pinterest.com) and explore all of the resources: success stories, how-tos, and tools. Trust me—you’ll create that account in a heartbeat.
