Pinterest users are unique. Here’s just one example of a buyer persona: Female, millennial, graduated from college a few years ago, newly married, foodie, enjoys an active & healthy lifestyle, DIY whenever possible, cat lady, working on starting a family and creating her dream house. Her dashboard is customized with ideas for healthy breakfasts, Thanksgiving recipes, beauty tips & tricks, DIY ideas for her upcoming house and easy workout ideas in her living room.
There are hundreds of different buyer persona’s we could come up with, but according to statistics, Pinners are shoppers, doers, and travelers. They are young, usually in their 20s, and long to be inspired. They look for the latest trends, most useful gadgets or best practices to make their upcoming trip abroad cheap and fulfilling.
Pinterest launched in March 2010 and has 70 million users, with 500,000 of those being business accounts. In April 2017, Pinterest announced it now has 175 million monthly active users. That is up 25 million from October 2016! Exponential growth could mean exponential gains for your brand. And with recent initiatives such as ads and promoted pins, brands have an even greater opportunity to get in front of their audience, if their audience is there. Is your brand right for Pinterest?
Stop Stereotyping : Demographics & Behaviors
As a woman, I figured that Pinterest was mostly used by females. I was shocked to find out that 40% of new users are men! While 68% of US women from ages 25-54 use Pinterest, an increase in male users could expand the possibilities of what your business can leverage on this platform. Users are still mostly women though. But not just average women. 8 in 10 are women earning high incomes (hello discretionary income that they can spend on your business!). US moms are also pinners (7 in 10) while 1 in 3 dads use Pinterest.
Pinners are also young. 1 in 2 millennials use Pinterest. Many companies struggle to find a way to attract this age group. Well, now you have it. Especially millennial women, as 7 in 10 US millennial women are active Pinterest users. Fun fact: that’s more than the average for Twitter and Snapchat users. US millennial women are using other social medias, so don’t be afraid to utilize multi-touch marketing across platforms and get in front of them as much as possible. Because, 55% of pinners use Pinterest to stop. And if they’re already aware of your product, they may be more likely to click on it if they’ve seen it elsewhere.
Pinners are doers. 80% of users are on the mobile app and go to find new ideas. In fact, 87% of users say Pinterest helped them learn new things. On top of that, 67% of users say that they look at saved pins in stores too. If you’re a brick and mortar business in an e-commerce age, this could be especially helpful for you.
From Inspiration to Action
Based on statistics of users, Pinterest is clearly a good place to post if you’re selling a product or service that would interest Millennials, women, families and pretty much most of the population between ages 24-55.
There are over 75 billion ideas on Pinterest and millions are being added each day. Users are liking, saving and repinning what means most to them. The most popular categories being the following:
- Food (13 billion ideas)
- Women’s & Men’s Style (10 billion ideas)
- Home (8 billion ideas)
- Hair & Beauty (4 billion ideas)
Pinterest expects travel to be a big hit this year along with so much more. If you’re in any of these industries, you should be on Pinterest. Your audience is already actively engaging with your type of content! Not only that, but Pinterest helps guide consumers through the funnel. From inspiring them with products months before purchase, to getting them to truly consider your product by pinning or saving it, Pinterest can help a consumer at any point of their shopping experience. Ending with a purchase, 87% of pinners said they bought something because of Pinterest.
Brands have learned to leverage this even more by showcasing what items are trending. Nordstrom is just one example of a brand that has linked online content to actual products in stores. You can use it to do more than just promote products. You can utilize pins and boards to tell a story, show how your brand interacts with real people and lifestyles or do something as simple as thank your customers. Every brand is different and you will need to craft your strategy around the goals of your brand and digital marketing strategy.
Still not convinced Pinterest can help your business? The ROI stats on Pinterest campaigns is phenomenal. Check out the results from a recent study on Pinterest effectiveness.
Give Pinterest A Shot
Like they say, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. There is an opportunity. But how can you best leverage this platform? Here are some best practices.
- Use visually engaging content (this goes for any social media platform!) And remember, video tends to be the most engaging.
- Include CTA. This is another obvious pro-tip. Send them to a site that drives them to action. Do you want them to purchase a product? Read your blog? Sign up for a newsletter? The possibilities are endless, but make the end result of their search something can deliver value for you.
- Build your brand! The best thing about Pinterest is the opportunity for engagement with your pins. Use this to tell a story about your brand or campaign. Why should they be interested in your company? What makes you stand out? Especially if you are a new company or new to Pinterest.
And of course, if you need help with your Digital Marketing or Pinterest, your friends here at StrataBlue are more than happy to help out! Contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation on how we can help.
