The infographic below gives some background on the exploding growth of Pinterest, but it doesn’t capture all of the story. The biggest piece of information here is that 80% of what is shared is re-pinned (or reposted content) compared to 1.4% on Twitter. Pinterest is explosively viral. Images are inherently more share-able. Pinterest is growing because of:
- - Visual Browsing: More easily browsed and understood. I can view 20-30 posts in a glance and find just what appeals to me. Fundamentally, visual browsing is a different mode to looking at data and there is no site that makes it easier than Pinterest. Instagram is great, but is still a stream based browsing experience
- - Sharing: More easily shared because it’s just a push of a button with no need to tweak language or use a special tool
- - Growing in Value: Timeless, your portfolio grows in time and is lasting. You can’t really see my tweet from 100 days ago, for example.
- - Demographic Density: Pinterest has exploded but is dominated by 25-34 females. Females make up 69% of the service and content that is shared on social networks is most likely to appeal to like minded people. Just like Facebook exploded by focusing on the university market, Pinterest is exploding with a core demographic of women.
What Does It Mean for Local Business Marketing?
It’s hard to ignore the explosion in usage of Pinterest. But not all services are suitable for local SMBs. We think its great for local businesses who want to:
- - Drive people to online ordering (eCommerce)
- - Promote event hosting by showing previous events (event spaces, concert halls, etc.)
- - Bring customers in the store by showing off product lines that are not corporate (consignment and vintage shops, specialty toy stores, custom jewelry, etc.)
- - Share food porn – restaurants that focus on aesthetically pleasing food (high end bakeries, top tier restaurants, etc.) and want to appeal to our primal urges
- - Show off a design aesthetic for your services (interior design, personal shopper, framing store, etc.)
And of course, you should want to attract the core demographic: women 18-45. If all of that works for you, invest in Pinterest. Otherwise, consider it for search engine optimization value and as another means to syndicate images of your business across multiple photo sharing sites. But we know how busy you are. Pick your battles and invest your time wisely.
