Like Facebook, Pinterest has taken a turn in its traffic approach to post impressions lately. Today, it gives priority to pinners who pay to advertise.
And why not? This business model gears away from its free use and as a traffic source, but we could all understand why. After all, Pinterest is still a business, and it needs money.
So, is it still right for your business? Our answer is a resounding yes, and here are our reasons:
- Pinterest posts are visual
- Pinterest has a massive user count
- Pinterest has direct-to-source links
- Pinterest has engaged active users
Let us take a look at each one, and help you understand why you should use Pinterest of your business.
Pinterest posts are visual
Pinterest is not like a blog post, and it is not like Facebook, either. And while it leans toward being like Instagram, it does have an absolute uniqueness to it.
For one, Pinterest is a social media site that looks like a buffet of images. It is like going to an eat-all-you-can buffet where you get overwhelmed with the food choices, but the options are there.
The other social media sites are like speciality restaurants. In Instagram, the photos you see are the photos of the users you follow. Pinterest does not work this way. It is a massive search engine of images and videos, and users’ feeds are inundated with these suggestions.
What does this mean for you?
It means that your posts will be shown only to people who have an interest in your niche, even if they are not following you.
Pinterest has a massive user count
The social media site has 291 million active monthly users. Note the word “active”. These are people who log in searching for something.
Since Pinterest is a place where people look for images of products, your posts have more likelihood to get more views from interested people than on Facebook or Instagram.
Also, more than half of the users are outside the United States, which means you have worldwide reach. Your audience is not limited to the U.S.
About 80% of Pinterest users are female. Statistically, 80% of women’s buying decisions are influenced by social media, with Pinterest being one of them.
Marketers also love the fact that 52% of people in Pinterest spent more than $500 on beauty products over the last six months. The place is just teeming with potential customers.
Pinterest has direct-to-source links
Unlike other social media platforms, your posts here have a direct link to where you want to take your customers. You can take your viewer to your blog or online store, or perhaps to your affiliate offer page.
Pinterest is the best marketing funnel for somebody who is looking for traffic or a sale. If you post a photo of a wristwatch along with its price, a lead would click that and find himself on your product page. That in itself is a free advertisement that leads to action.
Pinterest has engaged active users
People who use Facebook and Instagram are passive users. They scroll down their feed and see what is in there, and tap an image or video that interests them. Pinterest users are different.
They go to Pinterest, use the search box, and scan through the search results. Once they find a product they like, they view it. They can either go to the website or re-pin your content.
Re-pinning means they are saving it for later. It is like bookmarking. The thing is, their friend will see what they-re-pinned, giving you more view and potential traffic.
Summary
Pinterest is an action-driven platform. It is not a place where users lazily scroll through their feed to see what is happening with their friend’s lives, or what their friends had for dinner.
As the name implies, it is an interest-driven platform. People come here to browse for what interests them. And if they see something, they take action.
This is the key to your business success in Pinterest—action equals traffic, which leads to sales.
