The power of a social media site comes first and foremost from its users. Q: What would Facebook and Twitter be without over + 1 billion engaged fans? A: Nothing more than a couple of good ideas. Launched in March of 2010, Pinterest was just a good idea, too. Now, it’s alongside the aforementioned sites as one of the top three social media platforms on the web and trending faster than both of them.
The Numbers
In 2011, Pinterest saw a 4,000% spike in views over a six-month period and is now host to over 11 million users. In terms of total visits, the site has recently beat out its closest competitor, LinkedIn. Research conducted in March produced the following rankings:
1. Facebook: 7 billion
2. Twitter: 182 million
3. Pinterest: 104 million
4. LinkedIn: 86 million
5. Tagged: 72 million
6. Google+: 61 million
This kind of impact is exceedingly noteworthy for such a new site. We expect these numbers to continue as Pinterest solidifies itself as a top contender for social media supremacy.
Plenty o’ Perks
As illustrated, Pinterest is driving a ton of traffic. If you rely on your website for sales and marketing, you also need to generate traffic in order to increase leads or sales. Using Pinterest to create links back to your site is a great way of cashing in on the outlet’s faithful following.
Pinterest differs from most social media sites in that its users aren’t interested in gaining followers as much as they are content with serendipitously finding things and sharing them with others. This establishes a “what’s hot, what’s not” environment that is exactly what marketers and (more importantly) your business should be interested in.
A critical factor for social media sites is connectivity, one that Pinterest knows all too well. The site now allows connectivity with Facebook, enabling users to post new pins to their Facebook news feed. Users are also able to automatically share pins they post to their Twitter accounts. Marketers can also add a “Pin It” button (similar to “Like” and “Tweet” for Facebook and Twitter, respectively) to their websites and blogs to make pinning products or visual content a one-click process.
A Pinch of Personality
Pinterest, like most other social media outlets, is a great way of staying connected with your customers. As the numbers indicate, Pinterest is becoming quite the addicting application due to its visual component. Experiment with different ways of using Pinterest to show off a more personal side of your business. It’s easy to use and, of course, it’s free. People like free.
