In the midst of waning organic reach on Facebook, the rise of Twitter’s “mute” button, and the bifurcation of Foursquare into two separate apps, one social media platform stands out as a beacon of success: Pinterest. A recent study by RJMetrics offers intriguing insights into the platform’s usage patterns and user retention. Perhaps the most striking finding was that 84% of female users who signed up four years ago are still active on the site. Moreover, women tend to become increasingly engaged with Pinterest over time. This retention rate is remarkable for any social media network, let alone a website. In stark contrast, only 10.7% of Twitter users who registered in 2012 remain active today. Pinterest’s ability to maintain user engagement over an extended period is a testament to its effectiveness.
For businesses considering leveraging Pinterest, there are compelling reasons to do so. Even if your brand isn’t an e-commerce company or your target audience isn’t predominantly female, the platform offers distinct advantages when paired with, or even surpassing, traditional social media platforms like Facebook.
Here are three compelling reasons to integrate Pinterest into your business strategy, along with some innovative pinning techniques to explore.
According to Shareaholic, Pinterest accounted for roughly 7.17% of all social media referral traffic to websites in March 2014, second only to Facebook. This underscores the platform’s potential to drive significant traffic.
In a 2013 Piqora study, it was found that a single pin can generate approximately $0.78 in sales, a 25% increase from 2012. Imagine boosting your daily site traffic by about 7% and earning $0.78 with every click. Joining Pinterest could be the answer.
Pinterest boasts a significantly longer half-life for content than other social media platforms. While a tweet’s half-life is approximately 24 minutes and a Facebook post’s is about 90 minutes, a pin’s half-life is three and a half months. This means a single pin lasts about 1,680 times longer than a Facebook post.
This longevity stems from the fact that pins are highly accessible. They can be found in users’ feeds, on boards created by others, and in search results. Pinterest offers users multiple opportunities to discover content, thereby increasing the lifetime value of pins.
Pinterest also caters to brands, offering a dedicated Pinterest for Business page featuring case studies of successful marketing campaigns. Users can even add prices to items they pin, and receive alerts when items they’ve pinned drop in price.
Pinterest is currently rolling out promoted pin testing, allowing brands to pay for pin placement in search or category feeds, providing additional exposure options.
Despite misconceptions about profitability and traffic generation, Pinterest can be a valuable tool for businesses of all types, including B2B companies and service providers. It can be used to drive awareness and traffic, not just immediate sales.
Pinterest’s active user base is diverse, with approximately 20% being male. Men who use Pinterest tend to do so more as a “shopping cart,” with their pins directly linked to future purchases. This presents opportunities for brands to engage with a broader audience.
Pinterest is a powerful social media platform that offers numerous advantages for brands. Its high retention rate, long-lasting content, and evolving features make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to expand their online presence.
