Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few years, you’ve probably heard of Instagram and Pinterest. Instagram is the popular image and video sharing website used by people and companies ranging from Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Cristiano Ronaldo to Nike, NASA, and the NBA. Pinterest is another popular image sharing (and on a smaller scale, GIFs and videos) website that users typically curate into collections around a common theme. Its three most popular users are lesser known celebrities; Joy Cho, Maryann Rizzo, and Bekka Palmer.

As of this blog post, Instagram has approximately 1 billion monthly active users (MAU) and 500 million daily active users (DAU). It’s popularity places it well ahead of other well-known social media channels, Twitter (326 million active users), Snapchat (150 million active users), and Pinterest (250 million active users). And, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, currently accounts for approximately 25% of revenues of its parent company (next year it is projected to account for 30%).

Pinterest’s 250 million active users is approx 1/4 of Instagram’s. However, if your specific market is women aged 25-54, then Pinterest may be a gold mine for you. 83% of women in that age bracket in the US are on Pinterest. And, since women are often the controllers of household finances (women control 80% of household spending in the US), Pinterest has a special importance for advertisers of household products. But, that doesn’t mean men are left out either. 50% of new signups in 2018 were men. If your product has a strong international appeal, 80% of new Pinterest signups are from outside the US. High-income and educated US households are also well represented on Pinterest, and twice as likely to use the platform as low-income and less educated US households (39% of people in households worth $75k or more per year use Pinterest).

For business looking to advertise on Pinterest, the statistics reveal a powerful tool to capture sales and market share:

• Pinterest users are twice as likely to report that they feel their time on the website was well spent (compared to other social media platforms).
• 67% look at saved content while in stores
• 55% use Instagram to shop
• 98% of Pinterest users go out and try the ideas they find on the platform (compared to the average of 71% on other social media platforms)
• 90% of weekly users use Pinterest to make purchasing decisions
• 55% of Pinterest users are looking specifically for products
• 85% of female users use Pinterest to plan for “life moments”

In general, Instagram tends to be more personal, with the poster sharing images and video that show the real side of your product/service and company and allow personal interaction with potential customers. Instagram users tend to add images that foster feelings of FOMO (otherwise known as the “fear of missing out”); which often includes the amazing food they are eating, the fabulous parties they attending, and the exotic destinations they are traveling to.

Conversely, Pinterest users often add images of future aspirations; including the clothes they want to buy, the makeup they want to test, and the kitchen remodeling projects they want to do. Pinterest users seem to be always searching for that perfect _____ (fill in the blank). Whether it’s a perfect duvet cover, kitchen accessory, wedding dress, or cufflinks, people flock to Pinterest to find it. As such, Pinterest seems to fulfill one of the basic emotional needs we all have…shopping.

Simply put, Instagram is generally more about “who you are, or what you’re doing (right now)”, whereas Pinterest is generally more about “who you want to be, or what your plans are (in the future)”.

What this means for advertisers is that Pinterest may be the better choice for marketing products or services that don’t have a built-in FOMO feature. If your product or service is something that customers have to save for, plan for, or is long-term oriented, Pinterest is probably the marketing platform for you. However, if your product or service is more short-term, perishable (in terms of longevity, not spoilage), or an impulse or emotional purchase, then Instagram may be the better platform for you.

In terms of branding, Instagram is a great tool for that purpose. It’s “in the moment” snapshots of time can be a powerful technique to reach out and connect with new audiences, or reshape a brand’s image. Instagram followers tend to seek more personal interaction and engagement with the brands they follow. If used correctly, Instagram can be very effective in promoting goods and products to potential customers. Therefore, brands must be careful to be authentic in their representation. Doing this will engender trust with users, who can also be potential advocates of the brand as influencers. In fact, some brands also choose to pay popular Instagram influencers to show their products and services in a way that feels more genuine than traditional advertising. And, some influencers get handsomely paid for doing so. In Kylie Jenner’s case, she reportedly receives $1 million per paid Instagram post. This has helped Jenner become the youngest self-made billionaire in history, coincidentally unseating the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, for the honor. And, the paid influencer market is not going away any time soon. The total “paid influencer” market reached $1 billion in 2018, and is expected to double in 2019. 

Pinterest, on the other hand, seems to be the opposite of Instagram: it comes across as more natural, genuine, humble. Words that have often been used to describe Pinterest include “inspiring” and “uplifting”. This genuineness helps to create an authenticity that allows Pinterest to connect on a deeper level than most social media platforms out there. And, like Instagram, Pinterest is also a great place to get brand exposure. 97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, and 51% of women have been exposed to new brands on Pinterest. In addition, 78% of users say content from brands on Pinterest is useful.

Whichever platform you choose depends on your advertising goals, target market, and type of product/service. Ultimately, the final decision of which one to choose should always be which generates the most traffic that produces sales, and in the end, ROI.

(all statistics from Hubspot and Pinterest)

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