Should You Be Marketing on Pinterest or Instagram?

Visual content marketing is one of the hottest digital marketing trends these days. People are more interested in seeing information rather than reading it, and as a result, visual marketing platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have experienced a significant increase in the number of users.

While both Pinterest and Instagram look similar on the surface – people share pictures of food they eat, places they visit and browse and share images they like. But if you dive in deeper, you can identify things that make the two social forums different. And these differences lead to the question commonly asked by online businesses and marketers, “which one is better, Pinterest or Instagram?”

To make your marketing journey a little easier, we have written this article to help you with your selection of a visual marketing platform.

The future of online marketing is visual

For those marketers who are still contemplating over presenting their business to Instagram and Pinterest users, here are some stats:

– 40 percent of Internet users respond better to visual information than text-based information. (Source: WMG)

– 21 percent of Pinterest pins lead to a purchase. (Source: MediaPost)

– And, 28 percent of online adults use Pinterest, up from 21 percent in 2013. (Source: PewResearchCenter)

With these statistics in front of you, you should have no doubt about the benefits of marketing a business on Pinterest or Instagram. Now let’s continue with the primary question, “Which one is better?”

Pinterest vs. Instagram: Know the User Demographics

There is no definite answer to this question that which one of the two visual marketing platforms is better. It depends on your business and your target market. You need to look into market data. Study users’ demographics and identify the platform that can offer you the maximum exposure to your target audiences.

We are presenting the demographics of Pinterest and Instagram users in the following table and saving you from purchasing this valuable data.

Demographics on Pinterest and Instagram Users (Source: PeWResearchCenter)

	Instagram	Pinterest
Men	22	13
Women	29	42
18-29	53	34
30-49	25	28
50-64	11	27
65+	6	17
Urban	28	25
Suburban	26	29
Rural	19	30

Also, if you spend a little time on both websites, you will identify that the audiences of Pinterest and Instagram have some specific interests. For example, Instagram users are more interested in following brands and celebrities, while Pinterest’s audiences look for DIY products, How-to videos, tips, etc. Therefore, when marketing on Pinterest, you will have to create more informal content to engage your customers. On the contrary, Instagram marketing needs authentic content that showcases ‘behind the scenes’ pictures and video clips, and helps users connect to the brand.

Pinterest vs. Instagram: Understanding the Dynamics

Marketing a business on Pinterest or Instagram requires you to understand the key marketing attributes of both the websites. Here is a list of them.

1. Pinterest offers you an easy reach to the user. The pins link the user to a website, and hence help in increasing website traffic. On Instagram, you are not provided with this luxury. Instagram is about showing beautiful pictures of your products to the user and increasing brand awareness.
2. On Pinterest, your pin must compete with other pins on the board to grab a user’s attention. On the other hand, Instagram allows users to view one picture at a time, offering your brand exclusive user attention.
3. Pinterest’s smart feed shows pins to the users on the basis of their interest, increasing both relevance and effectiveness of the content. On Instagram, pictures are shown in chronological order, so users can see your content only if they happen to login right after you posted something.

story by Paul Cook

image by Alexanne Madison

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