Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat…
It feels like you’re always hearing about these social media platforms. But when it comes to ecommerce, another platform might be more powerful than all of those.
We’re talking about Pinterest…
E-commerce businesses everywhere are using Pinterest to get more sales and customers.
So, what’s going on here? What makes Pinterest so great, and is it indeed the most powerful social media platform for ecommerce?
That’s what we’ve set out to discover today.
Exploring the Power of Pinterest…
It’s a Great Way to Drive Traffic to Your Shopify Store
Let’s take a look at the monthly active user base of some of the top social media platforms:
Facebook: 1.59 billion
Twitter: 320 million
Snapchat: 100 million
Instagram: 400 million
Pinterest: 100 million
Some hefty competition for Pinterest, right? Pinterest has less than 2% of the total market share.
Now, consider this…
According to Shopify, despite it’s smaller user base, Pinterest accounts for 25% of total retail referral traffic to Shopify stores.
That makes it the #2 source of social media traffic to Shopify stores, behind only Facebook.
What does that tell us? Pinterest users are extremely active. They’re not just browsing through Pinterest – they’re using it for a purpose. They’re actually clicking over and exploring the items they see.
Pinterest Users Are Spending More Than They Do on Other Platforms
While Pinterest doesn’t have the audience size as other platforms, its users like to do one thing: Spend money, and a lot of it!
According to Venture Beat, Pinterest generates over four times as much revenue per click as Twitter, and 27% more revenue per click than Facebook.
What’s more, according to Social Media Today, Pinterest buyers spend more money, on more items, than any of the other top five social media sites.
The bottom line? Pinterest users are spending money. So, if you know how to get in front of them with the right message on Pinterest, you can generate a ton of revenue.
It’s Growing Quickly
Pinterest is growing quickly each year. According to Ripen Commerce, 22% of Americans use Pinterest once a month. That’s up from 12% in 2012.
What’s more, 38% of users have made a purchase because they saw it on Pinterest. That’s up from 21% in 2012.
These stats tell us that more and more people are using Pinterest – and that more of those people are making purchases.
So, there’s no better time than now to jump in and start using Pinterest. All signs point to continued growth – which means more potential customers for you!
The Demographic is Shifting
Who is your target demographic?
For a long time, Pinterest was predominantly comprised of women. According to Search Engine Journal, in 2012, 80% of Pinterest users were women.
But the demographic is slowly shifting, which means you have more opportunities to reach larger audiences.
Pinterest has recently revealed that its male audience is growing more quickly than its female audience – with men accounting for one-third of all sign-ups on the site. So as of now, that 80/20 female-to-male ratio is shifting more towards 70/30, and continuing to even out.
Whether your audience is female or male oriented, you have a huge opportunity with Pinterest.
The Best Social Media Platform for E-commerce?
It’s difficult to say whether or not we can crown it is as the best social platform for e-commerce. Yes, it is a very powerful platform – however, it has a significantly smaller user base than the Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The verdict? Whether or not it’s the most powerful is really just semantics. The fact is, it should be a part of your e-commerce plan. If you haven’t been using it, it’s time to get started. And if you have been using it a little bit, perhaps it’s time to amp up your efforts so you can make the most out of it (we’ll talk about how to make the most out of Pinterest in a future blog and link to it here).
Have you used Pinterest for your e-commerce business? What has your experience been like? Let us know in the comments below!
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