Let’s discuss the biggest comeback across social media year. And no, we’re not talking about tie-die, flares or Dior saddle bags... it's Pinterest.
Not unlike bumping into the shy, quiet kid in your year at school who somehow blossomed into the most confident person to grace the earth, Pinterest is changing the game.
Previously regarded as one of the on-the-bench players in the background of the social media landscape, Pinterest has for years been the go-to platform for wedding inspo and home decor mood boards.
Yet throughout 2020, they’ve surpassed 400 million users worldwide, with the UK following the USA as their biggest market. Pinterest reported that the Gen-Z users of their platform have increased by 50% year-on-year since June along with video sharing which has grown a momentous 240%. With all of this in mind, it’s no bloody surprise that in Q3, their revenue was up 58% year-on-year, damnnnnn daniel.
And what’s it down to? One guess, yup, a certain pandemic.
Business Insider explains how Pinterest benefited immensely from increased engagement during COVID lockdowns, the worldwide rise in online shopping and quite simply, people looking for some escapism from a mundane, dreary old news feed.
Pinterest’s head of content and creators David Temple explained that Pinterest used to be about what you were looking to find whereas now it’s about who you’re looking to be inspired by.
In a blog post, the platform said as more people than ever will be online shopping over the festive period, they will reinvent the shopping experience for consumers through visual discovery and curated collections.
It seems many brands such as Gym Shark and LEGO need no convincing of Pinterest’s appeal as companies are increasingly searching for new methods of connecting with their consumers.
As The Drum explains, Ted Baker used Promoted Pins and wedding-inspired boards so that when users searched for inspiration, this would be their immediate view. These bespoke ‘Wed For Ted’ Boards were used as part of an overall strategy that was broadcast across all communications, including Pins at the end of each board that encouraged complimentary in-store consultations or links to their newsletter.
This Year’s Pinterest Features
So what exactly can you do on Pinterest that wasn’t around before? Well, there’s quite a bit.
Story Pins
Unlike Insta, FB or Snapchat, Pinterest’s Story Pins stay on the platform amongst its other content and they don’t disappear after a set period of time. You can even save them for later! This is a smart move, meaning any Story Pin can be found via searching mechanisms keeping the content relevant for months.
Shopping Features
With a higher demand for the shopping functionality, earlier this year Pinterest opened itself up to advertisers by permitting ads in more places and giving a greater ads performance insight. Launching the e-commerce function means consumers can now make purchases from a pin directly from a shopping tab from search results. Or even from within boards, voila!
Pinterest Analytics
To compete with the likes of Google and Instagram, Pinterest have added their own analytics tools which allow users to track their performance over time. Companies can collect data on how popular a product is at different moments, whilst users can see metrics like impressions, saves and close-ups.
Pinterest Trends
As a new keywords research tool, Pinterest Trends allows you to search words or phrases by country and the results will show a graph of how often this term has been searched over the past year. On the home search page, you will see searches that are currently trending and Pinterest will also show ‘related terms’ as a recommendation.
Pushing Content from Underrepresented Groups
Businesses, retailers and creators can now add to a ‘Community Information’ tab, allowing them to self-identify if they come from an underrepresented group. This means their content will be highlighted in these spaces, as part of Pinterest’s commitment to ensuring that half of their managed creators come from minority groups.
With all of these snazzy, up-to-date features and a conscious effort to increase the discoverability of users from all backgrounds, it’s no wonder Pinterest has shone through this year as the positive and inclusive platform for all.
There’s less trolling, fake news and political involvement. Less drama, should we say.
They’ve certainly won the Trufflers and our clients over. 👏