Pinterest and Instagram have become two of the most prominent social media platforms for marketers. Pinterest has nearly 70 million regularly users, while Instagram has nearly ten times as many. Both are great platforms for marketers to engage users with visual content.
Instagram and Pinterest – Social Media Marketing: free-stock by Pexels
So which platform is best for you? What are the differences between them?
Here are some key differences that you must be aware of.
Instagram Has Much Larger User Base
The biggest difference between the two image marketing platforms is their size. There are ten times as many users on Instagram. If you are angling purely to get the most possible users, you will have better luck focusing on Instagram.
Paid Ad Targeting is Better With Instagram
Instagram shares the same advertising platform with Facebook, so you can target users very carefully. It is an excellent tool for people that want to attract very specific demographics.
Pinterest is More Social
Instagram is used primarily for sharing images. You can get a lot of attention by sharing beautiful images.
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On the other hand, Pinterest is more about engagement. If you come up with beautiful pictures, people will be more likely to share them. You have a better chance of having your images go viral on Pinterest than Instagram.
Pinterest is Better for Driving Converting Traffic to Your Site
This is arguably the biggest difference between Pinterest and Instagram. Pinterest allows you to “pin” content from your sites. This means that visitors must visit your site to see the original image.
It can be a fantastic way to drive traffic to your site. The trick is to get people engaged and encourage them to share your content.
Keep in mind that Pinterest is still a form of interruption marketing. People aren’t expecting to visit your website, so they are unlikely to visit and make a purchase. You are better off setting up a more incremental conversion funnel. Focus on getting people to your site and taking a simple action, such as joining an email list. Then you can gradually build a stronger relationship with your leads and nurture them into paying customers.
Pinterest is Better for Direct Response – Instagram is Better for Branding
So Instagram has much more reach, but Pinterest is good for engaging users and getting them to your site. What does this mean for marketers? Which is actually better?
There unfortunately isn’t a clear answer to that question. It all boils down to your goal. If you are trying to build your brand, you will have more luck with Instagram, because you can reach more people. It’s a great platform for brands that need to establish themselves in the eyes of their target customers.
Pinterest, on the other hand, is ideal for marketers that need users to take a more immediate action. If you have an affiliate site and need to drive converting traffic, Pinterest wins hands down. If you want to get people to download a white paper or submit a quote request, you will have a better opportunity with Pinterest.