Who Are Pinterest Users?
Pinterest is currently one of the most popular social networking sites; according to many reports, it is lagging behind only Facebook and Twitter. In early 2013, the website had nearly 50 million users. By mid-2013, the number of Pinterest users reached an estimated 70 million. But who are the website’s users?
Demographics
Pinterest is popular with both men and women of all ages. However, the majority of users are women; according to most analyses, they make up over 80 percent of all Pinterest users in total. In Britain, on the other hand, men account for more users than women. And in comparison to U.S. Pinterest users, they are about one decade younger. While a typical Pinterest user in the United States is between 35 and 44 years old, Pinterest user in Britain is most likely to be 25 to 34 years old.
Entertainment, Education, Business and Marketing
Most Pinterest users have joined the website for hobby and entertainment which clearly reveal the most popular categories. These are food & drink, DIYs, travel, interior decor, apparel, etc. However, the website has also become very popular with both students and teachers for a wide range of projects. And since social networking sites have been shown to be very powerful marketing tools, Pinterest has understandably attracted a lot of attention among business owners too, both online and offline based ones.
Businesses can’t advertise on Pinterest but they can promote their products and services through pins. And since pins include URLs to the original source, pins are also used to increase website traffic and boost sales. According to recent studies, an average ‘Pinterest buyer’ spends more than twice as much as an average visitor from other social networking sites. Businesses also use Pinterest to raise brand awareness, increase customer loyalty and attract new customers/clients.
Because it allows access to user data, Pinterest is also very popular with marketers who use it to analyse user response to particular products/services. For example, product with a large number of repins has obviously been well received by consumers, at least those who use Pinterest. Likewise, marketers can learn a lot about consumer experience with a particular product/service by reading comments accompanying relevant pins, measure the success of the marketing strategies and more.
The Number of Pinterest Users Projected to Grow
The number of Pinterest users is projected to grow which means that the demographic makeup will probably slightly change in the future to become more all-encompassing. And since each new user is a potential buyer, the number of companies with Pinterest accounts is expected to continue to grow as well. On the one hand, the website will thus allow businesses to reach more potential buyers through pins. But on the other, it will lead to increased competition for ‘Pinterest buyers’ between businesses.