Since its launch, Facebook Advertising has dominated the social media advertising market, leaving platforms like Pinterest in its wake. Facebook’s targeting and impression share have made it difficult for other platforms to compete. However, things are changing, and Pinterest could be a big player in 2019.
Pinterest was founded in January 2010, and self-serve advertising became widely available in December 2014. The company has made great strides since then, with many significant achievements occurring in 2018. These major achievements include reaching revenue of nearly $1 Billion through the platform and surpassing 200 Million monthly active users.
Pinterest’s numbers have been increasing exponentially over the years. This is despite Facebook’s $33 billion ad revenues and 2.27 billion monthly active users. Crunchbase has created a chart that shows the company’s trajectory.
You can see that the company is on the right track. They are increasing revenue, users, and their staff to ensure they have the proper foundation to take this platform to the next stage. In February of this year, they hired Francoise Brier as COO. Brougher had previously been a top executive with Square; before that, she was an advertising executive at Google. Brougher will be a great fit to help take this platform to its next level, especially since, at its core, it is a search engine similar to Google.
Pinterest has a very bright future with all these achievements. Pinterest’s announcement that it plans to go public by mid-2019 is the most promising thing on the horizon. The company’s projected value is between $13 and $15 Billion. This may seem like deja vu, as Snap has recently followed the same path. However, I think that Pinterest’s solid foundation gives it an edge over Facebook and Google. Let’s get more specific and look at Pinterest Advertising.
Digital marketing requires you to consider the mindset of your consumer as they view your advertisement. Facebook is a great way to generate interest because people seek entertainment. This is an excellent way to introduce a brand and attract new customers. Google, on the other hand, the user actively searches to accomplish a particular task. It’s all about how you compare to your competitors who have the same real estate. Facebook also does a great job of targeting individuals based on their activity on the platform, whereas Google is more based on search queries.
Pinterest is an appealing new option because it combines both. Users use Pinterest to find inspiration but also actively complete a task, whether it is for fashion, recipes, or home design. Pinterest can also target users by using interest-based targeting, similar to Facebook. They are also able to target people based on search queries. You can also serve rich media content to users performing a query. Pinterest combines the best features of both platforms into one. Here’s the best part, it’s CHEAPER. CPMs (costs per 1000 impressions) are usually significantly lower than those on Facebook or Google. It’s crazy, isn’t it?
Facebook and Google are also on their side because they’ve been the subject of many negative press this year. 2019 is the best time to take advantage of their offering. Pinterest’s biggest challenge in battling the giants will be that they have a niche audience that uses the platform. They tend to only use it for inspiration and not much to do with transactions. I do not doubt that they will make a big splash in advertising in 2019 if they can overcome these factors.
The stats on the growth of the company are impressive. However, the platform’s stats also show the impact that this platform has on a business.
Pinterest is used by 1 in 2 U.S. teens every month
Pinterest has over 100 billion pins. 2 million people pin every day. This is a lot of pins. The largest mall in America, the Mall of America, only has 100,000 visitors per day.
Eighty-six percent of millennials use Pinterest to plan “big and small life moments.”
The number one platform for millennials to shop is Amazon.
Pinterest has a 47% purchase rate for millennials (9% more than Facebook millennials and 14% more than Twitter millennials).
Pinterest is used by 67% of Pinners to shop in brick-and-mortar stores. The most common mass merchandisers are the ones that use it.
Pinterest is the most popular digital platform for shopping, with 55% of users. This rate is more than four times higher than other platforms.
It is the preferred online platform for 55% of U.S. shoppers
18% of Active Pinners purchase something inspired by Pinterest at least once per month.
73% of active Pinners bought something after seeing it on Pinterest.
61% of Pinners purchased the discovery of branded content.
Wrapping Up
Pinterest has made huge strides in the market. While the giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter are taking steps backward, Pinterest continues progressing. I am excited to see how the company performs in 2019. It would be wise to keep an eye on the company, and if you were planning a marketing budget in 2019, it wouldn’t hurt to try out some ideas.