Pinterest is inarguably one of the largest online platforms that are used by marketers, retailers, startup business owners, content creators, and more. But there is always this question that is always answered differently by Pinterest users: Is Pinterest a social media site?
In this post, I will be explaining whether Pinterest is or is not a social media network and why it is important to know how to use the platform effectively especially for business owners and content creators.
Is Pinterest A Social Media Platform?
Sure, they may be some features Pinterest has that make it similar to other social media networks, but Pinterest themselves introduce the Pinterest platform as “a visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, and more.”
What does a visual discovery engine mean, you ask? Just think of Pinterest as Google where you can search for a question and once you hit the search button, you will be provided with answers in the form of visual content – images and videos in the form of Pins.
This means that you do a visual search on Pinterest to get inspiration and answers to your questions.
What makes Pinterest unique (and sometimes even better) than Google is how you can discover Pins you love very easily, and save them to boards or group boards to keep your ideas organized and easy to find.
What Exactly Is Pinterest Used For?
Just as I have mentioned above, Pinterest is used as a visual discovery or search engine by pinners who use Pinterest casually – what I mean by this is people who solely use Pinterest to search for ideas and inspirations. I personally believe Pinterest is not a social media as well.
The home feed is where you’ll find Pins, people, and businesses that the website thinks you’ll love, based on your recent activity and engagement. Pinterest will also show you Pins from the people and boards you choose to follow. You can also comment on pins that you like and re-pin content from people you follow.
Use the search bar to discover ideas, people, and trends. Explore suggested topics or search for topics of your own.
In the business sense, however, using Pinterest and using Pinterest marketing strategies can greatly help and boost your online business for free.
How To Use Pinterest For Business
The Pinterest platform differs from other social media platforms or websites in terms of a business or marketing approach. First and foremost, you may quickly reach your target audience on Pinterest in a matter of hours!
So really, there’s no need to use ads unless you really want to boost your marketing strategy and reach more users worldwide – but you can also easily reach users from other countries on the website without using promoted pins.
Since Pinterest introduced itself as a search engine, businesses can promote and explore the platform through fun images, infographics, videos, and more of their products and services. You can even sell your services on Pinterest by linking pins to the page where you sell any service. You can also easily do affiliate marketing on Pinterest!
Another perk of using Pinterest for your business is that the website gives really in-depth analytics of your account – how well your pins are doing, what is not doing well, if you are getting website traffic and sales, and more.
To Create A Business Account:
- In the top right-hand corner of your screen, click Sign up
- Click Create a business account
- Enter your email address, create a password and enter your age
- Click Create account
- Fill in the fields to Build your profile, then click Next
- Fill in the fields to Describe your business, then click Next
- Select whether you want to run ads, then click Next
- Select where you’d like to start or click the x icon to go to your new Pinterest business account
How Is Pinterest Different From Other Social Media Platforms (Facebook and Instagram, etc)?
Apart from all the important points I have mentioned before, there are still various unique features Pinterest has that make it unique to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.
- Pinterest is centered around providing the best experience and results to its users. With that, they constantly try their best to release a new feature that is beneficial for casual pinners, content creators, and small business owners.
- Pinterest’s content is not shown in chronological order and is instead personalized and shown depending on the users’ engagement, interests, and likes.
- The website is a large network where users and businesses can promote their products and create a community on Pinterest.
- Pinterest is solely image-based (including videos) and can be seen as a virtual bulletin by active users who love to curate inspirations and ideas visually.
- Pinterest’s content is evergreen meaning that even if one has created a pin 3 or 5 years ago, it can still appear in recent times and still perform well depending on the topic or seasonal trends.
- Pinterest is a great place if you are an advertiser or you work on email marketing as you can easily garner leads and sales on the website.
- Pinterest allows users to message one another without restrictions.
- If you want to promote your blog posts, Pinterest is the perfect place for you if you want to get clicks.
- Pinterest isn’t only a place for pretty images, but it is also a place where you can start earning passive income.
Did you find this post useful? Save THIS PIN below to your Pinterest Marketing board and check it later at any time!
I’m Anastasia and I’m a full-time blogger, online entrepreneur, and Pinterest marketing strategist. I help digital entrepreneurs and bloggers drive targeted traffic from Pinterest either through my online courses or through Pinterest consultancy.
