Once upon a time, Pinterest was the most popular standalone website – and while it may not be as talked about as it once was, it has continued to grow in popularity and its audience continues to remain engaged. Pinterest is a wonderful platform for planning events, looking for ‘how to’ posts, and shopping. With more than 200 billion Pins, there is a chance to reach almost every audience on Pinterest. However, in order to successfully use the platform, there are some things that you need to know.

320 Million People Use Pinterest Every Month

Every month, more than 320 million users will log onto their Pinterest accounts. They will browse pins, look for old pins, and try new projects, workout routines, recipes, and more. You need to figure out how to connect to those users and get into their suggested pins and, eventually, onto their boards.

‍Women Make Up The Majority Of Users

Of those 320 million monthly users, some 71% are female. In the United States alone, 83% of users are women between the ages of 25 and 54. They make 80% of the buying decisions in their households. This means that Pinterest has a huge amount of power in helping people to sell their products and services.

The Men Who Use It? They’re Dads

While women do make up a majority of the audience, of the roughly 20% of men that use Pinterest, most of them are dads. They are using Pinterest to learn how to do things like take care of their kids, meal plan, do hair, and more. Some look for DIY products to do with their children, others look for parenting tips. Dads are more likely to search for healthy recipes, share boards, and actually make a purchase due to what they find. They aren’t as likely to scroll their feeds.

Millennials Use Pinterest Every Month

Stats show that over half of millennials in the United States use Pinterest every month. These people are savvy buyers who are looking for new ideas, trying to get their futures together, or are planning a major life event. They are using Pinterest to get buying ideas and trying to see what is out there.

Pinterest Leads To Purchases

Pinterest users are buying. If you connect a compelling photo to a link to buy, it is likely that you will see results. Almost half of Pinners will log onto Pinterest just to shop – and they do make purchases.

Many Marketers Already Know The Power Of Pinterest

Marketers are already using Pinterest to their benefit. That number is going to continue to grow as more people go online for their purchases. Here is what they know about buyers:

● Most people searching Pinterest don’t look for certain brands

● About 77% of Pinners will find a new brand every week

● Nearly all Pinner report trying something new after using Pinterest ● Almost half of Pinners will buy something after seeing a promoted Pin

● Adding “Pin It” options on your website can help

You should take some time to study what those marketers are doing so that you know what you should do next. Another thing you should note? Ads work on Pinterest. The platform seamlessly interrupts them when they are viewing to the point that it might not even seem like an ad.

Pinterest Is Positive

Another thing to note is that Pinterest is a positive space. People use the platform to improve themselves and their lives. This means that your message needs to be positive as well. Focus on upbeat text, beautiful images, and calming, cool content. Do not try to buck the system here – it will not pay off for you.

People Spend About 15 Minutes On Pinterest

Pinterest shows that you have about 15 minutes to capture attention – which is a really long time for a social media platform. If you can get someone to pin your post, you are going to get even more. People can get caught in “Pinterest Spirals” where they just keep scrolling, pinning, and potentially buying.

One thing to remember is that they are looking at Pinterest on their phones – so you need to optimize your content for that. Pinterest is going to surpass $1 billion in ad revenue by 2020, so you should get to work as quickly as possible. You want to be one of the first in your industry to get here. The longer your pins are there, the more comments you get, the more trustworthy they will be.