You are here: Home / Blog / Instagram vs. Pinterest for your local businesses Which one should you choose
By Robert Gandley on Jun 20, 2021
Creating and sharing videos and images for marketing has become one of the most effective and popular marketing tactics in the last few years. Because people don’t prefer to read on the web, they tend to consume information by viewing rather than reading. It’s one of the main reasons why social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have become popular.
But when it comes to the debate of Instagram vs. Pinterest and which platform can help your business grow, the answer is not that straightforward. Because both of these platforms serve a unique purpose, they are visual-centric and very huge due to their unique selling points.
So, whether you choose Instagram or Pinterest, or even both of them, it depends on your social media goals. Remember that regardless of the social network you choose, success boils down to sharing great content that can help you build a loyal following.
This post will help you look deeper into the Instagram vs. Pinterest topic and analyze how both of them differ from each other. And how you can leverage them to enhance your business.
In the argument of Instagram vs. Pinterest, Instagram emerges as a simple and powerful social media app that lets you upload videos/photos through a smartphone.
Any visual uploaded by you can be seen on your Instagram profile. Plus, people who follow you can see each of your posts in their newsfeed (just like Facebook). The main focus of this network is on sharing content via mobile while you interact with other users by following them, liking them, commenting on their visuals, etc.
Any social media savvy brand can use this network to build brand awareness by sharing fun, creative visuals.
Users often see Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool, rightly called a web-based bulletin board. It lets you organize your content.
Pinterest, which is available for both web and mobile, is used by people to curate and save videos and images for later. It is widely used for future event planning, such as a wedding or even a baby shower.
On Pinterest, the activity of saving visuals is called “Pinning.” User’s “pin” visuals they find on the internet to the relevant “boards,” which are a collection of pins. Then when someone clicks on that visual, they will be taken to the original page where it was found.
Like Instagram, Pinterest is also a social network where people can connect to others through liking, commenting, and repining existing content shared by each other. This means you can use Pinterest for business growth by sharing your visual content on it.
Below are some factors you need to consider when choosing between Instagram and Pinterest for your business.
The reason why people follow an account on Instagram is quite different from why someone follows an account on Pinterest. These reasons affect how users interact with content available on the site, which is crucial if you want to succeed on either platform.
Pinterest is used mainly for discovering something, whether it’s a DIY project for a living room or a dinner recipe. Followers look for topics they are interested in. That’s why users generally search for specific keywords to find that content and follow specific accounts that post that type of content frequently.
On the other hand, on Instagram, what matters more is the image itself. If you made something special for dinner and posted a picture of it, it can get a lot of attention without you having to mention the exact steps of how you made it. Such a thing would never work on Instagram because, as we just mentioned, Pinterest is all about discovering something new and inspiring.
The audience on Instagram usually follows those accounts whose fee they like and find intriguing. For example, people interested in traveling would follow aesthetically pleasing feeds from travel bloggers, while people interested in cuisine would follow picturesque food accounts. They quickly find these accounts by looking through keywords and hashtags.
In social media advertising or generally, it is essential to know your audience and their preferred platforms.
The audience of Instagram is highly diverse as compared to Pinterest. It is much larger than Pinterest. The number of people who use Instagram every month is more than one billion, whereas only 442 million people use Pinterest every month.
The primary audience of Pinterest is women (80%) and tends to attract people looking for inspiration, creative ideas, style tips, and recipes. With almost 80% of the audience women, Pinterest’s audience is primarily female. In contrast, Instagram has an audience of 51% female and 49% male. Instagram’s Explore tab allows users to find curated content based on their personal interests.
The audience of Pinterest is mainly 25-34 years old (40%), whereas the age of Instagram’s audience is similar, with the largest demographic group being aged 25-34 years old.
That’s why it is crucial to establish who your ideal audience is when selecting the most appropriate platform to market on.
The other significant difference between Instagram and Pinterest is the use of the device. Instagram can be used primarily on mobile devices. You can still browse pictures on the platform via their website on PC, but you can’t upload them on a desktop. You must have to use their smartphone app to post content.
On the other hand, you can browse and post photos via both the Pinterest app on mobile and the browser on the desktop.
If your target audience prefers to use social media on their desktop, Pinterest might be the best option. However, today, the use of smartphones is widespread; this might not be a big factor.
Another main difference between Pinterest and Instagram is the algorithm.
On Pinterest, Pins have a longer shelf life. You can say it’s one of the main advantages of Pinterest. Pins are said to last up to 4 months, making the content evergreen. In most cases, you can still receive traffic to several years-old posts.
On Instagram, the post’s shelf is a lot shorter. And it is due to the instant aspect of the platform. The posts only get engagement within the first 24 hours. It is uncommon that a post on Instagram still gets comments and likes months after it has been posted.
With the rise of social media advertising, Instagram advertising is also in high demand. It is due to the variety of targeting options they provide. The parent company of Instagram is Facebook, and their advertising tools are excellent for specific targeting at a reasonable cost compared to other platforms.
Instagram advertising lets you connect to your specific audience wherever you’re in the world, even though they’re following you or not. On top of using lookalike audiences when targeting, you can choose everything from demographics such as gender and age to interests and employment.
Instagram advertising also enables you to advertise various types of content, including video ads, photo ads, carousel ads, and story ads. You can also test from this which type of content works best for your target audience. You might think that it’s a very hectic, tedious process. Indeed, it is, but you can opt for a Facebook advertising agency that can do Instagram advertising for you with guaranteed results.
Pinterest advertising is a bit different. It allows you to get ‘ad products’ in front of your audience. Their advertising includes promoted image pins (single image), promoted video pins (single video), promoted carousels (multiple photos), and promoted app pins.
Promoted pins are only available in selected countries, such as Canada, UK, the USA, Germany, France, Spain, New Zealand, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal.
Both Instagram and Pinterest prioritize images and have lots of potential for businesses to engage with their audience. Understanding the difference between these platforms will allow you to create different content for each of them or choose the platform that suits your audience most.
In the first step, you need to focus on your ideal customer and look if the above-mentioned factors match their needs. If you choose Instagram but are having a hard time creating high-quality content and managing its advertising, you can opt for a Facebook advertising agency. They also deal with Instagram advertising. Their experts will handle all facets of the campaign for you, such as ad creation, campaign setup and deployment campaign, ongoing campaign optimization, live view dashboard, and monthly reports.
However, if your goal is to generate more traffic to your website, Pinterest is usually the recommended option. If you want to raise awareness and build a reputable brand image online, Instagram can be the best option for you.
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