Pinterest and Instagram | chachoo Social Media Agency Bournemouth
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Pinterest and Instagram | Blog by chachoo Social Media Agency Bournemouth

Pinterest and Instagram

Pinterest and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular as brands catch on to the benefits of using engaging visual content that can be posted straight to consumer’s devices.

But it hasn’t always been obvious how to convert followers into sales, which has led to both platforms recently developing new tools to generate greater commerce.

So what are the benefits of Pinterest and Instagram, and which provides the best platform for business?

Target audiences

Brands targeting female consumers see the benefits of embracing social media. This is because women are 10% more likely than men to show brand support and 17% more likely to access offers on social media. However, men are shown to be slightly more interested in purchasing directly on social platforms by using a social buy button than women (33 % vs. 30%).

All social media networks such as Pinterest and Instagram, bar LinkedIn, have more female users than male, although women’s domination of social media is not equally spread across all networks. Figures reveal that Pinterest’s users are 70% and Instagram’s users are 55% female.

Buyable Pins

Pinterest launched Buyable Pins recently, allowing consumers to purchase items without leaving the platform and to pay using Apple Pay or credit cards. With a user base of 70m made-up largely of consumers who are the most active and engaged, it’s no surprise that Pinterest is often seen as the social network with the highest potential for ecommerce.

Instagram’s buy button

Despite the merits of Pinterest, research from intelligence firm L2 shows that Instagram actually has the highest browser-to-shopper conversion rate of the social media outlets it tracks. This is despite the fact that Instagram only allows brands to link to their website from their profile page.

The introduction of the Instagram ‘buy button’ sounded like a shift for the network. It is not available on regular Instagram posts yet, but limited to the recently-introduced ad platform. So if consumers see an item on the brand’s Instagram page they would like to purchase, they still have to search for the item on the retailer’s website to be able to buy it.

Why is Instagram better at converting browsers to shoppers then?

The answer is two-fold. What Pinterest promises is a channel through which brands can speak to women in a way that they like being spoken to.

However, while Brands understand the need to target consumers by gender what seems odd is that organisations are keen to segregate their female-targeted messages onto an entirely separate platform. Instagram, on the other hand, allows brands to target both men and women through the same platform by separating their content through gender specific accounts.

It is more difficult for retailers to push their products openly on Instagram, which is the second, counter-intuitive reason why the platform is better for driving commerce. Brands publish content on Instagram that describes the lifestyle and culture of the company; it is the social network where retailers can forge an emotional connection with consumers.

Messages promoting the culture behind the brand – be it a tie in with another brand or a connection to the local community – have proven to be extremely effective at driving engagement and revenue.

Pinterest has been under pressure to bring commerce to the front of its platform for some time. Buyable pins help achieve this by moving Pinterest towards becoming something akin to a digital shopping centre.

Social media allows brands to share their story in a way that retail space and owned websites often cannot offer, and for this reason a targeted Instagram account looks to be the better choice for driving revenue now, and potentially in the future.


Do you have any questions about Pinterest and Instagram and how to best use them for your business? Get in touch with your questions. As a Professional Social Media Agency, we specialise in Content Creation and Distribution, Social Media Advertising, Community & Channel Management as  well as Social Media Training & Coaching.

Our Experts have a proven track record in Professional Digital Marketing and excel in making Social Media Work for Businesses of all sizes. Contact us today and claim your FREE Social Media Audit