Today, people tend to consume information by looking at it rather than reading it. Due to this huge demand for visual content, giant social media companies like Instagram and Pinterest have become popular.
Now, when it comes to talking about Instagram or Pinterest, a website that can work better to help your business grow, the answer isn’t that simple.
Why ? Because each of these platforms has a unique purpose and has its own place in the arena of social communication. It is not only focused on vision, but also on a large scale due to its unique selling point.
So whether you choose to leverage one or the other or both, it ultimately depends on your goals for marketing through social media. And yes, whatever social network you choose, success is about sharing great content that can help you retain your customers.
Although the two systems are similar in appearance, they are different in many ways. Instagram and Pinterest users have different goals to achieve through each of them, which affects the type and nature of visual images they share.
In the next post, we’ll take a closer look at the theme of Instagram or Pinterest, and analyze how these two social networks differ from each other. And how exactly you can use it to promote your business.
Instagram or Pinterest: What is Instagram?
You must know Instagram. Instagram is a simple yet powerful social media app that allows you to upload / share photos / videos on a smartphone.
You can see all the visible images that you upload to your Instagram profile. Also, people who follow you can see all of your posts in the info file (like Facebook). The goal of this network is to share mobile content while interacting with other users by following them, commenting on their visual images, their likes, etc.
The great thing about Instagram is that it can be used by any smart brand on social media to build brand awareness by sharing innovative and fun images.
Instagram or Pinterest: What is Pinterest?
Pinterest, a tool that people often think of as a bookmarking tool, is a web banner. What makes Pinerest strong is the way you can organize your content.
The Visual Share app (available for web and mobile) is used by people to take care of photos and videos and save them later. Many people use it to plan a future event, like a wedding or even a baby shower.
The photo retention activity is called Pinterest, which means “hanging”. Users typically click on images they find online to access “relevant” boards, which are just a bunch of pins. When you click on a visual image, the user is moved to the original page where they found it.
Like Instagram, even Pinterest is a social network where people can connect with others by commenting, liking, and aggregating existing content shared by others. This means that you can effectively use Pinterest to grow your business by sharing and promoting your visual content.
Instagram or Pinterest: Where are the adults?
Adult users are very important because they are more likely to spend money and invest in your products / services. Here’s what the stats say about adults using these social media platforms.
53% of adults use the internet, in the 18-29 age group, Instagram. Only 34% use Pinterest.
25% of adults on the web, in the 30-49 age group, use Instagram. While 28% of them use Pinterest.
11% of adults on the web, aged 50 to 64, use Instagram. While 27% use Pinterest.
Instagram or Pinterest: How they differ and what you should choose
If you can’t deny that Instagram and Pinterest are both powerful visual platforms, you need to know what makes them unique. And how and why you should choose one or both companies to get the best return on your social media investment.
Here are some of the different factors to consider when choosing Instagram or Pinterest, and which networks are best suited for your business.
Factor 1: Use of the site
When it comes to discussing Instagram and Pinterest, many people forget that these two systems have a single purpose for them. The way people use them is very different.
Instagram allows users to …
Capture images / videos from their mobile devices
Reinforced with filters
Add a relevant and meaningful comment
Share with others
Instagram is a place where other people not only follow, but also brands that post images that the public can contact. It’s actually a great tool for effective media brands.
Brands that use Instagram need to realize that their users are of a different race. They don’t want to see an anonymous post for their business. Rather, they seek more personal and documented interactions with each brand they follow.
In other words, Instagram, as a business, is where you need to be transparent with your customers. By giving them a real vision of how you work and what your brand stands for.
Interest, on the other hand, is fundamentally different from using Instagram. For users, it allows to …
Discover the visual content that interests you
Format of content found by other users
Many Pinterest users come to the site to find relevant visual images that can help them discover a specific type of content or even products that can help them. That’s why 80% of the screws can be duplicated, which allows more users to discover new content.
In a way, Pinterest acts as a visual search engine for a large number of users. Because it’s like Google, it directs people to external websites and helps them discover new content. Does this mean that Pinterest marketing can help you drive more visits that turn into sales? The answer is yes.
There is a difference between participation and discovery. Instagram is all about helping users improve and share the best visual content. Pinterest allows users to discover new and interesting content.
Factor 2: the audience
When it comes to audiences, let’s first see who uses Instagram and how they compare data to Pinterest…
Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users and 500 million daily active users.
Half of the users are outside the United States.
On average, users upload and share 95 million images per day.
The combined social network receives 3.5 billion impressions every day.
Compared to Pinterest, Instagram has an almost equal number of male and female users, with over 60% in the youth segment.
So, for example, if you are a business that sells sneakers and want to connect with the younger generation, Instagram marketing might be the right choice for you.
Now, let’s take a look at some data on the users of Pinterest, which is one of the fastest growing social media platforms today.
Pinterest has over 250 million monthly active users.
Half of the users are outside the United States.
Over 175 billion Pinterest PINs have been shared with the date of t0 and the establishment of 3 billion tips.
A huge number of 2 million users regularly register “shopping pins” on their plates.
Unlike Instagram, the majority of Pinterest users (over 70%) are women. According to a Pew research report, Pinterest has the biggest gender difference compared to any other social network out there. Although the site has small users, it has a significant portion of older people who use it.
So, for example, if your business sells luxury women’s handbags and wants to do more business, it would make more sense for you to sell on Pinterest.
Factor 3: Desktop vs Mobile on Instagram and Pinterest
While this might seem like a minor difference, it can make a big difference in the type of results you see.
First let’s talk about Instagram which works wonderfully as a mobile app, but not so much on your desktop. Why ? Because you can only upload and share new content through your mobile phone, whether it’s regular newsletters or Instagram posts. However, you can view photos and comment on posts through the desktop version.
If you want to take advantage of Instagram to market and grow your brand, then you need to focus on mobile. Remember, cell phone is one of the main reasons a large number of people open Instagram on a daily basis.
Initially, Pinterest was a desktop app, but over the years, its app has taken over on mobile devices. This may be due to the additional features that users find in the portable version like removable pins. And also because Pinterest’s infinite scrolling newsfile is the most mobile-friendly.
However, a large number of visits to Pinterest are from desktop users, and ecommerce sites have seen higher conversions from them. This means that you can achieve better results than Pinterest if you optimize your campaign for mobile and desktop users.
Factor 4: Using the Hashtag
Every Instagram user knows the importance of check marks on Instagram. It is a basic function and it helps users in many ways. The best thing about tickers here is that they allow users to innovate.
People who use Instagram don’t just use tags to discover them, but also help others find content through new and creative brands. They can also follow the labels of their choice.
From a business perspective, using tickers on Instagram makes it easy for you to build a stronger bond with your target audience and allow them to find your content on time. For example, if you are a local photographer located in New York City, you can reach your target audience using tags like # newyorkcityphotographers or # newyorkcityphotographer
Does Pinterest support tick marks? Yes it is. But they are not as useful as on Instagram. One of the reasons ticks are used is to help users find relevant content, like the file system. However, if you take a look at how Pinterest works, the gilts rank high already. Then there are categories that sort out these nails with precision. This means that tags don’t play a role when people search for content.
It is also important to note that only the dimensions that you add to the description of the pins are clickable. Which means adding them to descriptions of forums, accounts, etc. will not help.
Factor 5: Commitment Commitment
Instagram is a great tool to build your brand identity and market your product / service. However, the fact that you can’t share direct links in your posts is an obvious downside. This means that you cannot direct traffic to your site from your Instagram content.
Besides Instagram ads where you are explicitly allowed to include a link, the only place you can post a link is your Instagram profile. In a way, then, you can’t accurately measure Instagram content in terms of traffic.
Now, when it comes to Pinterest, things are the opposite. One of the biggest advantages of posting visual images on Pinterest is that each pin is directly linked to a website. It’s the foundation on which Pinterest works for everyone. Not only does it allow you, as a business, to increase traffic to your website, it also helps you measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
Say, for example, there is a pin (like a picture) showing a simple tutorial on DIYing a cookie basket from a paper plate. Clicking on this pin will take you to a DIY blog or video showing how to do it. You can also go to a site that contains many similar educational programs.
Instagram does not intend to attract users who want to place links in the content. Pinterest, on the other hand, attaches the utmost importance to sharing and maintaining links because their entire template is based on them.
So if you want to market your business and increase customer engagement, use Instagram. However, if you want to attract visitors to your site by distributing content, Pinterest is where you need to focus. So when you are chatting Instagram or Pinterest about links, it all depends on your willingness to link based on site traffic.
Factor 6: Shear
Instagram users always look for a more personalized experience when interacting with a brand they follow. But how can we really identify or understand this experience? The answer is the story. Because pictures can be great tools for telling compelling stories.
If you are an Instagram user, you should already know that most of the people who participate in it want to see strong branding images …
Participation
Can be viewed
Informative
Entertainment
useful
Instagram is a great platform when it comes to using photos or videos to create a personalized, creative bond with your target audience.
The best part is that you can share your content without sacrificing your goal of communicating more information about your products / services. If you can take advantage of Instagram’s storytelling abilities, like using Instagram stories, you can make it a useful situation for you and your prospects.
When it comes to telling real stories, you won’t have to compare Instagram and Pinterest because even Pinterest can be used to connect with your target audience.
By strategically using Pinterest panels, you can not only engage the right users, but also get them to take action. Because visual stories often have a bigger and longer lasting impact. By adding stories to a Pinterest or promotional campaign, you can increase your chances of achieving positive results.
Factor 7: Video content
Instagram has reached an advanced stage when it comes to the type of images that you can share them with, including social media video. Besides posting photos, you can share many video formats on your page, such as …
Videos you download directly from your mobile phone
Video content that you record directly in the app
Boomerang clips, which are small videos that repeat back and forth
Live videos that you share with your followers in real time
Story videos that add personality to your brand
Since Instagram isn’t just about images, you can creatively use it to get the most out of video sharing. However, the same cannot be said of Pinterest, as the site only allows you to install a video link that takes you to an external video hosted on another site like Vimeo or YouTube.
You have the option to upload videos directly to Pinterest, but they are only available for promotional purposes. So, unless you’re paying Pinterest to stream the video, you’ll need to commit to posting links to your videos or posting your own.
Factor 8: Montage of images
Instagram started out as a tool for enhancing images, allowing users to edit images, an important feature to this day. If you are a regular Instagram user, you should already know how to help improve your photos.
By applying different filters or doing simple things like increasing brightness, improving clarity, or adding contrast, you can make your photos stand out from the crowd. While matching the tone of your content to your brand. Plus, they even added face filters to the live video.
However, the same cannot be said of Pinterest, as it does not allow you to edit, alter, or improve your images in any way. You will therefore need to make your changes before uploading your photos to Pinterest.
Factor 9: Order of presentation
Does the order matter? To a certain extent, yes. Because the way you see followers of your content can affect the results you see.
Let’s talk about Instagram first, which displays all images / videos in organized chronological order. The Instagram info file and any new visual content are displayed to your followers as soon as you log in. This means that the more you engage on Instagram, the higher your score.
The interest is different in this case because your followers do not see your pins chronologically. The pins displayed to users depend in some way on their history or past interests.
Pinterest’s algorithm only shows content that you deem relevant to the user in the smart feed, and works similarly to Facebook. If you are a business working on Pinterest, then you may need to adopt a different strategy than Instagram. This is because people who follow your brand may or may not see your pins.
Factor 10: Declaration
The Instagram ad is necessary today because it gives concrete results. One of the main reasons for its success is the fact that it is linked to its parent company, Facebook. The type of targeting options you see on Instagram are precise and versatile for this reason.
When you serve targeted ads on Instagram, you are essentially clicking on its large user base, making it easier for you to connect with people all over the world. Also, as an advertiser, you can add a how-to button to your post, which makes it more attractive.
Here are the different types of Instagram ads you can check out:
Ads in pictures
Video ads
Ads are circular
Announcement stories
For Pinterest advertising, you can only use their own advertising system if your business is located in the United States, which limits your access.
Pinterest allows you to pay for ads either based on participation or the number of clicks generated.
Here are the different types of Pinterest ad formats:
Promotion pins
Promotional video pins
Circular promotion
Promotion request pins
Instagram vs. Pinterest: Judgment
After considering the various factors mentioned above, you should try to determine which one is most appropriate (Instagram or Pinterest) for your brand by taking into account the following factors …
Your target audience
Your Marketing Strategy
Your business goals
Availability of time and resources
The idea is to focus on your ideal opportunity or client and then go from there. You can also analyze your competition and their approach to social media marketing. Know which one gives them the best results, as this can decrease the chances of failure.
If you are struggling to choose the best one for growing your business, you can try using both. But only do this if you can create high-quality content for both platforms, because it’s something you don’t want to give up. If you want to be on both systems but don’t have the time, consider using our Pinterest Marketing or Instagram Marketing services.
In short, Pinterest is the recommended tool if you are trying to drive high converting traffic to your website. But if your goal is to improve your online reputation management and build your brand, there is more you can do with Instagram Marketing.
Source Image: https://pixabay.com
