Which is better to develop your small business: Pinterest or Instagram?

Digital Marketing

Find out which platform your ideal users prefer and how to know if it is right to grow your business

Visual aggregator platforms for social media marketing really come down to the two main ones: Instagram and Pinterest, owned by Facebook.

They both have their own way of presenting images and allowing users to compile the images they like, but they also have limitations that can push their ideal users towards the other option.

Growing your business with Instagram is a great idea, but don’t discount Pinterest.

The main attraction of Instagram is that the images are supposed to be unique and even sincere. Overly corporate posts rarely do well, and users don’t want traditional advertising methods to be employed.

Pinterest allows users to select images from anywhere online and on the platform.

The images are usually very polished and professional. Traditional advertising methods are seen a lot more on this platform too, such as how-tos and DIY posts.

Demographics will play an important role in your decision. Is your product or service more appropriate for women?

If so, Pinterest is for you. The most recent statistics show within the demographics of Pinterest users that women make up over 70% of Pinterest users.

Pinterest also attracts a slightly older national demographic.

What about the services that are best promoted through discussion? Are you a speaker who wants to show recent speaker engagement and create dialogue around your experience?

These make you an ideal candidate for using Instagram to promote your small business.

Remember this hearing is a fair division between men and women and Western vs. International users. They like to see photos and videos of what you do or sell in action and they like to engage the poster if possible via the comment section.

The best Instagram accounts for businesses show your main brand identity.

Are you hoping to sell items through a post that links to your site page with that product or service?

Instagram only allows one place a user can click from. With IG you get a link on your bio profile. Whereas with Pinterest, you can link from the actual post just like a traditional ad.

The big difference is how you intend to start the customer experience.

If they start with you at the brand level and you intend to use the entire account to create the first step in your conversion, Instagram is great. For anything where the user starts at the actual post level, Pinterest will be best for you.

It’s something you can plan for if you haven’t already.

Look at your ideal customer as defined and evaluate demographic information in your analysis. If you’re dealing with women locally or even nationally and you’re selling a product, Pinterest is obviously the best option.

If your online marketing is about building a brand around your expertise and your location isn’t that important or gender, then Instagram will serve you better.

If you can’t pin down which one would work best for you, you can always try both!

Having the ability to create content suitable for both platforms and manage both profiles is great.

If you choose to use both, a good rule of thumb is: Pinterest for images of what you are offering and Instagram for images of you creating those images.

If you create a top 10 list with a polished image, you can also use it on Instagram, but get lots of videos and images of yourself creating the accompanying image to that list and post it on Instagram.

Once you see better traction on one, you can focus your efforts on it.

Pinterest is a fantastic tool for many businesses, but if your business is your brand and you are building your reputation online, Instagram will be a better option.

Vary your content, but remember that when users follow you, they’re doing it for a reason, so don’t deviate from your primary brand identity.

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