More and more, marketers are turning their attentions towards the more visual social media platforms as opposed to the traditional outlets of Facebook and Twitter for their marketing campaigns.
According to a Social Media Examiner
survey that questioned nearly 3,000 marketers, social media marketing, and especially visual marketing, is now more highly valued than ever before. In order to continually engage their audiences, marketers are increasingly looking towards creating original visuals, and, as such, it is now Pinterest and Instagram that are vying for that space.
Fastcompany.com produced some very revealing tables relating to the Social Media Examiner survey. For instance, it found that marketers with longer industry experience rated the importance of visual networks like Pinterest and Instagram much more highly than their less experienced counterparts.
Marketers with less than 12 months’ experience in social media marketing are most likely to choose Facebook as their number 1 platform, followed by Twitter and then LinkedIn.
However, with marketers with over 5 years experience, although Facebook and Twitter still retain the top spots, the use of Pinterest rises from 32% to 66%, and Instagram from 15% to 47%. The indication is quite clear – when you’re new to the game you go for the obvious options. But, after you’ve done a little time in this unforgiving industry, you begin to discover the power of the more visually focused platforms. So, why wait for 5 years? Get cracking now!!
Your Strategy
Obviously Pinterest and Instagram are both very different platforms, and, as such, both enjoy a very different audience. So, it’s important firstly to get to grips with the differing demographics of these sites before you jump into your campaign.
According to RJ Metrics, Pinterest reaches an audience that is 80% female, with the average female pinner making 158 pins.
Instagram, on the other hand, connects with budding Millennials and Generation Xers.
Pinterest – The Aspirational Social Media
Pinterest is the “I want” social media platform where shoppers turn when they need something. It’s rather like a digital version of catalogs or magazines. What works so well on Pinterest is the fact that marketers put their products into context, so couch-shopping becomes so much more easy and fun for smartphone browsers.
Therefore, when marketing on Pinterest, take real advantage of this visual platform. It is a hotbed for sales. What’s also so great about it is in its organizational qualities. You can create different pin boards for each of your product categories, so users can very easily peruse what you have on offer.
Instagram Is About Me, Me, ME!!
It is thought that Instagram is responsible for giving birth to the word ‘selfie’, and it’s certainly got an air of narcissism about it. It’s one of the more ‘hip’ social media platforms out there, so when you’re uploading some new images, you need to be thinking in terms of the cool – and the Instagram filters are there to help you do that.
Again, Instagram is great for putting your product into context. But, even more so than on Pinterest, it pays if you put the product in a real location as well. From there, your visual challenge is to try and make your followers want to join in the experience that you are visually creating for them.
Content Distribution
Pinterest is the platform on which users seek out stuff they want and then hoard it in specially dedicated pinboards, either for immediate or later purchase. Although it is most definitely a social network, using the site is actually more of a solitary venture than a truly interactive one. It is the site people go to to enlarge their wish lists, usually before bed or just after dinner. So, it is essential that your visual marketing campaigns on the platform stand out from the crowd of competing pinners.
Instagram is definitely more social. It is a snap and share site, with the images being very easily or even automatically shared on your Twitter and Facebook accounts if you so wish. It’s also a great idea to create an Instagram gallery on your website. Since the whole idea of Instagram is to take stunning photos, then it’s certainly logical to display them wherever you can, always making sure that your products are looking as cool and as hip and as brilliant as possible.
Both Pinterest and Instagram are beginning to play more and more important roles in social media campaigns the world over. The ability to utilize the platforms for visual marketing is second to none, it’s just a case of understanding the very specific audiences that frequent these sites, and tailoring your brand image and your products to appeal to those users. As time goes by, they’ll only become even more popular as well, so now is the moment to get yourself on there and start mastering the visual marketing techniques before your competitors get there first.
Do you have a preference for either Pinterest or Instagram? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Kerry Butters
Kerry is a published author and writer on all things tech, corporate tech, data centres, SEO, webdesign & more for some of the world’s leading sites.