Keep it Visual: Why You Should Be Including Pinterest & Instagram in Your Social Media Strategy

Of all the social media platforms, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are afforded the most attention from businesses and are seen as the staples of any solid social media strategy. That’s not strictly the case, however: Pinterest and Instagram have been growing in popularity as the ‘visual’ platforms for some time now. So why exactly should you be thinking about using Pinterest and Instagram for business use?

More Variety in Content

Content is king and the best types of content have recently been revealed as being videos and pictures. Why? Because they engage us! Although images, videos and GIFs are available on the other platforms now, they’re still limited – whether it’s by Facebook’s algorithms, LinkedIn’ serious status quo or Twitter’s character restriction. Instagram and Pinterest, however, are platforms built around sharing images, with room for text as a secondary thought. On top of that, all the content is free to be shared (with credit given) making both platforms gold mines for engaging images and quotes.

Higher Conversion Rates

The best way to drive ecommerce sales these days is by including a social media plan in your overall sales strategy. Obviously, Facebook sits as ruling king of ecommerce conversions, but when you look at the value of orders on average, Pinterest and Instagram are clear winners. In a study by Shopify, it was found that Instagram’s average order value was $65, whilst Pinterest’s was $58.95. Facebook came in at $55 and Twitter at $46.29. If you’re in the ecommerce trade, now is the time to think about using Pinterest for business marketing and sales…

Your Audience is Already on There

In a bid to escape the commercialism of Facebook and Twitter (thank the advertising platforms for that), users have fled en masse to Instagram and Pinterest. If that’s not a reason to start thinking about Instagram and Pinterest marketing, we’re not sure what is. On top of this exodus to the visual platforms, there’s also the matter of mobile users; as Instagram’s main functionality is on the mobile app (adding photos and filters) and users’ phones are rarely out of reach, your Instagram account has the potential for much higher engagement rates.

Certain Industries Are Already Successful

With both Pinterest and Instagram, there are some over-arching themes that are too popular to ignore: fashion, health/food, interior design and foreign snaps. Suffice to say, if your business sells furniture or health products, you’ve already got it made.

Others Aren’t Doing It Yet

Very few brands are using Instagram for business, but those that are including it in their social media strategy are killing it. Even so, they’re brands like IKEA, with a massive reputation and huge amounts of funding behind them. If you’re a small business, now is the perfect chance to learn how to use Instagram for business purposes – before your competitors do the same.

Interested in more information on how to use Instagram for business or putting Pinterest marketing strategies into action? Get in touch with the Christian Michaels agency and we’d be happy to advise!

#socialmediamarketing #digitalmarketing #pinterest #instagram