With so many social media platforms around, what’s a brand to do and focus on when it comes to advertising and marketing? While Facebook continues to be the leader among marketers, other platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok are making inroads.

What’s Helping Pinterest?

There are a  number of things helping Pinterest. One is  Product Pins, a shopping feature it originally branded as Buyable Pins. Product Pins are associated with specific products and are discovered through searches or users’ home feeds. When a consumer looks at an item and then clicks on it, the Product Pin takes him/her to the brand’s website. In addition, consumers are also informed about a product’s availability and its price.

Another is Google Lens, which affords consumers who like to conduct visual searches yet another opportunity. The app allows consumers to take a picture of something they’re interested in, tap on it and then be shown similar products or styles.

Within a year after its launch in 2017, Lens said it was being used to conduct more than 600 million searches each month. The app is capable of recognizing more than 2 ½ billion products today. The latest update was made last September, giving consumers the ability to not only save their photos, but also convert them to pins, which affords them the option and capability of doing more searches at a later date.

There’s yet another improvement Pinterest made last October for brands. Called Shop Tab, the feature allows consumers to click on that feature and see the product’s inventory and entire catalogue, as well as scroll through it while shopping. Also viewable are product prices.

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Finally, Pinterest also upgraded its Business Profiles. In addition to improvements in Product Pins and Shop Tab, prominent among the changes is the ability of brands to customize their profile covers that enhance their brand or story with pictures and/or video.

Coming Soon

In September, Pinterest rolled out its Shop the Look for select brands in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Brazil and Japan. According to Pinterest, visitors using the app will first see a preview of four items, after which they can click through and interact with products they’re interested in. This app for mobile devices permits companies to display as many as 25 products in one image.

Consumers viewing the ads need only to click on it to be taken to the brand’s website. Pinterest says this feature will be available to U.S. brands soon.

Jumping Aboard

Brands with Pinterest business accounts are eligible to sign up for Product Pins and upload their catalogue with shoppable Product Pins. Interest among brands has been surging.  For the third quarter of 2019, Pinterest reported a 75% increase in catalogues uploaded over the previous quarter.

As if to confirm its popularity, Pinterest recently reported that 83% of consumers purchase products after seeing them on their platform. The company also revealed that they’d exceeded 320 million active monthly users.

As with any other marketing option, any  decision to move forward with Pinterest or any other social media platform should be based on a good understanding and knowledge of the brand’s target audience.

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Ronn Torossian is the founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently-owned PR firms in the United States. With over 20 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America's most prolific and well-respected Public Relations professionals. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company's growth, overseeing more than 175 professionals in the company's headquarters in midtown Manhattan. With clients spanning corporate, technology, consumer and crisis, in addition to digital marketing and public affairs capabilities, 5WPR is regularly recognized as an industry leader and has been named "PR Agency of the Year" by the American Business Awards on multiple occasions. Throughout his career, Torossian has worked with some of the world's most visible companies, brands and organizations. His strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and a 2020 Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider. Torossian is known as one of the country's foremost experts on crisis communications, and is called on to counsel blue chip companies, top business executives and entrepreneurs both in the United States and worldwide. Torossian has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly on CNN & CNBC, was named to PR Week's "40 under Forty" list, is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer, and his book, "For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations" is an industry best-seller. A NYC native, Torossian lives in Manhattan with his children. He is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and active in numerous charities.