Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Pinterest has slowly been building itself up as an advertising alternative to Google and Facebook over the past 12 months.

The company’s focus has historically been on building an engaged user base through its intuitive, visual interface. As a social network, it has always offered something a little different.

However, advertisers have been skeptical about whether Pinterest could ‘monetize’ this model, due to the nature of engagements users have and also the demographics that typically spend time on the site.

Those concerns have not been allayed altogether, but Pinterest has made some fascinating moves of late. They have launched a paid search partnership with Kenshoo, completely upgraded their visual search capabilities, and expanded their reach by adding a new Google Chrome extension.

Within the last five years, Pinterest has truly made its mark on consumers across the country. Twenty-one percent of U.S. online adults visit Pinterest at least monthly--more than both Instagram (16 percent) and Google+ (16 percent)--making it the third most popular social network after Facebook (70 percent) and Twitter (22 percent).

Yet, despite its rising popularity, marketers find little value from branded boards, which clearly indicates room for growth. Overall, marketing leaders remain confused, as few comprehend how to leverage Pinterest in ways that will promote proactive marketing behaviors.

XForrester notes that only 56 percent of leading brands have created Pinterest boards. Those that have established their presence, however, neglect to post regularly, collect few followers, and see little engagement. Brands recognize Pinterest's potential, but fail to execute strategies that drive results, as the social network's ads currently offer limited targeting and effectiveness....