By Oscar Habeenzu | for Moakanyi Magazine
Contrary to traits in many African countries, Batswana use Pinterest just as much as Facebook. There are 965,000+ people that use Pinterest in Botswana, making it the most used Social Network in the country.
Now sitting at 300 million users across the world, Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to share visual content, similar to Instagram, but it differs in that every Pin can be linked back to your website or other content. Instagram currently only allows links in ads or in the biography section, so it is not useful if you are looking for traffic to your website, product pages or blog.
Sharing or posting content on Pinterest is called “pinning.” Users “pin” a piece of new content to a “board.” A board is a collection of Pins that usually share a common theme. You can create new boards around any topic from classic cars to parenting tips.
Pinterest users typically use the platform to save ideas and products that you want to remember or revisit later. It is also used to bookmark articles or blog posts that you want to read later. Pinterest is different from other “social media” networks because it focuses more on research and inspiration. While Facebook and Instagram focus more on sharing information or posting about your life, Pinterest is for inspiration, research and buying.
Pinterest can be a useful tool for marketing, but not for every business. Pinterest marketing is for those that want to increase their brand or company awareness, get more traffic to a company website or increase overall revenue.
If any of these is a goal, you should consider using Pinterest as part of your marketing. There are surprising industries that are doing incredibly well on Pinterest like financial advisors, banks, attorneys and tax advisors.
Business and professions taking advantage of Pinterest include:
Counselling services: Counsellors can post tips, advice, blog content and pins to other helpful resources.
Financial advisors: Advisers can Pin blog content, testimonials, infographics or links to lead magnets that encourage engagement.
Real estate agents: Agents can Pin testimonials, consultation tips and blog content that are great for agent exposure.
Attorneys: Tips on hiring an attorney, humour, blog content and lead magnets are all great options for attorneys using Pinterest.
sources: statcounter.com, hootsuite.com
