Pinterest more important to brands than Instagram

Our “Social Media around the World 2012†study is clear: the two social networks with the biggest growth potential are Pinterest and Instagram. They seem to be the only sites that will find their place next to the big four (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Google+) and the local heroes (Qzone, Vkontakte).

The user facts

The facts about both sites are pretty comparable at first sight. About one quarter of the online population knows both sites. The adoption rates are still very low: 3% use Pinterest and 4% Instagram.

Looking at the other facts, there are some important differences between Pinterest and Instagram. Half of Pinterest users log ondaily as opposed to just 31% of Instagram users. Also, 60% of Pinterest users intend to use the site more often in the future whereas for Instagram users this is “only†40%.

My conclusion is that both sites have a strong growth potential, but the level of enthusiasm is a lot higher among the early users of Pinterest.

The brand link?

A lot of managers are in doubt whether they should invest time and resources in these two photo sharing sites. Looking at the growth potential of both sites, I think it is certainly something to look into as a brand manager. In addition, our survey shows that Pinterest probably has the biggest potential for brands. 41% of Pinterest users are currently sharing brand-related content on the site, compared to 35% of Instagram users. Both sites do well in this regard, but just as with the overall stats, Pinterest scores better than Instagram.

Full report available for more details

As always, you can download the entire report if you’re interested in more details on our research.