Pinterest Web Analytics gains traction with brands
Pinterest is not only popular with consumers; many brands have business pages on the social pinboard site. And it's not only B2C brands that have a presence on Pinterest. Cisco, Sentara Healthcare, Sony Music, and the Today Show all have boards
Pinterest currently has almost 50 million users and is currently valued at $2.5 billion after securing a new $200 million round of funding. It is far from being the pinboard networking site used by women pinning recipes.
Although 83 percent of the global users were women in 2012, locally, there are regional variations. In the UK, for example, 56 percent of users are male.
"Pinterest gives you clear, straightforward results which spotlight what's working and what's not."
Pinterest has announced that Pinterest Web Analytics makes it easier for brands to see what people are pinning from the website. It also help brands understand where pin clicks lead. Analytics measures pins, repins, impressions, and clicks, trending over time.
Analytics show which pins are the most popular and which have been clicked directly from the website. Brands can also see which pins have been repinned and which pins have been clicked the most to get back to the website.
These analytics show data leading to better web design and smarter business decision making. And smart brands have been quick to capitalise on the new features.
Shoes of Prey, a website where women can design their own unique shoes and have them shipped to them, uses Pinterest for business and to get new customers.
Shoes of Prey uses Pinterest in an integrated way across all of its social channels. Jodie Fox, Shoes of Prey co-founder, said:
Search Pinterest for "shoesofprey" and you'll not only come across stunning visuals we've created ourselves, but you'll also see all the designs created and shared by our users. It's a really natural, stylish selection of imagery that showcases what our brand is all about and is a perfect introduction to what we do for new users.
Pinterest and its Web Analytics helps Shoes of Prey's business. "Pinterest is about sharing exceptional images, and Shoes of Prey is about designing exceptional shoes, so it's the perfect platform to get potential customers — and shoe lovers everywhere — excited about what's possible through our site," said Fox.
Pinterest analytics is a recent addition to the platform that we're really excited about. It's strength is its simplicity — analytics can be a feast of information — but Pinterest gives you clear, straightforward results, which spotlight what's working and what's not. So you can get back to the business of sharing great new content.
If you want to go further than Pinterest for analytics and want to track ROI and Pin-to-Purchase metrics, then you might want to look at PinReach or Piquora, which give a deep dive into Pinterest engagements, tracking pins like traditional systems track hyperlinks.
Piqora changed its name from Pinfluencer in March, launching its Gallery product, which gives an "automated visual feed of a brands top products trending on social networks, creating a social e-commerce experience for consumers and helping marketers convert their social traffic".
"Our new Gallery product gives brands a way to nurture their discovery traffic from social networks and tablet users, showcase what is most popular, and offer customers a rich, boutique-type browsing experience," explained Sharad Verma, CEO of Piqora.
Perhaps brands should consider taking a closer look at Pinterest. With added tracking and analytics features capitalising on our desire to share interesting visual images it will become more and more critical to businesses as Pinterest's user base continues to grow.
And with a nod to Shoes of Prey's "Life is short, buy the shoes" — Life is too short for complicated analytics.
Disclosure: I am a regular Shoes of Prey customer and I have purchased several pairs of its shoes.