The March social media visit tallies are rolling in. It may not suprise anyone, but social media newcomer, Pinterest, is burning up the road. Experian Marketing Services data revealed that the baby on the block ranked third in the U.S. -- behind Facebook and Twitter, respectively -- for total number of visits for February and March.
Here is the March tally:
1. Facebook: 7 billion*
2. Twitter: 182 million
3. Pinterest: 104 million
*(Before you yell "7 billion! There are only 7 billion people in the world," Keep in mind, this is total visits, not unique visitors.)
LinkedIn crossed into April with 86 million visits. Experian's data does not include mobile visits, so that could change the results a bit since users' habits differ when they are on a mobile device. Twitter is a mobile favorite. Pinterest announced in March that an iPad app should be introduced soon, so we'll see if that tickles the fancy of Pinnies.
Since last fall, Pinterest has been whoopin' some social media tail. It has grown about 4,000 percent in the previous 6 months. In the U.S., the site is still used more by women (Forbes calls them "mature female consumers") than men. According to Experian's "The 2012 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report," the states where the platform is most popular are Missouri, Utah, Alabama, Oklahoma and Kansas. And Pinnies spend an average of 15 minutes on the site when they log on.
Pinnies, businesses and online marketers are all trying to figure out how to make the most of Pinterest as they explore community boards, professional uses, personal uses, SEO value and cross promotional potential. Pinterest allows businesses to tell a story through images. And that works great for some businesses; but not for others. Thus far, businesses that are the most popular on Pinterest in the U.S. are B2C and e-commerce related, simply because of the visual aspect of displaying goods. But the popularity of sharing videos and infographics is picking up steam. And more and more businesses are trying out Pinterest to see what it is about and if the platform can help them reach new audiences and build brand loyalty. Given the March visit tallies, it seems like Pinterest isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I don't see Pinterest ever overtaking Facebook (and I'm anxiously watching to see what Facebook does with its recent acquisition of Instagram and how that affects sharing images), but it will be interesting to see how the use of Pinterest morphs over time and if it can broaden its demographic appeal in the process.