Instagram vs. Pinterest for Business: Which Drives More Sales?

Did you know that the average user spends 28% of Internet time on social media? Social media platforms are an excellent place for you to connect with prospects since it’s where they spend their time. There are dozens of platforms available for connecting with prospects, so it can be challenging to know which is right for your business.

One of the biggest debates is Instagram vs. Pinterest for business. Since these platforms are both heavily visually based compared to other social media sites, many companies are undecided about which of these platforms is best. Well, we’re here to help you decide!

So, should you use Instagram or Pinterest? Keep reading to find out!

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: What is Instagram?

Before we dive into looking at the difference between Pinterest and Instagram, let’s look at each platform. First, let’s look at Instagram. Instagram is a social media app that enables you to upload photos and videos for your followers.

This visually focused platform enables you to post content that appears in your audiences’ newsfeed. When people see your content in their feed, they can comment on it and like your creative Instagram posts. Instagram also enables you to post photos and videos to the Story feature, where your content only lasts 24 hours.

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a visual board platform that enables users to organize their content into separate boards. Users can “pin” ideas to these boards for others to see and pin to their own boards. This visual platform is excellent for getting prospects to share your content.

If someone follows your brand, they can see your content curated in their feed. Even if someone doesn’t follow your brand but is interested in what you offer, they can see your content. Pinterest is an excellent platform if you’re looking to spread your content far and wide.

What is the difference between Instagram and Pinterest?

The difference between Instagram and Pinterest is the user intent.

Instagram users want content that shares information about your business and its clients. Pinterest users want content that shares information on how to do something, like cooking and styling.

Instagram vs. Pinterest: Which is best?

Next in the Pinterest vs. Instagram debate, let’s figure out which platform is best for your business. We’ll analyze the platforms based on the following criteria:

• Demographics
• Content types
• Sharing content
• Selling products
• Hashtag usage
• Linking to external pages

Let’s dive in!

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Demographics

When you’re looking at the difference between Pinterest and Instagram, an essential factor is to look at the demographics of each platform. You want to ensure you’re choosing a platform where you can reach your target audience. Look at the defining characteristics of your target audience, including:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Occupation
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Spending habits

When you know this information, you can look at each platform to determine if your audience is likely to be on it.

Instagram demographics

Instagram services a diverse population of users but generally caters to a younger audience. In fact, 64% of Instagram users are 18-29 years old, while 40% are 30-49 years old. The population of users contains both men and women, with 43% of women using Instagram and 31% of men using the platform.

A large population of users is under 50, so Instagram is an excellent platform for you if that’s your target audience.

Pinterest demographics

When you’re looking at the difference between Pinterest and Instagram, you’ll find that Pinterest caters to a more refined audience. On Pinterest, 34% of users are between 18-29, while 35% are between 30-49. The audience demographics are more blended together than on Instagram. Additionally, this platform is predominantly used by women — 42% of women use Pinterest, while only 15% of men use the platform.

Winner: Instagram

In terms of reaching a wider and more diverse audience, Instagram takes the cake. This platform has a broader demographic audience, making it easier for you to reach people interested in your business.

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Content types

When choosing your platform, you want to ensure that you can post great content on it. Each social media platform offers different content types you can post, from text posts to photos to polls. So, what can you post on Instagram or Pinterest?

Instagram content

Instagram is a simple platform that enables you to post two kinds of content: photos and videos.

These visuals must be organically posted through your profile. All uploaded content is the same size in a square-shaped block.   Pinterest content

Pinterest content is the same as Instagram — you can only post photos and videos.

Pinterest requires that you include an image or video when you create a pin for the page.     Pinterest visuals tend to be taller rather than wider.   Winner: Tie Since both offer the same type of content, they’re pretty much even with this criterion!

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Sharing content

The big difference between Pinterest and Instagram regards sharing. When you craft posts on social media, you want others to share them and for people they know to share them. So, which is better for sharing, Instagram or Pinterest?

Sharing on Instagram

Instagram has limited options when it comes to sharing your content.

People can’t repost your content on their profile for all their followers to see. The most someone can do to share your content is to directly message your post to someone who’s likely to have an interest or to share it through their Instagram story for 24 hours. There are no opportunities for people to permanently share your content publicly with others.

Sharing on Pinterest

Pinterest’s whole platform is built on sharing content with others.

If you post content on Pinterest, followers and non-followers can re-pin your content onto their boards and enable their followers to see it. It’s an excellent way for you to get your content in front of more people.

Winner: Pinterest

If you’re looking to share your content with more people, Pinterest is the better platform. It offers more opportunities for people to discover and share your content with others.

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Selling products

Next in the Pinterest vs. Instagram debate, let’s look at selling products. You can post pictures of your products and use your content as an opportunity to earn more sales. So, is it better to sell on Instagram or Pinterest?

Selling on Instagram

Instagram is a great platform to sell your products.

You can opt to sell your products through organic content or Instagram ads. With organic content, you can create Shoppable posts that enable prospects to buy products from your Instagram posts. You can link to products in your photo, so your followers can see the product, and if they like it, go to the link to purchase.

With Instagram ads, you can create ads for your products with calls to action (CTAs) that invite users to purchase your product. It’s a great way to put products in front of more interested leads.

Selling on Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place to sell your products through posting pins or creating Promoted Pins. By posting organic pins, you can use your product’s stock image and link to the product listing on your site to get people to buy.

When selling your products on Pinterest, you can use the pin description to highlight the benefits of the product and share the pricing as well.   With Promoted Pins, you can opt to take these product pins and get them in front of a more targeted audience to help you reach people interested in buying from you, which makes Pinterest shopping for SMBs a great option.

Winner: Instagram (by a hair)

Instagram slightly nudges Pinterest out in this matchup solely because of the Shoppable posts. Shoppable posts enable you to tag multiple products in one post with a link to their respective product pages, allowing you to appeal to more people and potentially earn more sales.

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Hashtag usage

The next item we’ll look at in the Pinterest vs. Instagram matchup is hashtag usage. Hashtags are a big part of social media, and many companies love to take advantage of them to help people discover more of their content. So, which platform is better for using hashtags?

Instagram hashtags

Instagram is a great place to use hashtags for your posts.

When you use hashtags on your content, people can find your photos and videos when searching for that specific hashtag. It’s a great way to put your business in front of multiple people looking for content like yours.     Not to mention, you can use multiple hashtags on your Instagram posts, which allows you to reach a wider audience.

Pinterest hashtags

When you look at the difference between Pinterest and Instagram, you’ll find that using hashtags on Pinterest is much different.

Hashtags don’t have any bearing on helping people find your content in a curated feed. You can use them, but they won’t do much to help your content get in front of the right people.

Winner: Instagram

If you’re looking to use hashtags with your content, Instagram is the answer. Hashtags are more effective on this platform and can help you reach new people.

Instagram vs. Pinterest for business: Linking to external pages

The last item we’ll look at in the Pinterest vs. Instagram debate is linking to external pages. When you create content, you may want to link to pages on your website to help your business drive more traffic. So, which platform is better for linking to pages on your site?

Linking on Instagram

There are limited options for linking on Instagram.

You cannot add links to your captions, making it difficult to drive people to your site from your posts. The only option you have with your organic content is to add product links to your photos, but the linked product must be in the image.

Linking on Pinterest

With Pinterest, you can link to pages through your pins to direct people to your site. It’s an easy and convenient way to help you boost traffic to your site, whether you’re linking to a product page or blog post.

Winner: Pinterest

When it comes to linking, Pinterest comes out on top.

The ease of use for adding links to your content makes it a clear winner for driving traffic to your site.  

Need help deciding between Instagram or Pinterest?

Both Instagram and Pinterest have great things to offer your business. These visually-based platforms can help you connect with the prospects most interested in your company.

If you aren’t sure which platform is best for your business, WebFX can help. We can help you figure out which social media platform is best for your business and help you set up your profile. We can give you a hand with social media campaigns, from posting organic content to running social media ads.

Our team knows how to create campaigns that drive results — we’ve driven over $6 billion in sales and over 24 million leads for our clients. Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our social media marketing services!