A presentation comparing and contrasting the two platforms. Given to Coldwell Banker Bain brokers in November 2015.

1. VS

2. Instagram (recap)
■ Instagram is an online (primarily mobile) photo- and video-sharing network. It is integrated with other
platforms, such as Facebook,Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr, to make cross-network sharing easy.
■ The platform is famous for its retro square shape photos, reminiscent of Polaroid images, and quite
different to the 4:3 aspect used by the cameras of most mobile devices. It’s also famous for its filters,
which, with a tap of the screen, allow users to digitally enhance their images and add cool effects to
make their picture even more compelling or interesting.
■ Instagram is also the social media network with the highest engagement rate. On average, Instagram
posts generate a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21 percent.That’s 58 times higher than
Facebook’s (which is probably why the giant acquired them, along with their popularity across the
younger demographics and also how it is a ‘mobile first’ appl as opposed to Facebook being originally
built for the desktop), and 120 times higher thanTwitter’s!.
■ Compared to Pinterest, at first blush, Instagram appears to rule the roost.The network has more users
(300 million, compared to 72 million), and 2/3 of its users access the network daily.
■ Instagram is incredibly popular with millennials, with 53 percent of Instagram users being aged 18-29.

3. Instagram (Why use it)
■ You're an eCommerce retailer and have great pictures of your products. It's also a great way to get
feedback from your audience on what they like and don't, as commenting on photos tends to be more
popular on Instagram than on Pinterest, where users will re-pin more than comment or like photos
(source: Hubspot). Photos that many retail brands post on Instagram tend to be less traditional
eCommerce product page photos and more creative photos that are more likely to get a user's attention.
For example, check out these Steve Madden pins, and note the difference in the way they position their
products while pinning vs. instagramming.The pinned image is similar to what would be seen on an
eCommerce product page, while the Instragrammed photo is a more creative, casual way of showcasing
footwear.
■ You have a story to tell. Instagram is intimate. Many celebrities post pictures and immediately connect
with their fans who are using Instagram (I've never felt closer to Bieber than I do since I started following
him on Instagram!). Posting photos of your company events, successes and employees shows your
audience your brand's personality and tells your brands' story, enabling your audience to connect and
relate to what goes on behind the scenes.These kinds of pictures don't make as much sense to post to
Pinterest, since you should make it a habit to link back your site to increase traffic, and may not be a place
on your website some of the pictures live.

4. Pinterest (recap)
■ Pinterest is a web and mobile app that allows photo and media sharing. Users can upload, save,
sort, and manage images – known as pins – a well as other media content (including videos,
infographics, and illustrations) with collections known as pinboards.
■ According to CEO Ben Sibermann, the company is a “catalog of ideas” rather than an actual social
network. Indeed, it is this which really marks the crucial difference between Pinterest and
Instagram.
■ Pinterest users collect images, store them, and create personalized content collections. It is this
which makes the site so unique, and explains why it is so popular with certain demographics.
■ Pinterest’s format attracts predominately female users (which make up 85 percent of its total user-
base). And the average Pinterest user spends around 14.2 minutes on the site in each session,
which indicates that Pinterest’s users really are making the most of all those cataloguing features.
■ Users love to use the site to share their own ideas about these subjects and to learn about new
ideas from other users.This means the average Pinterest post has more actionable advice and
ideas than the average Instagram post – which is often just an interesting or aesthetically pleasing
image.

5. Pinterest (Why use it?)
■ You're an eCommerce retailer and have pictures or videos of your products. Especially if
they fall into some of the categories available on Pinterest, where your relevant and
popular pins could show up to users browsing those categories. Users who come across
pins of your products and click through will be taken to that product or category page on
your site.
■ Your business produces great content.When your business products a piece of content,
push it out on Pinterest like you would on other social networking sites likeTwitter and
Facebook. For example, here at Search Engine People we pin our blog posts, infographics,
company news and other industry content.We also have boards related to other funny or
interesting things that we come across.

6. Pinterest vs Instagram
■ It’s clear, then, that Instagram and Pinterest are quite different sites, with different
functionalities, and different audiences.
■ Whether you choose to use one or the other depends largely on the nature of your business.
(Though, if you have the time and the resources, try creating accounts on both).
■ To help you figure out which is most appropriate for your business, we’ve listed the pros and
cons of each.

7. Instagram Pros:
■ Incredibly large user-base
■ Still growing in terms of the number of its users
■ Created specifically for mobile devices (tapping into the general movement toward mobile Internet usage)
■ Highest engagement rate of any social media platform
■ Most users access their accounts on a daily basis
■ Content can be generated fairly quickly
■ Attracts a diverse range of users
■ It's extremely easy to share photos from Instagram to your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Flickr profiles
Instagram Cons:
■ Links don’t work in captions, making it difficult to drive traffic to your site
■ No API access, so it’s hard to use separate tools to publish content
■ Advertising is expensive, which limits its use to fairly big brands alone
■ Popular images trend, and then are often forgotten quickly – they have a very short shelf-life
■ Most users follow lots of accounts, making competition for newsfeed space fierce
Instagram Pros & Cons

8. Pinterest Pros & Cons
Pinterest Pros
■ Links to specific landing pages can be added to images, leading to Pinterest having very high referral traffic rates
■ Users can “repin” content and in doing so expand its reach
■ Users can save images so they’re not forgotten
■ Catalogue format allows brands to build a culture around their business, and enables users to view their products and
services with ease.
■ Long session times
Pinterest Cons
■ Fairly particular user-base, making it hard to target men or low earners
■ Does not focus on starting conversations, making customer engagement harder
■ Content needs to be original and involves using multiple boards – in short, it can be time consuming
■ Limited scheduling options

10. Conclusion
■ Instagram and Pinterest are both clearly incredibly powerful tools in their own right.Where
you choose to dedicate your resources will depend on the type of organization you run and
what your business objectives are.
■ Instagram is better for building engagement, while Pinterest is better at driving sales.
■ The industries that do best on Instagram appear to be lifestyle, fashion, food, personalities,
and luxury brands.
■ Whereas Pinterest, they say, is best used by fashion, food, design, travel, and DIY companies