Four Key Datapoints about Pinterest

The adoption of Pinterest has been flamboyant. It’s now on the heels of Twitter and Facebook. Some were predicting lately that it was about to become the #2 social network when measured by active users. I even heard it is now #2, ahead of Twitter. The folks at Octopin told me during a recent meeting that it is very very popular in the Midwest (and not just for crafts).

I have a bit of a Saint Thomas in me, so I dug up some interesting data from eCairn’s database of influencers to look into this matter.
Note that the data below comes from our +350k influencer database, those being certainly some of the most prolific users of social networks.

1. Globally, Pinterest is still a USA centered phenomenon.
   We took a sample of ~70k influencers on consumer focused topics: 1/2 of them from the USA, 1/2 of them from top countries in Europe (UK, France, Germany Spain). We detect influencers’ social profiles across the board, and, as of January, Pinterest too.
   As you can see from the graph below, the adoption of Pinterest is mostly a USA phenomenon and has yet to happen in volume throughout Europe, with the UK leading the race:
   
   Penetration rates are the following:
   • USA = 31%
   • UK = 14%
   • France = 4.5%
   • Germany = 4%
   • Spain = 6.5%

   Outside of Europe and the USA, we found that countries like Canada (30%), Australia (30%) and the Philippines (11%) show great adoption while the rates are lower in India (7%) and Brazil (4% as compared to 45% for Twitter and 40% for Facebook).

2. In the USA, Pinterest’s adoption by influencers is close or sometimes ahead of Twitter
   The following chart compares Pinterest’s adoption rate with Twitter and Facebook. It’s run against some of our top consumer-focused tribes
   Note: for Facebook, we compare with the presence of an influencer’s Facebook page and not their Facebook profile
   
   On a tribe-by-tribe basis, we can see that Pinterest’s adoption is:
   • greater than Twitter in the Interior Design tribe (which contains a lot of craft/DIY design passionistas);
   • still way behind Twitter in the Books tribe.
3. The Midwest is still ahead
   Below we have mapped Mommy influencers in the Midwest (first map), and Mommy influencers in the Midwest who have a Pinterest account (second map).
   First map
   
   Second map
   
   Out of the 1087 Mommy influencers in the Midwest, 483 have adopted Pinterest. The 44% adoption rate in the Midwest is higher than in any other region. We see the same pattern on tribes with a large number of influencers from the Midwest, for example sewing, scrapbooking, quilting and more.
4. Pinterest volume of followers is outpacing Twitter’s
   While adding Pinterest data points across the board within eCairn, we looked at the top 20 influencers in the interior design tribe and the cumulative volume of followers is much higher on Pinterest than Twitter despite how new Pinterest is:
   = 163 605
   = 394 250

From Midwest to mainstream, Pinterest has enjoyed a never seen before adoption from social media users. Its ease of use (no need to write) and prettiness have been core to its success. Will it conquer Europe? How far will it go? What do you think?