Despite mainstream growth, 80% of Pinterest users are women

There has been a giant shift in the content posted to Pinterest over the last 3 months. Around Christmas, 2011, the site was filled with holiday crafts, recipes, and home ideas with sprinklings of hairstyles and present wishlists dominating the site. Once it hit the “mainstream” and experienced the exponential growth that has highlighted the site over the last 3 months, more cars, infographics, and offbeat funny pictures started creeping it.

By all accounts, it appeared as if the site that was completely dominated by women was being invaded by male users. Long-time Pinterest users started leaving comments about how the site was changing and that there was a shift in it that they didn’t like. Despite all of this, the site is still extremely tilted towards the female demographic more than any of the major social networks with Comscore showing that 80% are women.

With Alexa showing the site at #16 in traffic in the US, the growth and attention have been apparent but the male invasion may have been prematurely declared. Female-oriented content still dominates the site and keeps it flowing with the images and videos that women want. Will it be able to maintain this forever?

The infographic below should shed some light on the past, present, and future of the social network. Click to enlarge.

Pinterest Data You Can't Ignore: The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest [infographic]

Pinterest may be changing the social commerce game, but why?

Pinterest is starting to enter into the social media in ways that most sites only dream about. Other than Google+, it’s the fastest growing social site in the last year with 329% growth in the last 4 months of 2011 alone. We get more questions on our social media podcast about Pinterest the last month than we get about Facebook. Why is the spotlight shining so brightly on this relative-newcomer to the social world?

The answer is pretty simple. With a base target audience of 25-45 year-old women, the site is a mecca for things like fashion, recipes, and male pectorals. This exposure has gotten the attention of the other demographics, so now there are an equal number of funny images, interesting videos, infographics, and stunning photography filling the site.

Another portion of the answer is simplicity. It’s as easy (if not easier) than posting to Facebook or Twitter, plus posting to Pinterest allows you to immediately repost the content to Facebook and Twitter anyway. It’s a middle-man stop that has its own separate culture attached, perfect for those who want to expand, simplify, or purify their social media experience.

This graphic by our friends at Monetate breaks down the recent successes of Pinterest as well as answering the question of the site’s viability from a social commerce perspective. Click to enlarge.

(Source: Monetate. H/T: Mobility Vehicle Financing)

Despite mainstream growth, 80% of Pinterest users are women

Pinterest may be changing the social commerce game, but why?

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