Dive Brief:

• Pinterest trails Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for sales conversions according to a ChannelAdvisor report.
• Facebook was the far and away leader (64%), more than tripling Twitter (19%), which came in second place in the survey.
• Pinterest’s poor showing reflects the experience of brands, such as Elizabeth Arden, that are no longer active on the platform after poor engagement results.

Dive Insight:

Pinterest is losing appeal for brands because of a lack of engagement compared to other social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. So much so that Elizabeth Arden is no longer posting to Pinterest after finding its Promoted Pins advertising averaged only couple of repins per post, while its Instagram pictures in comparison often garner hundreds of “likes.” 

A recent survey from ChannelAdvisor on social media sales conversions found Facebook led all platforms by a wide margin at 64% combining U.S. and U.K. results. Twitter came in second at 19% and Instagram third at 9%. Pinterest lagged in fourth at 5%, although it performed better in the U.S. than the U.K.

At least in part these results were attributed to Facebook’s sheer size and the high percentage of marketers using the platform for ecommerce. Scot Wingo, executive chairman at ChannelAdvisor, said just looking at traffic data, Facebook and Pinterest convert at similar rates.