If Pinterest has been in your rearview mirror, it’s time for a double-take. With 454 million users per month, Pinterest has great potential for attracting a new audience to your brand.

What Makes Pinterest so Special?

While platforms like Instagram and Facebook are often used for entertainment scrolling, most Pinterest users open the app with a mission in mind. They’re looking for something-- this could be a product, a service, or even a slice of information to answer their burning questions. They are looking for what you offer!

This means you don’t have to work extra hard to convince Pinterest users that what you have to offer is what they are looking for. They’re already interested-- that’s how they found your Pin. As a brand, you strategically need to create Pinterest-worthy content that is easy for your target audience to find.

Why Marketers Use Pinterest

Marketers turn to Pinterest to expand their audiences, grow an online presence, drive traffic to their website, and encourage conversions. However, rowing organically on Instagram and Facebook isn’t as easy as it used to be. But for brand owners who can’t necessarily afford the “pay-to-play” method, can turn to Pinterest to reach more people, and even make money in the process. 

And it is no small audience either! As of January 2021, Pinterest is the 14th largest social media platform used worldwide. By adding Pinterest to your social media strategy, you are meeting potential customers on multiple channels, which leads to more exposure. A win-win!

Most Popular Categories 

Your most successful Pinterest categories will be the ones most relevant to your business. The following Pinterest categories are some of the most popular across all industries on Pinterest right now. You can find the list updated in real-time by heading to the analytics tab on your Pinterest business account and clicking audience insights for all Pinterest users or trends.pinterest.com to see what users are actively searching for. 

#1 Home Decor

Pinterest users search in this category for their home decor and interior design needs. A whopping 69% of all Pinterest users are interested in this category. There was also a 36% boost in boards related to home decor in 2020.

#2 Food and Drink

Some users head to Pinterest to find new recipes, and others spend hours ogling fancy food items. More than half, 59% to be exact, of Pinterest users, find this category interesting. While Pinterest’s audience is about 60% female, Food and Drink is one of the top Pinterest categories for reaching male users.

#3 Art

This category is a collection of all things art-- from museums, art supplies recommendations, drawing techniques and how-tos, and stunning art inspiration. Artists can use this category to gain exposure for their work. Data shows that 57% of all Pinterest users are interested in Art as a category.

#4 Beauty

People use this category to find makeup and hair tutorials, along with inspo pics to show their stylist the next time they head to the salon. 2020 experienced a 44% increase in beauty-related boards, and 53% of Pinterest users are interested in the Beauty category.

#5 DIY and Crafts

This is where the doers turn for inspiration (and a little guidance) for their next home improvement or craft project. Research reveals that 41% of DIYers head to Pinterest for ideas and 53% of all users are interested in the DIY and Crafts Pinterest category. 

#6 Education

Teachers and homeschooling parents turn to this category for fun, educational activities for kids. This category attracts 50% of all Pinterest users.

#7 Entertainment

Quotes, whether they are inspirational, motivational, or funny, are a huge draw on Pinterest, which makes this the perfect category for entertainment brands to advertise. Forty-eight percent of Pinterest users are interested in the Entertainment category.

#8 Women’s Fashion

It goes without saying that the Women’s fashion category is perfect for fashion brands. Users search this category to keep up with the latest trends, plan outfits, and explore new styles. In 2020, there was a whopping 95% increase in women’s fashion-related boards, and 47% of all Pinterest users are interested in the Women’s Fashion category.

#9 Design

This category is a mix of content covering the design of business and advertising, logo and identity, web and apps, packaging/labels, and books/magazines. This wide variety category attracts 47% of Pinterest users.

#10 Sports

This category is filled with all things sporty. It’s a great place to turn if your brand is related to sports, fitness, or the outdoors. Sports and athletic related Pins attract 44% of Pinterest users.. 

How and Where to Find Pinterest Categories 

To find the most popular Pinterest categories relevant to your brand, head to your analytics tab and hit ‘Audience Insights’ in the drop-down menu. There will be a tab near the top of the page called ‘All Pinterest users’. Click the tab and see the top-performing categories for all Pinterest users. 

Just to the left of that one, you’ll find a tab with your business name as the title. This tab shows the most popular Pinterest categories and data for your individual audience.

If you’ve been using Pinterest for a while, you’ll probably have enough data on your audience to use the Pinterest categories and interests in your business tab. If you are brand new to Pinterest, keep making your Pins and wait for just a little before the data is collected. It will be there soon. 

The ‘All Pinterest users’ tab is the best option for brands just getting started. Scroll through the top-performing categories for all Pinterest users and pick out those most relevant to your brand. Once you have this list, you can click on each category to see a list of the category’s most popular interests. For example, here are the top three  interests in the ‘Home Decor’ category:

• Wall

• Room decor

• Exterior

You can use these Pinterest categories and interests to create boards that attract your target audience. 

One final tip-- since you’re already on Pinterest, you have a plethora of inspiration right at your fingertips. Here’s a page where you can explore content in some of the top Pinterest categories. Once you’ve created some amazing Pins, use the PLANOLY Pin Planner to keep your Pinterest Marketing strategy easy and fun.