Pinterest is probably the most interesting social media platform out there at the moment, and undoubtedly the prettiest.

But there’s more to Pinterest than good looks, and as the photo-sharing platform prepares to launch advertising we take a deeper look into the world of pictures and pins.

Four years

Pinterest first launched in March 2010, recently celebrating its fourth birthday.

Since that time Pinterest’s user base has grown to 70 million.

Female friendly

Pinterest remains one of the most skewed platforms when it comes to user demographics.

Close to 80 per cent of Pinterest users are women and up to 20 per cent of all internet-connected women in the US use Pinterest.

The average number of followers a US Pinterest user has is 67.

Monthly movement

Over a month these users amass 2.5 billion page views, and they like to share. A massive 80 per cent of all pins are repins, or shared content.

Pinners are also more taken with products than people – less than 20 per cent of pins show faces.

Mobile ready

Pinners are often on the go, with 75 per cent of Pinterest traffic coming from mobile devices.

In fact over a third (35 per cent) of Pinterest users are mobile-only.

Growth spurt

In just over four years Pinterest is valued at US$4 billion, while the platform is now responsible for 20 per cent of social referrals to commerce sites.

If you enjoyed this article then subscribe FREE to the twice weekly SMK Digital Bulletin, click here now or visit www.smk.net.au/subscribe.

Also, click here download a FREE Social Media Policy Research Paper – worth $495. This FREE in-depth 17 page paper features insights from both communications and legal experts at the likes of: National Australia Bank (NAB), Edelman, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Social@Ogilvy, SMK – Social Media Knowledge, The Victorian Electoral Commission. Or visit www.smk.net.au/downloads for details.