With an eye on its bottom line, Pinterest wants to give brands and influencers more reasons to partner up on its platform.
To do so, the mostly mobile social network has decided to
open its content marketing API to third-party influencer marketing platforms. Per the change, brands can expect more visibility into various stats like monthly views, followers, impressions,
click-throughs and “saves.”
With this information, it should be easier for brands to separate the truly influential from “influencers” in name only.
Influencers, for their part, should now have an easier time connecting with would-be brand partners.
The changes come amid a growing market for influencers and increasing competition by
platforms -- from Instagram to YouTube to Pinterest -- to attract them.
In part, the growth is a result of what brands perceive to be positive results. Indeed, 92% of marketers that partner
with influencers have found the tactic to be effective, Pinterest finds.
Despite some vocal critics, a critical mass of people also appear to be increasingly comfortable with marketing mixed
in with their mobile and social experiences.
On Pinterest, 78% of users report that branded content in their feeds and search results is somehow “useful.”
While
still a fraction of Facebook’s community, Pinterest recently surpassed more than 250 million monthly users. At present, the network now boasts more than 175 billion pins, which represents an
increase of 75%, year-over-year.
Potentially giving U.S. brands and influencers some pause, however, more than half of Pinterest’s community now resides outside of the U.S., while over
80% of new users live abroad.