What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a visual search and discovery engine, app, and website that allows users to find, save, and curate ideas like recipes, home decor, and fashion using images and short videos called "Pins". It acts as a digital, virtual dream board for inspiration, where users organize content into thematic "boards".

Key features of Pinterest include:

Visual Discovery: Users explore a personalized feed of ideas based on interests, browsing, and searches.
Pinning & Organizing: Content (Pins) can be saved to specific, curated boards for future reference.
Actionable Content: Many Pins link back to original websites, allowing users to buy products, read articles, or try recipes.
Use Cases: It is used for finding inspiration, planning projects, shopping, and discovering trends.
For Business: Companies use Pinterest to build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and showcase products to users, with over 619 million monthly active users.

Pinterest functions more as a search engine for visual inspiration rather than a traditional social media network.

Pinterest is a visual discovery engine used for finding, saving, and organizing ideas. Unlike typical social networks focused on status updates or news feeds, Pinterest functions more like a digital scrapbook or help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest where users (called "Pinners") look for inspiration for recipes, home decor, fashion, and DIY projects.

Core Features & How It Works

Pins: Every idea on the platform is a Pin—a visual card consisting of an image or video, a description, and often a link back to the original source.
Boards: You organize your Pins into Boards based on themes, such as "Dream Vacation" or "Living Room Ideas".
Visual Search: The platform uses AI tools like Pinterest Lens to let you search using your camera to find similar items or ideas.
Discovery: Your Home Feed is personalized based on your interests and recent activity, showing you content from people or brands you follow alongside AI-driven recommendations.

Key Statistics (2024-2026)

User Base: Pinterest currently reports approximately 600 million monthly active users globally.
Demographics: The platform is predominantly used by women, who make up over 70% of the audience.
Business Potential: It is a major driver of web traffic; 83% of weekly Pinners in the US have made purchases based on content from brands on the site.

For Businesses and Creators

Businesses use business.pinterest.com/en-in/how-pinterest-works/ to access analytics, run targeted advertisements (Promoted Pins), and set up "Product Pins" that show pricing and stock levels for direct shopping.

Code

Pinterest Glossary

Vocabulary related to social network https://www.pinterest.com/ with the definitions for terms.

analytics – A measurement of your Pinterest activity through the discovery of meaningful trends in data. "https://www.pinterest.com/source/pintalk.net/analytics/" can be accessed only though a verified account

category – A system of classification for Pinterest pinboards. www.pintalk.net/how-to-change-your-pinterest-boards-category-in-3-steps/ allow pinboards to be found via the inherent Pinterest navigation.

group board – A pinboard on which two or more users can pin content on.

pin (specifically a Pinterest pin) –

v. – Fastening your ideas to a Pinterest pinboard via image or website upload.

n. – A photo, graphic or other image that appears as a post on a pinboard.

pinboard – Pinterest is an online pinboard that lets you organize and share visual content and links from the internet

Pinterest pin it button – The Pinterest Pin It button is an app or plugin for web browsers to allow Pinterest users to pin content from other websites to their Pinterest pinboards even if they are not using Pinterest at the time.

Pinterest characters – The @, or “at symbol” and the the #, or “hashtag”. Symbols used to improve communication and increase visibility in search results.

profile – Personal information about you or your business personal information you’ve decided to share with other users. This can include your name, work history, education, interests, website as well as other social networking accounts.

profile photo – The photo at the top of your Pinterest profile, to the left of your bio

repin – The process of re-fastening an already existing image (pin) to another Pinterest pinboard. Pinterest tallies and displays the number of repins.

like – A “like” is a feature that lets users quickly give positive affirmation that they care for a pin. Users cannot like comments or profiles. The number of likes is not tallied.

account verification – The process of associating a website with your account.

Chapters

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest Glossary

Select Chapter