Did you know that, according to Semiocast, Pinterest boasts as many as 70 million accounts, and social bookmarking site Reddit surpassed 37 billion page views in 2012? Top bookmarking sites are continually changing the ways that internet users get information. How are Pinterest and Reddit changing web experiences, and what does this mean for internet marketing?
Image-Based Bookmarking Sites
Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than words and text, and 90% of all information sent to the brain is, in fact, visual. It is no wonder, then, that image-based social media, such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr, are rapidly increasing in popularity.
Pinterest, for example, gives users a quick and easy means of sharing DIY projects, recipes, home decor, fashion, products, and more. The good news for marketers is that Pinterest users average medium to high incomes, and spend $80-$100 more than shoppers originating from other popular social media sites, such as Facebook. Moreover, Pinterest is the preferred platform for mobile shoppers. In fact, Pinterest accounts for 50% of all social activity on iPads, according to a ShareThis report.
Discussion-Based Social Bookmark Sites
Sharing images spreads viral information fast. Reddit, another one of the internet’s top bookmarking sites, gives users the option of browsing pictures or short blurbs of text alone, or adding to current discussions. Reddit is also broken up into a number of subpages, called subreddits, targeting specific markets. The subreddit Lose It, for example, allows users to share weight loss progress, share diet and exercise tips, discuss weight loss applications, etc.
The subreddit garnering the most media, marketing, and PR attention, however, may be Ask Me Anything. The subreddit hosts a number of live interviews, allowing users to post questions, and typically get live responses, all within a designated time frame. The interviewing tool is so popular and widely recognized that President Obama hosted his very own Ask Me Anything on August 29, 2012.
Top bookmarking sites are changing the ways users peruse the internet. Internet goers are largely favoring image-based sites, such as Pinterest, and sharing viral information and discussion on targeted social bookmarking sites like Reddit.