Pinterest Takes a Step Towards Making Money by Inviting Businesses to Join
Pinterest has launched pages just for businesses, and though that would seem an obvious move to make money the company doesn't want you to think that. "This is not about monetization or business models," platform manager Cat Lee said, reports AllThingsD's Liz Gannes. Well, not yet. Businesses don't have to pay to set up a Pinterest store-front, which differs from a regular account because it makes getting a "pin it" widget on a businesses own website easier. Pinterest doesn't offer the company any ways to give them money in any way. But, looking at other social networks that have just-for-companies pages, we can see where this is going.
RELATED: The Army's Social Media Industrial Complex
How Facebook Makes Money Off Its Free Brand Pages
Promoted Posts: Facebook also doesn't charge a business to exist on its network. It has a similar situation, where it offers Pages that differ from standard Facebook profiles. The social network makes money off these people through "promoted posts." For anywhere between $5 to hundreds of dollars, depending on how many users a place wants to reach, Facebook will push a post from these companies into user feeds, ensuring they see it.
RELATED: Mark Zuckerberg Is Dabbling on Pinterest
How Twitter Makes Money Off Its Free Brand Pages
Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts: Twitter has what have been described as "Facebook-style" brand pages, where companies can get enhanced accounts that allow them to customize their headers and make their brand more prominent. These companies can pay for promoted tweets and promoted accounts, which push their tweets and their accounts to the top of user feeds. Promoted accounts start at $10,000 per month, according to Quora. The tweets are priced on what's called a cost per engagement basis, meaning brands only get charged when a user retweets, likes, or replies to one of these posts.
RELATED: What the Army Is Doing on Pinterest
How Pinterest Will Make Money Off Its Free Brand Pages
Promoted Pins? That's our prediction. These brand pages are a set up to follow Twitter and Facebook's lead. Pinterest already has a tie to retail. So, it would make sense that brands, like Macy's or Etsy would want to push more traffic to their sites so more people see their clothing and buy stuff. We're calling it right here right now. Take bets, people.
