Exciting news from the team at Pinterest this week. They are introducing Pinterest Web Analytics. Data for pins and re-pins is not a new concept and there are companies focused solely on this, but Pinterest releasing this simple analytics product is an important marker in the evolving world of social business. There is real value being created and this is a nice first step by the pinterest team to put some hard numbers around this value.
However, I am sure you analytical thinkers, data junkies and revenue maximizing wizards are feeling a little unsatisfied, because the truth is, this platform doesn’t really answer the hard core questions you are asking. The metrics of pins, repins, pinners, clicks etc., are important for brand building, and allow you to do some quantitative analysis, however, you are still forced to infer the value being created, specifically dollars coming in the door.
Pinterest is a great product and company and they know in order to create a big business (ie. make money) the analytics platform will be a necessity for advertisers. This is a case of learning from those who came before you; facebook, twitter and other networks released analytics offerings far too late in their existence, allowing upstarts to capture that value. I believe the platform starting with the basics is a strategic move by Pinterest and a good one; I am confident it will evolve into a much more sophisticated tool. In the meantime, those of you who can’t wait should check out Pinfluencer, and keep your eye on this blog. We are striving to make the business of social more data-driven, and it is fantastic to see Pinterest taking the all important first step of acknowledging this need.