Zoomsphere recently releases a list of the top several hundred Pinterest accounts.  The vast majority of the top accounts are personal accounts and blogs.  However, several brands have also made it in.  I went through and made a list of just the top accounts.  The top commercial accounts on Pinterest are, in order:

10. The Perfect Palette

9. The Beauty Department

8. Birchbox

7. Random House Books

6. Consumer Reports

5. National Post

4. Mashable

3. Lowe’s

2. Nordstrom

1. Harper’s Bazaar magazine

Let’s look at this list and see what we can learn from it.  What do all these businesses have in common?

1. They all produce a lot of visual media.

Harper’s Bazaar, the National Post, clothing companies, and Random House all rely heavily on visual media to sell their products.  Even the brands on this list that would not typically have relied on visual media, like Consumer Reports and Mashable, have invested heavily in visuals to help stand out.  Consumer Reports includes in-depth photo shoots of every product they review, and Mashableuses stock photos on every post.

2.They all sell products aimed at young professional women.

All of these commercial brands are aimed at women aged 25-35.  The clothing and beauty lines are for professionals or office workers with a fair amount of disposable income.  Lowe’s is aimed at homeowners.  The National Post and Harper’s Bazaar are both written for more educated consumers.  The Perfect Palette is specifically aimed at women getting married; statistically, these women are about 27.

If your products are suitable for women aged 25-35, educated people, and/or homeowners, your business will likely do well on Pinterest.

3.They are not actually all that socially conscious.

It’s a common fallacy that Pinterest users are all about eco-friendly, socially conscious products.  However, this top ten list tells a different story.  None of the top ten sell themselves on social awareness, and the only newspaper, Canada’s National Post, is actually a fairly conservative publication.  So, how does this help us?  Well, it tells us that Pinterest users are more interested in products they like than in social awareness.  Being eco-friendly or socially aware will help you with some consumers on Pinterest, but it is clearly not essential to success.

4.Most of them sell long-lasting products.

There are no movie studios, theatre companies, or food brands on this list.  This is because Pinterest users prefer to buy things that last.  Their savvy is apparent in the #6 of this list, Consumer Reports.

Pinterest advertising is less about pushing impulse purchases, and more about building up potentially interested consumers over time.  Eventually everyone is going to need some new clothes or appliances, and when they do, you want to be right there on their Pinterest page.

Anyways, that’s just the most basic analysis, to get you started.  Take a look at the list on Zoomsphere.  Think about how your brand would fit into this list.  Then, take a look at similar brands’ Pinterest pages and strategies.  In the end, only you can determine if your business has a shot on Pinterest.

Steve is a Social Media Manager and Google AdWords Certified Individual at TechWyse, an internet marketing firm based in Toronto, Canada. TechWyse specializes in z PPC and Social Media Marketing. You can read more of Steve’s writing at TechWyse.com/blog.