3 ways Pinterest is changing the way we search for things

Believe it or not, Pinterest is rather impressive when it comes to social media. Last year, it was said there were over 110 million monthly active users, and while the majority of users are females, the number of male subscribers is growing rapidly (sometimes doubling from year to year).

On top of that, Pinterest oozes interesting and useful facts and statistics that can help stores and restaurants of all shapes and sizes do more with their products… like that images without faces are 23% more likely to be repinned or that words such as DIY, cup, and recipe are searched for the most.

However, another remarkable aspect of this social media platform is that it’s doing some big things when it comes to images, search, and the online world. Pinterest is providing the consumer with more avenues to find what they want, in ways that just… well, make sense.

Here are three new ways Pinterest is changing the world of visual search and will, quite possibly, change the way your business shares products online.

Visual Search

You’re looking at an image on Pinterest of a man cooking dinner in a nice kitchen. The Pin is about a specific type of pasta, but you’re more interested in something in the background… a forest green farmhouse sink that would go perfectly in your kitchen.

So instead of typing those keywords into the search bar, tap the magnifying glass at the corner of the screen and then tap the sink. Below the Pin, Pinterest will display images that relate to what you’ve tapped on. The closer you zoom into the object, the more specific Pinterest can get. The app can even search patterns and colors if you like.

Pinterest Lens

Ever been at a restaurant and wondered how to make a dish you just ate? Ever been at a party and wanted that really cool shirt that one person was wearing? Ever been at a friend’s house and thought that lamp would look really good in your bedroom? Well, thanks to Pinterest, all you have to do to find whatever it is you’re looking for is take a picture of it.

Take the shot and Pinterest will search for like-images. It will narrow down the search for you, with no keywords necessary. In other words, it takes the guessing game out of search.

At the moment, this search feature isn’t available to everyone yet, but once it is, it will completely change the way people look for things.

Instant Ideas

If you’re scrolling through your Pinterest feed and find something you want to see more of, you can tap on the white circle at the bottom left corner of the Pin. Do this and Pinterest will search for Instant Ideas. Pinterest says it’s “like you’re instantly reshaping your feed around whatever catches your eye, all without losing your spot.”

Basically, this feature makes Pinterest a thousand times more user-friendly. Search for things quickly, accurately, and in the way you want to search for things… by tapping.