We are going to switch gears in November to focus on Pinterest and Instagram, two social photo sharing sites that you definitely should know more about. 

While Facebook's once staggering growth rate has slowed, other social platforms are gaining users by the millions.

Some 72% of online U.S. adults use  Facebook  today. That is up only 5 points from 67% in 2012. By comparison, Pinterest more than doubled its user base, from 15% of online U.S. adults in 2012 to 31% as of August 2015. Similarly, Instagram usage has grown from 13% three years ago to 28% now. That gives Instagram 300 million users worldwide and Pinterest 100 million. 

Instagram has some advantages for golf course operations over Pinterest. The Instagram user audience is split almost 50/50 male to female while Pinterest is about 85% female. And golf still remains a male dominated game. Instagram also uses hashtags. So all of the work that you have spent following and cultivating meaningful hashtags for Twitter translates right over to Instagram.

READ OUR BLOG - WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS INSTAGRAM

However, if you have a banquet facility or an online store you may not want to write-off Pinterest just yet. The female dominant audience is highly engaged and ready to purchase. Growth is based on the recommendations and 're-pins' of others which is highly valuable to businesses. And Pinterest is a terrific platform to show off your facilities ability to host weddings and special events. We will come back to Pinterest next week.

PS - Jeff's favorite platform - Twitter, also continues to grow. Users have increased 7% from 16% of online US adults in 2012 to 23% today. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @CKGolfSolutions for more social media and business tips every day.

If you would like to chat more about Instagram, Pinterest or social media in general send us a note on one of the social platforms below. You can also call 604-506-2226, we still do use the telephone!

* All data from the Pew Research Center.