Can Pinterest win over ‘Facebook nation’?

The online pinboard network is going international and now has a local version for Danish users

Nov 12, 2013

Online pinboard Pinterest launched a Danish version of its website today.

"We want to keep improving Pinterest experiences for people in Denmark so they can discover the things they love," the head of Pinterest, Matt Crystal, told Børsen financial daily.

The translation of the site has been done by its users in Denmark.

"Right now we are experimenting with user translations and think it is a great opportunity to make our best pinners part of the development," Crystal explained.

The launch of a site in Danish is part of the company's ambition to go from ten local versions to 30 by the end of 2014.

Few users in Europe
Since the site was founded in 2010, Pinterest has been riding on a wave of success that has seen its number of users reach 53 million in just three years. The photo-sharing network experienced its highest rise in 2013, growing by 88 percent, according to internet market research firm Global Web Index.

But the European market is where most social media usually have the hardest time breaking through. Only three percent of European internet users are active on Pinterest, compared to 17 percent in the US.

Facebook nation
Although the company wouldn't reveal details about the number of its Danish users, it is fair to assume that there aren't that many, said Jonathan Wichmann, a social media advisor at ad agency Wiibroe, Duckert & Partners.

"It is not very popular here. Denmark is unfortunately a Facebook nation and we only use a small range of the social media available compared to other countries," Wichmann told Børsen. "Pinterest is more visual and accessible than Facebook and has shown a rapid growth in the US lately, especially among middle-aged women interested in fashion, food and lifestyle."

Crystal is convinced that there is a market for Pinterest here and that the company just has to know how to promote itself.

"Danes are among our most enthusiastic users, so there is a solid foundation to start from," he told Børsen. "We think there is potential for far more users."