If you haven't discovered it by now, allow us to open your eyes to the latest social network to emerge: Pinterest.

Pinterest is an image-based form of social media that allows users to "pin" (a.k.a. post) their pictures to "pinboards," which are kind of like photo albums. It's like Instagram in that it's very photocentric, and the ability to pin from other people's boards is similar to the retweet or like functions on Twitter and Facebook, respectively. So users from those platforms will likely find some familiarity with Pinterest.

However, the thing we find most interesting about Pinterest is the number of women it counts among its users. Solid, verifiable numbers are difficult, if not impossible, to find on this subject, but there are some astounding estimates. Some suggest that as many as 97 percent of Pinterest users are women. Other more "conservative" estimates put the number at 80 percent. Going beyond what percentage of its users are women, a Pew Research Center study says that one in every five online women are on Pinterest.

Needless to say, this is a veritable gold mine for those marketing to women. There are very few other outlets which can offer an audience with such demographic concentration as this one. As of July 2012, Pinterest has 23.3 million unique users, and that number continues to grow. That means between 18.6 million (if 80 percent of users are women) and 22.6 million (97 percent) women are on this upstart social network.

Due to its rapid growth and large user base of women, any social media marketing strategy, especially one focusing on marketing to women, should incorporate Pinterest in its plan.

FletcherPR is a national communications firm that specializes in reaching women through the power of media. Headquartered in Knoxville, TN with staff in Nashville & Los Angeles, we are a full-service agency providing strategic public relations, social media and marketing communications services to our clients throughout the U.S.