Need a cool place to collect your thoughts?

Pinterest is a pinboard-style social media website that allows users to create and manage image collections such as events, style, and interests. You can upload photos that you like or inspire you, and place them into categories that others can browse.  You too can browse other’s pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to your own collections or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission statement reads: “Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.”

I can see why someone can spend hours on Pinterest since it has every category of interest possible and allows people’s creativity to shine.  People can decorate their homes, pick out dresses, find crazy fabric, share recipes, and show off their favorite pet.  I started out by just pinning dog pictures.  I just wanted to see how it works, and I was surprised how many people re-pin simple snapshots.  The picture above, “what dog doesn’t love a good hug” was repinned 109 times.  That is 109 connections with people of similar interests.  I think it is brilliant to use common interests to bring people together.  You can also put in keywords and links for the photos uploaded, which may be ideal for companies with unique products.  People can find inspiration for work projects.

So, just like any other social site: 

• Find the influencers that will get your product re-pinned. 
• Get them to know your business and become advocates. 
• Exposure is key - Connect your other social sites.
• Don’t just promote your products – find good content that is relevant to your audience.
• Visit the Pinterest pages of some of your fans – to see what they may be interested in.
• Hashtags will help your search results.
• Don’t forget analytics – set-up your Google Analytics to see how much traffic is being driven to your website from Pinterest.

Have a great week and try pinning a few items, and following some users.  If you have any questions about inbound marketing or Pinterest email me at bob@cleriti.com.