Are you a Pin-head?

Pinterest may seem like a passing fad, just another social network to take up time. It has a reputation of being a site where countless women spend countless hours pinning images of wedding plans, projects for the home, baby room ideas, recipes, dreamy travel destinations and even more dreamy Hollywood actors.

But besides this, Pinterest has a purpose. It is a fresh break from the meaningless chatter on other social networks. It is based on the idea of “look at this!” instead of “look at me!” People find inspiration here, and can often find new hobbies, work out routines, motivation, new ways to make and do things, and really creative tips in any area you find interesting.

If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, basically there are images linked to websites that are referred to as “pins”. Each user has a collection of “Boards” that they use to organize pins, such as “books to read”, “My Style”, “For the Home” “Heath and Wellness”, “Craft Ideas”, etc. Users can create any board to organize any group of images they want to collect. When you find something you like, you can either click the “like” button, “Comment” or “Repin” it to one of your boards. You can even pin an image onto several boards. Users have followers, who can either follow one of your boards or all of them. Your followers’ pins will come up first in the default filter on Pinterest’s main page. But you can also view pins by “Everything”, the most recently pinned, by categories, videos, popular pins or even by price.

Now, of course, you are wondering how a business can utilize this platform for its benefit. One way is by having contests. You can host a “Best Board” or “Best Pin Theme” contest and create a buzz just like you can on Facebook and Twitter. But because Pinterest is more visual, using images, rather than links, it boosts interaction among followers.

Businesses can also display various aspects of their company, which creates a means to reach various people within its target audience. For instance, a company can create a board that showcases only their logo or design work. It can create another board to exhibit its involvement in the community. I have also seen boards of employees’ stellar clothing and accessory styles- all of these can capture the attention of various people, creating interest in your business or products (as long as you link all the images back to your website, of course).

The basic idea of any social network is to capture attention, drive traffic and increase business sales. By utilizing social networking platforms creatively, by offering quality images and content, you are more likely to drive traffic to your site. Let us know which social media platform you prefer and how it works for you!