Pinterest & Social Media

As many of you have heard, Pinterest is moving fast on the social media scene. It is a simple, photo social sharing website. Companies such as Flickr, Picasa and Photobucket are most likely grinding their teeth, wondering how this creative picture platform appeared out of nowhere and zoomed right by them in popularity and web traffic.

I remember the first time I heard of Pinterest from Betsy of Frock Boutique. She told me face to face (in-person social media) how much she was hooked on it and how much fun it was. I told her I am going to check into it and put in on my schedule. Now, I find myself scheduling time on it daily, and I am currently building it into several social media strategies for companies I am working with.

The curating factor is big in the social world! I jump on Pinterest and have a bunch of my personally chosen topics to view, with hundreds and thousands of photos and info from all around the world. I can also type in any topic I wish to view in the search box and BAM - all of the posts from a worldwide community show up in seconds. Scoop.it, another one of my favorite curation and social sharing sites, does something similar with press releases, articles and blog posts.

My main business, information and education topics that I am building on Pinterest are Social Media & Technology; but you can also see my collection of Sayings, For the Home, Art, Fashion and several more. The social part of this is allowing others to see the great compilations that you have pinned, put together and shared. Then they can Pin what you posted or repinned, and like & comment on your pin. They can also repost/repin and share it on Twitter or Facebook at the same time if they choose to. One of the great features I am using is the "Pin It" button that I have added to my Chrome browser. I can be on any web page anywhere, click it, and Pin up the photo that is on that page. So I am not just allowed to Pin and Share my own content; but anyone else's as well.

The Infographic world has definitely gotten a boost with Pinterest! My social media board is FULL of great information using educational graphics/infographics.

After you have some fun, using it for business is the next step. Maybe making a photo board of the folks at the office making crazy faces and adding it to your Humor board. Travel photos can also be great. For example: a photo of me at The Bund in Shanghai China can be tagged "Gary from G Social Media goes to China," link to my site, and add it to my Travel board. How about using a baby and taking a photo of them with your company hat on, and adding it to your Cute board? What about coupon sites taking their coupons, making them a little more interesting with Photoshop, and posting for others to see, share and save money? How about a picture of an incredible dish your restaurant makes, adding a recipe with it, and posting it to your Foodie board? Photography creativity and sharing has definitely taken a BIG step up!

I have a reciprocal habit of going to the profile page of anyone who follows me on Pinterest, checking out what boards they have, and following the ones that I am interested in. You should too. Check me out and follow my boards if they interest you at all: G Social Media on Pinterest.com. Thanks!