If you keep your ear to the social media ground, you know that Pinterest is making big waves.   The media is full of statistics demonstrating that Pinterest is driving more traffic to business websites than Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube combined.

But what the heck is Pinterest? And, more importantly, is it really the next great wave of social media marketing?

The Pinterest Low-Down

With over 11 million users, Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site ever. Why?  Because at its heart, Pinterest is about sharing beautiful, inspiring, or funny pictures.  Quite frankly, it’s one of the most visually appealing sites I’ve ever seen.

As an example, this is what I see when I log into my Pinterest account.

Notice all the gorgeous, eye-catching images?  Isn’t that way more appealing that reading Twitter and Facebook updates?

Why It Matters to Your Business

New users are joining Pinterest by the hundreds every day.  But aside from the fact that it’s pretty, what does Pinterest mean for your business?

For starters, Pinterest users are incredibly engaged – they’re ready and waiting for new content to share and comment on!  Plus, 9 out of every 10 users are connected to Pinterest by Facebook, which means there’s a huge cross-over effect between two of the largest social media networks.

Finally, people on Pinterest don’t have to follow or like a specific individual – they can choose to follow what they’re interested in, regardless of who’s posting it.  In plain English, that means that Pinterest is all about content and less about the relationship-building that is so crucial to the success of other social media marketing.

How It Works

The easiest way to wrap your mind around Pinterest is to think of it like a huge photo album. You can create an unlimited number of boards (photo albums) and give each of them a title. Then you add pictures by pinning them to your board.  You can pin pictures by uploading them from your desktop, or you can re-pin other people’s pictures.  You can also write a caption underneath the picture.  Most people choose to write a few words, but you can write up to 500 characters.

For example, here is a screenshot of my Inspiration board.

The Secret Sauce

Did you notice that each picture on my Inspiration Baord has a website link at the bottom?  This is the real secret to Pinterest for your business: you can assign a website address for your picture.  When someone clicks on your picture  twice (the first time brings up a full-screen image), the user will go wherever the picture’s website address takes them: your home page, a specific blog post, or a special contest page on your website.

This is why Pinterest is generating so much buzz: it combines great visuals with the ability to lead people back to our sites.  Pretty awesome, no?

And before I forget, here’s a great real-life example of how to maximize Pinterest’s potential by running a special contest: How I Got 25,000 Blog Subscribers from Pinterest – in 2 Months Flat.

What You Can’t Do On Pinterest

Pinterest specifically states in its terms of use that it is not an advertising platform.  There are no sponsored ads that show up on the right side of your screen, and no “Click here for your 25% off coupon.”  The pictures have to be worthwhile content – educational, inspirational, motivational, funny, or awe-inspiring.  Simply put, it’s not mean to be a marketing platform – it’s meant to be an intuitive, easy way to share information that’s fun.

Next Steps

If you’ve enjoyed this article, please share it by using this pin it button: Pin It.  And don’t forget to come check me out on Pinterest: I have a whole board dedicated to snazzy social media graphics!

~ Fleicity

P.S.  Dieing to learn more about Pinterest?  Check out Pinterruption.com – an online course on  how to use Pinterest for business.  I have no monetary interest in promoting their course, because I think they’re just that good at teaching you everything you’ll need to know about Pinterest.

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