What's Pinterest, and Why You Should Take a Look

Are you “pinning”? If not, maybe you should be. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board, where users can pin images from all over the web to themed boards. The title of your boards are up to you, but you place them into categories, ranging from DIY & Crafts, to Architecture, to Geek, to Women’s or Men’s Apparel.

It’s been widely reported that Pinterest is driving more social media traffic than Google+, and that it has a loyal viewership – the reported average time spent on it is around 88 minutes.

You follow other users the same way you do on Facebook and Twitter, and have the option to comment on or re-pin their pins. (You don’t have to be following users to do this.)

When you pin a photo or image, it becomes a direct link back to the page you pinned it from. But Pinterest doesn’t only work in numbers. While it’s of course beneficial to have more followers to get more traffic to your site, you also want to have good boards.

The basis of Pinterest is inspiration. That’s what people use it to get and give. You want to pin images thoughtfully and carefully, not only from your own website, but from others as well. Spend time building boards, attracting followers and following others. The more inspiring your boards are, the more likely it will be that traffic will increase to your site.

This pinning model has worked best for retailers (re-pin it, click on it, buy it) but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work if you don’t have a product. All you need are compelling images and some inspiration.

Have you ‘pinned’?