Most social media sites are based on conversations, content and links. Pinterest allows you to share what you find on the Web by pinning the images on a board. Since Pinterest emphasizes images, make sure you choose images for your pins that are high-quality. Let’s visit Pinterest and find out more.
Steps
1. Web content.
Pinterest allows users to organize and share content they find on the Web. It’s more than a bookmark site, though. Go to the site and select “Explore” from the toolbar. Find one or more categories that interest you and browse to get a feel for the site.
2. Join.
Sign up to Pinterest. You’ll be able to create your own boards, collaborate with other boards, share pins that interest you and more as a member.
3. Your profile.
Go to your profile and place information you want to share as well as your profile picture.
4. Boards.
Boards are similar to folders where you can place information into a system that makes sense to you. Want to collect ideas for a party? Create meeting activities for your scout troop? Plan a trip? Share your favorite artist? Make a board for one or more of your interests.
5. Pins.
help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest
Each piece of content you place on a board is a “pin.” You can pin content you find on the site itself, called a “repin”, or you can pin anything you find on the Web. Place the pin application in your browser. Pin some content into your board. Explore how pins work.
NOTE: Make sure you select the board you want your pin on when you pin / repin to keep your organizing time to a minimum.
6. Description.
Leave yourself a note as to why you pinned it. That way, when you return later, you’ll have a reminder. Also, keywords will allow others to find your pin. Feel free to add hashtags at the end of your description as well.
7. Follow.
You can follow people, they can follow you. You can follow one or more of their boards. Check out your friends and find out who is already on Pinterest or find others who are interested in the same things you are. Follow one or two people or boards.
8. Videos.
You can also pin videos from YouTube, Vimeo and TED. Check some of the video offerings. Do you have any videos you can pin?
9. Etiquette.
Pinterest has a few rules you need to follow in regards to etiquette. Look through these as a starting point to pinning.
- Do not obnoxiously self-promote
- Do not leave mean / hateful messages on other people’s pins
- Do not share / tweet everything you pin
- Do give credit to others
- Do share / collaborate within Pinterest
- Do pin individual post pages from a blog, not the homepage
10. Collaborative.
Collaborative boards allow more than one person to pin items to a board. You can work together, plan a trip or any other collaborative project you can think of. Sometimes it’s just used as a knowledge board on a specific topic. Learn about collaborative boards and join one.
11. Business.
Business accounts are allowed on Pinterest. You can link to your Etsy store or other items you have for sale. Compare the pins of a business / organization as opposed to a personal account.
12. Invite a friend.
Now that you know a bit about Pinterest, invite a few of your friends to make the experience more enjoyable.
Supplements
SUPP_Pinterest Explorer_2in_12up_larajla
- Avery 2” round label printable, 12 up
SUPP_Pnterest Explorer_Checklist_larajla
- Badge checklist
Sites to Explore
- www.pinterest.com
- help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest
- www.realsimple.com/work-life/technology/how-to-use-pinterest
- www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-pinterest-effectively
- www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-use-pinterest
Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here > Full badge PDFs