Pinterest has had a lot of publicity recently. This virtual pinboard has been increasingly popular amongst bloggers, with now 12 million users worldwide (68% of them female, apparently). So, we have pondered on why it could be good for your business and also address some of the negativity it’s received in the past few weeks.
Here’s a basic overview of Pinterest for the uninitiated…
Firstly, to use Pinterest you have to be invited. So you have to find a user who would be prepared to do this. By simply putting a tweet out we found users are quite happy to do this.
Once in you can pin images or websites. It relies on the visual, as well as letting you place your images in folders or categories. Perfect for that inner neat freak that wishes to place everything in it’s own box. It allows you to bookmark images.
What’s it good for?
If your business relies on visual it’s great for a viral spread of your photos/pictures. Other users can pin your pictures (similar to liking on Facebook or retweeting on Twitter) which prolongs the share and increases the audience.
If you are selling an art or photography based product, crafts, interior design, food or fashion this site could be essential to you – it is also hugely popular with the users of craft selling site “Folksy”.
What’s it not good for?
Recently it has been noted that, within the terms and conditions of the site, Pinterest can sell on your images. Users can also lift your images and pin them, this can look to others like they belong to that individual. Although there has been a lot of concern regarding this it’s your call. If you want to go viral this is a great way of doing so.
Users may not have read up on the terms and, the fact is, they could be liable for copyright infringement if they pin the wrong picture. By signing up, you are saying that you own the photograph. The easy thing here is really simple – don’t pin other people’s content.
Should you use it?
As an upcoming site with a really solid fan base can you afford not to? Even with the copyright issues (which we hope will be addressed soon) the reach of this social media site is fantastic within the areas of business we have highlighted.
If you want to know more about setting up Pinterest or want us to set your pinboards up and talk you through it then contact us
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