Pinterest: the next big thing in social media?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Pinterest by now. It's the hottest new(ish) thing in social media.

Earlier this week, Entreprenuer.com ran a piece by Jason Fall entitled "How Pinterest is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business."

Falls writes, "Move over Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Another social media site is stepping up as a valuable marketing tool for businesses. Pinterest, an online bulletin board for your favorite images, launched in 2010 and is already experiencing wild growth. The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September. And it's driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent report from Cambridge, Mass.-based content-sharing site Shareaholic. Why should small businesses care? To answer that, you first have to understand how consumers are using the site. Pinterest allows you to organize images — maybe pretty sunrises or wines you've tasted — into boards for specific categories. When you ‘pin’ something new, your followers will see it. They can like, comment or re-pin it to their boards. Like Facebook content, your Pinterest pins can go viral … The possibilities are unlimited."

Falls goes on to talk about why business owners should "seriously consider starting a business profile on Pinterest now." But what about not-for-profits? Is there room in the Pinterest boom for you as well?

Absolutely. Pinterest is a great way to build buzz for your not-for-profit, and when it comes to fundraising, we all know that visual appeals can have major impact. Join Pinterest and start by pinning your own photographs — project images, photographs of your community or the people in the communities you serve. (Just be sure to attribute the photographs to your organization and to credit them appropriately. This will help build your online profile. Pinterest will link back to your website and this will help raise your search engine ranking.)

Next, move on to pinning images that are simply related to your interests. Does your organization work to bring clean water to a specific community? Search for and repin the best water images you can find. It's really that simple. You'll quickly get the hang of Pinterest once you start using it.

Falls ended his piece by saying: "One thing is clear whether you're on Pinterest for personal or business reasons: the best images — be they funny, beautiful or thought-provoking — attract the most attention and followers." He's certainly right about that.

I think we'll have to wait and see how Pinterest holds up and how it evolves as a tool, but for the time being, why not try it out? It may prove very useful, and it's always nice to get ahead of the curve. 

_{Header image by Nyman Ink, using the Pinterest logo. Body image by Tibor Fazakas, SXC, also modified by Nyman Ink.}