LINDA COSTA COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

Confessions of a Pinterest Addict
02.21.12

I’ll admit it: I’m addicted to Pinterest … but I’m not alone. In December, AdAge reported that Real Simple went on the record to say that Pinterest drove more traffic to their site than social media giant Facebook. And considering the difference in size and age (Pinterest is just shy of two years old with 11 million visits a week, compared to Facebook at eight years old and 800 million people strong) – this is a huge accomplishment.

Most recently, in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them, join them,” Facebook recently announced that Pinterest will now be available through their website via an application. If past partnerships are any indication, you can bet that Pinterest’s reach will continue to grow at an even higher rate. Which means that we, as PR and marketing professionals, will need to embrace the network just as we have Facebook and Twitter, in an effort to present clients with strategic opportunities.

However, like all other social networks, there won’t be a “one-size-fits-all” approach to using Pinterest effectively. First, get acquainted with the site and its features (most specifically, its categories, which include everything from “hair & beauty” to “cars and motorcycles”) … then take note of how items are shared and which are the most popular. Are they in-line with what your client offers? Or, more importantly, is there a void that they could fill?

How do you use Pinterest, personally and professionally?