I love Pinterest. I think it is the best thing to come along in a long time. It beats all over social media sites in my opinion. It is fun, fast, and hardly any bantering back and forth between follow pinners. It is a place to simply share your heart visually. All those awesome ideas and products I find online I can now store in my own little corner of the internet to examine at a later date. It is almost like a scrapbook, to-do list, and wish list all in one. Its increasing popularity got the attention of businesses. Businesses wanted to know if they could reach potential clients and customers by becoming a part of this new trend.
I must admit that the thought of Pinterest becoming another hub for public relations made me sad. Pinterest was so pure to me. It was a place where people shared what they loved and not what they got paid to love or had a vested interest in. It was free from the stress of reviews, PR frenzy, and commercialism. It was not a venue to sell or promote but to share. It was like taking a mini vacation. Yet, where the people are the PR reps will follow. Now, Pinterest is part of the social media game. No matter how you feel about that it’s a train worth getting on. In fact, as it grows in that direction I am finding that I enjoy the ability to use it for business and don’t mind the promotions from other companies. Besides, unlike other social media outlets you are not flooded with ads or requests or even business boards unless you decide to follow.
So how can you use Pinterest to your advantage? That is great question if you can join. Pinterest is not your average site. It is by invitation only. You sign up and wait for them to invite you. Unless you have a friend already on Pinterest and they can invite you. Some have waited as little as two days for an invite from Pinterest and some as long as six months. So, if you already know someone one there, have them invite you.
Tomorrow I will discuss ways to use Pinterest for your business.