interesting bits and bobs about design, web and social media, the useful, the useless and everything in between.

A new way to reach clients and customers.

I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to communicate in the online world. It seems every day there’s some new site that’s popped up on the Internet to allow us to speak our mind, share our thoughts and make our presence felt. Sometimes they’re different and quirky, but not really useful in the scheme of things, but others just have something about them that makes you want to jump on board. In my recent research, I’ve come across a site that is not only cool, but could end up being another really useful tool to enhance your online presence. Introducing Pinterest.

You know those old-school cork pinboards you had growing up? Well Pinterest is exactly that… but without the cork and the wall it needs to hang from. It’s a virtual pinboard that allows you to collate the stuff that you find and love on the web and then organise and share it with the rest of the world. Think of it as a streamlined version of a visual blog (the focus here is inspirational and interesting images but you can make notes on them and the community can make comments) that sits within a larger community. The pinboard you create can be browsed by anyone – and with stats showing that there are over 2 billion people on the planet with an Internet connection, that’s a much bigger potential audience than my humble cork pinboard would ever have reached (source: Internet World Stats).

How does it work I hear you ask?

Well, first of all it’s by invitation only. Pinterest is extremely community minded and based on feedback from their community, has guidelines in place to ensure that it’s a positive space that provides useful content to its audience. It’s similar to Storify in that it’s a tool that allows you to curate the web for the benefit of others (check out our blog from October on curating social media). It’s a font of information for what others are doing on the net that you may find interesting.

Once you are set up, you can create a new board on any topic that is then assigned to a category. With over 31 categories that you can put a board in – from design, men’s apparel, crafts, travel, technology and even geek, there are plenty of options. The board has a set of pins – a pin is an image added to Pinterest, and you can add as many as you want. These pins then link back to the source it originally came from so that people can then check it out further. And you must credit the original source – it’s this aspect of Pinterest that’s the most useful, so the community is very vigilant on whether pins are credited or not. People can comment on your pin, like it and also repin it to their own board.

You can follow other people in the Pinterest community. It allows you to include a profile pic, bio, and links to your website, Twitter, Facebook, RSS feed etc. You can also add a Pinterest follow button to your main website. Plus, it’s available as an app for iPhone, which is handy when you are on the fly (not so much for those who aren’t a fan of apple!).

So, how could a site like this help your business?

Some businesses have used Pinterest as a direct transfer of a catalogue, pinning images of product with notes on price etc. While that is allowed, it is discouraged by Pinterest creators. As we always talk about, content is king. Publishing content that isn’t necessarily about yourself and your business, but rather about things that you and your business love, creates a connection with people who will then (hopefully) be interested enough to get to know your business further. Think of Pinterest-ing as the new blogging. By consistently putting your thoughts and ideas out there, you build your own community within a much larger one. And the beauty of Pinterest is that it’s succinct… it’s not meant to be this indepth dialogue but rather snippets to get people started on their own journey of discovery.

I’ve included an example of how one small business is utilising Pinterest in their Social Media portfolio.

In The Loop is a local yarn shop in Norfolk, Massachusetts, dedicated to providing their customers with the best variety of quality yarns from both popular brands as well as independent and local suppliers. They sell high quality yarn, literature and accessories both instore and in their online shop. They aim to stay at the forefront of current trends. They have a presence on both Twitter and Facebook, plus a blog and eNews. They also have a Pinterest profile. How do I know all of this?

Searching through the products category, I saw a pic of a really nice handbag that I liked the look of. I clicked on it, which took me to the actual pin. From there I clicked onto their profile, where I could browse all of their boards covering topics as broad as colour, craft ideas, food, cool designs using wool, cute puppies and designing on a budget. I was able to get onto their website through there to find out more about them. Not bad considering that they are located 27,000km away on the other side of the globe.

This is yet another example of how the web, and Social Media curation tools such as this, are making the reach of companies and their potential client base bigger than ever. The key here – never underestimate the power of community. By creating your own community within a bigger community, and providing useful, interesting and thought-provoking FREE content at no real cost to you other than a bit of your time, you are absolutely making the most of the far-reaching impact that the Internet really has.

Rachel
The Creative Type