Pinterest - The new social media hype!
Pinterest is a relatively new social network website that allows you to post inspiring pictures and share them with other people. Pinterest means 'pinning' your 'interests', simple as that! The result is stunning, both visually and concept wise. Pinterest has already entered the top ten of social networks. If you haven't heard of it yet, you soon will.
Here's how it works.
Pinterest is divided into several topic boards on which you can post your inspirations. Most of them are photography or digital design. This way you can easily connect with people who share the same interests. Simple ideas are often the best!
A couple of things to get you going.
Pinterest is still open to invited people only. You can request an invite on the site and you should receive an invitation soon. Then it's just a matter of pinning what you find interesting. You can pin images from other websites or upload images. Once it is pinned, it can be shared by other users. If you see something of interest, just repin it and share it with your own friends. Take it one step further and check the board where it originally was pinned and there's a good chance you'll find a lot of common interesting stuff.
Can Pinterest boost your business?
Yes it can! Important to any business is to be unique, to try something different. Why would anyone choose your product or service if you don't stand out from the rest? That's something to keep in mind every step of the way. How can this be applied to Pinterest? Well, if you have a product of which you think it's quite exceptional, something people will like, then it's a no-brainer
Just pin an awesome photograph on Pinterest and soon people will start liking and repinning! That's half the job done! As we all know it's very important for SEO purposes to get links to your site. So when you pin your product, don't upload it from your computer but pin it from your website. Before you know it your website and product will be repinned, liked and tweeted. Your SEO ranking as well as your social media engagement will increase and your brand awareness will be stimulated.
Be aware that not all types of companies apply for this approach. If you check out Pinterest you'll soon notice that it's got lots to do with art, design, photography, home decoration, fashion, recipes etc.
So if you sell tractors or insect repellent, you just might not fit.
Another tip I can give you is to not be too self-centered. Don't be afraid to post up tips and trends in your business and avoid only posting about yourself or your own products. When applying marketing strategies it's important to put yourself in your customers' shoes. Your potential customers are only concerned about "what's in it for me?" and they don't care about you and certainly not you promoting yourself. Just be creative and dare to be different.
How Pinterest changed webdesign.
Being different is certainly something Pinterest had in mind. If you look the vast majority of social network websites you'll notice that they all have pretty much the same structure. Pinterest totally differs in many ways and that makes it very exciting and (p)interesting for geek webdesigners like me. Even tough the designers of Pinterest did not do anything that can't be done by others, they did it in such a professional and profound way that it makes users true addicts. The site combines design elements, bright colors, beautiful pictures, eye catching content, typography and most of all user interactivity in one very well designed page. It creates well designed structure out of chaos!
The site doesn't use traditional web building blocks. "It's almost like a window-shopping mode," says Khoi Vinh, the former design director for NYTimes.com. Pinterest is made out of little blocks that can be organized by users. They can be considered as mini websites that can be repinned, liked or commented at. Also very appealing is the fact that every time you visit Pinterest the content will look totally different and awesome once again, inviting you to keep clicking and pinning and drawing you back time after time.
Create your own Pinterest web design.
Check out the jQuery Masonry plugin to create a vertical layout like Pinterest and go nuts!
Jump on the train and experience the wonderful,rich and colorful world of Pinterest!
Please comment below or email me.
