Love it or hate it, I hope
Pinterest is here to stay. I'm jealous of my brother's fiance - she gets to plan her wedding with Pinterest. If only it were around a year ago when I was planning.
First things first - if you're not signed up for Pinterest and would like an invite, let me know. I just need your email address - so comment or email me (tiffany at thenesteffect.com).
Now, I have some tips for Pinterest use.
Pin Directly to the Blog Post
If possible, pin directly to the blog post that you're pinning a picture from. It makes me incredibly sad when I'm following someone and click on an amazing photo of an idea I need to see more of...only to be lead to a blog's homepage or search results. If the picture was pinned 8 months ago and has been repinned thousands of times, it will take me forever to find that specific photo/post. Due to this happening so often, I sadly will never repin something from someone unless it's a user uploaded photo (in that case there is no post/external website to see). I always click through and repin myself, that way I know I have the direct post/photo linked.
Don't Copy and Paste an Entire Blog Post Into Your Pin Description
#1 - that's copyright infringement because you're taking something from another website, allowing people to gain access to the text content without visiting the site. Sure most people love for you to repin their blog posts (I love it when people do), but don't give away the whole point of visiting the site by freely providing the info via Pinterest.
#2 - it makes for a really long description to view when scrolling through recent pins.
I understand some people want to be able to easily access a recipe or instructions to something without having to click through - but really, is it going to take you
that long to simply click once more and view the page?
Add the "Pin It" Button To Your Toolbar
To easily pin pictures while browsing the web, add the "Pin It" button to your Firefox browser's bookmark toolbar. I don't think I'd pin as much as I do without this feature. I don't ever use the button that some blogs have on their posts to pin things. I'd rather use my convenient button rather than search for theirs. (To get this button, click on "help" under "about" on the Pinterest home page. Then click on "goodies".)
Pin the Original Source
Sometimes blogs will feature pictures from other blogs of projects that they like (I am guilty of this). Legally, bloggers should link to the rightful owner of the photo they're sharing. When you see this, and you're interested in a photo being used, click through the picture (or source link) and directly pin from the owner's website/blog, if you can easily find the photo.
Organize Your Boards
Set up your Pinterest boards in a way that makes them easy to navigate. I started off with just a few and they were really broad, but started to fill up quickly. I then decided to reorganize my boards so they'd be easier to navigate when I wanted to find something I pinned. I'd suggest that if you know what you're going to be pinning, create the boards now. For example, if you know you're going to be pinning a lot of home decor and project related photos, then you'll want to create boards by room or project rather than having everything on one board titled "house". You'll thank me later.
Do you have any Pinterest tips to share?
