Pinterest revolutionizes social media

There’s more?

My Twitter feed exceeds 100 new tweets before an hour is up. I log onto Facebook and I have a new notification practically every time. And now there’s another social media starlight out there – Pinterest.

For weeks now, Pinterest has been popping up in my Twitter and Facebook feeds, but I never explored it. I thought, “Eh, I’ll get to it eventually.” Well, times up! Gotta learn and gotta learn fast. Why? Because Pinterest isn’t like its social media siblings. It’s the supposed “adopted one” that people don’t quite understand right away, and that’s because Pinterest is a social site that’s made for the individual’s benefit more than any of the others.

“Mom, what’s ‘pinning’?”

Let’s lay the groundwork.

The basics:

•  Your board: this is the place where you can store anything you see that relates to a certain category. For instance, if you’re redecorating your living room you can “Pin” the link to your board so that it’s right there. You can make the board private to only you, or you can have it open so others can see it and contribute.

•    “Pin”ning: If you’re on Home Depot’s website and you see a shelf you really like, you can pin it to your board. This is just like a bookmark, but instead of having your toolbar filled with different home ideas, they can all be in one spot for you to visually see whenever you want.

It’s a digital space for what you like.

What’s the point?

Have what you like in one easy-to-access site.

Pinterest is where you take the things you like and put them in one spot. Essentially, it’s all about organization. And who else can benefit more from that than you?

If you’re planning a birthday party, keep all your ideas on Pinterest. Redecorating the home? Pin it. Gardening? Pin it. Baking? You guessed it, pin it!

It’s as simple as a touch of a button.

What’s different about Pinterest?

What’s intriguing about Pinterest is that it’s not like the other social media sites out there that are all about connecting people together; sharing what’s going on. Pinterest is more personal.

Its creed is different from other sites.

Facebook:

From Facebook

Twitter:

From Twitter 

Pinterest:

From Pinterest

The focus is clear. Pinterest is to store things that are of interest to YOU.

Like recipes? Make a board for it. Going to Hawaii? Create a board with all of the places you want to visit while there. It’s like on online filing cabinet where each board is a different file and Pinterest is the cabinet.

Pinterest allows its users to have it be just for them, or let other people see what they’re doing. When I signed up it asked me what I’m interested in and had me automatically follow people pinning in those areas of interest. It also had me follow my Facebook friends who are using Pinterest.

This allows me to get ideas or see things that I like from not only my friends, but from others who are interested in topics I am. That’s where Pinterest becomes social. But again, it all goes back to what I like and what I want.

If it’s for me, then how do companies use it?

Pinterest has been around since 2008 with a dominantly female audience. However, in the past few months Pinterest has picked up speed and is forcing everyone to take notice. A BBC News article reported that Pinterest was the third fastest growing site in the United States. In December, Pinterest had 7.5 million unique visitors and rose to 11.7 million in January.

With a rise like that if brands weren’t interested in Pinterest before, they had to with that audience.

However, unlike other social media sites, Pinterest has some “best practices” they’d like brands to follow:

• Pinning from various sources rather than one specific site.
• Repinning from within the site to engage with others – repinning is one of the most social activities on Pinterest and it’s how any user really builds his/her network of followers.
• Creating at least a few boards that cover a broad range of interests, rather than maintaining a single board devoted to one topic.

Pinterest doesn’t want this to be just another way that brands can use social media as a promoter. Other social sites haven’t done this before. You like a brand on Facebook and you’re flooded with its contests and their newest products. On Twitter, you see the brand’s name pop up everyday.

Pinterest wants brands to benefit people, not just their profits.

Did you ever think pinning would be cool?

In my parent’s generation, a pinboard was seen as an organizational tool that mom’s used to make sure everything was organized to have the house run well. But a pinboard in my day won’t be the same. It’s the latest social tool that I hope stays around.

Pinterest benefits the individual (me) more than any other social site before it. Yes, Facebook allows me to “stalk” the new cute guy in my class to see if he has a girlfriend, but that’s where the benefit ends. About a minute later, Facebook’s personal benefit is over. Pinterest, however, I see myself using to deck out my apartment or to help plan my friend’s bridal shower.

I like this new digitally organized future. Thanks, Pinterest.

A word to the wise: Pinterest will ask you to sign in with Facebook. Usually, not a big deal. However, adding Pinterest will make your Facebook profile switch to Timeline. I saw that warning after I already clicked OK. So if you want to avoid learning two social mediums in one day, sign in with Twitter so you can explore Pinterest without having to redo your profile.

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