Ever wonder how to use Pinterest so you could attract the right visitors to your site?  Well, Pinterest is “the visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas.”¹  What does that really mean? Well, its simple:  Pinterest is the visual Google, or it will be soon.  According to Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann, the company is a “catalog of ideas”², more than a social network.  The goal is to inspire creativity among Pinterest users, and that is truly awesome!

So, what does all of that blah, blah, blah mean for you as you develop your brand, your company’s brand, or promote your product?  If we think of Pinterest as a visual Google for content curation, then your job is essentially to find good content and organize it into highly specific piles of information.  So, how do you Rock Pinterest?

 How to Use Pinterest

1- Use Pinterest Boards to Attract Followers

Develop a strategy for attracting followers of your curated content.  If your business deals with selling crocheted beards for men in the winter, then create a few boards that separate the many different types of man beards such as Traditional, Wizards, Movie Stars, etc.  The boards, when specialized, will attract more interest when your pins are target specific and rich with precise content.  Think of each board as a specific Social Media campfire.  You will certainly want to add your own content (Pinterest worthy content from your own site) into the mix in each of your boards.  This will promote the work and creativity of other businesses in your arena, but you will also capitalize on their notoriety by showcasing your own content in the mix.  That’s a win-win for you and the others who create unique content!

2- Curate Content

In Pinterest land, you are the Google search engine for your own content-o-sphere.  Say, WHAT?!  Okay, so, in other words, your mission, should you accept it, is to search the Internet of things to find really good quality and great looking content that aligns with your interests, or business interests, and showcase it in Pinterest’s museum exhibits…they call boards.  That is the defining difference of Pinterest with the multitude of other social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and well, not quite YouTube, but for now let’s just say YouTube.

3- Find the Source

When you search for content on Pinterest and find something that someone has already pinned and you would like to pin it too, rather than re-pinning what someone else pinned, find the source of the pin – the original website that was referenced in that pin, and pin that site.  Pinterest seems to really like it when you take this approach rather than simply re-pinning another person’s pin.  What this shows is that you are a content curator who’s focus is in line with the essential purpose of Pinterest, not the casual Pinterest user.

4- Curate Other’s Content, Not Just Your Own

You do not want to be THAT GUY who only pins his own content.  Just like a salesman who constantly pushes to make a sale, or that pesky network marketer who is always looking to make the next sign-up or bump in his personal volume, you do not want to inadvertently come off in the same likeness in the Pinterest land.  Be sure to pin the content, websites, and great looking photos produced by others!  Then incorporate your own content into the mix.  That’s just being a good Pinterest neighbor!

5- Make Your Content Pop on Pinterest

Finally, when you do add your own content into the mix, be sure to use FEATURED IMAGES!!!  Make your featured image look amazing by giving some thought to how you would like your content to visually pop.  For some of my tips on making great Featured Images, see my post on How to make awesome featured images.  To stress how important featured images are to your content in driving interest to it, think back on the last time you glanced at your Facebook home feed.  Did you quickly breeze past the paragraph of text with no image only to stop when you saw that next video or well-design image?  Yeah, I thought so.