Tips on Thursday: Pinterest

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the fastest growing social media sites is Pinterest. Since it is a visual social media tool, I thought I would share this infographic I found at visual.ly. It is interesting to see how it is outpacing Facebook and Twitter. I'm not a visual person (most sites I visit are heavy on text), but I recognize the importance of pictures and graphics to others (see my Tips post on using photos). If you are like me and struggling to make Pinterest work for you, I have some suggestions below.

Browse more data visualizations.
Source: http://www.t...est-tamba/

As you can see, Pinterest can play an important (and profitable) role in your marketing plan. However, you need to leverage it correctly. Anyone who has used Pinterest for a length of time probably already knows that home and food related items are the most popular. So that mean your book blog can't compete, right? No. You just have to work a little harder for those likes and repins.

While I haven't seen any studies about optimal time/day to pin items, my small experiment yielded more repins and likes when I pinned the item on a Saturday afternoon. It the pin was from a post about You Are What You Wear by Jennifer Baumgartner so I was able to pin it to a home related board.

I also don't have a lot of bibliophiles following my on Pinterest, so that may have something to do with the low repins/likes. So, if you are interested



I'll follow you back.

Remember to pin other people's stuff and not just your own. Someone may come to your board for a home thing, but then decide to see what else you like and viola they found your book board. I also think creatively naming your boards might help. I have two book related board - Author I Love and Books Worth Reading. But I've seen boards like Bibliophile Fun, which might allow for a variety of book related pins - like bookish apparel and accessories.

Also think about what non-book boards your posts might fit into. I have a Helpful Tips board where I pin info I find helpful such as my Tips posts. If you review a book that would appeal to fashion people, pin the review to a fashion board. Kriss at Cabin Goddess has a Review & Recipe feature, so she pins her posts to food related boards. I mentioned in my review of True Love Way by Nancy Scrofano that it was the book equivalent of comfort food and pictured a lovely bowl of mac 'n cheese. That post got pinned to my food board.

Trying to incorporate Pinterest into your blog might lead to a creative way of reviewing and promoting books and authors. It is definitely something worth playing around with and who knows you could create a unique blog post that will make you stand out from the crowd. Go forth and be CREATIVE!

Related articles

• The Power Of Pinterest : The Complete Guide [Infographic]

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• Tips on Thursday: Picture It

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• Pinterest - 5 Tips to Get Your Brand's Pins Repinned

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