So What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is an online photo sharing tool that works a lot like a virtual corkboard. Just “pin” (bookmark) pictures of what you want to organize on this virtual corkboard and share it with other people.

It can be used to collect ideas, recipes, articles, event information, travel information…the possibilities are endless! Just like anything, it’s always best to have a plan in place before you start.

Pinterest Planning

First thing you need to know is – What are your goals with your Pinterest boards? Are they to generate sales or traffic, just for fun, or do you maybe want to show a more personal side?

We can use an example of a non-profit helping animals (such as the ASPCA) and will run a common thread through this exercise. So, the goal of our non-profit is to generate donations and obtain new volunteers.

Next you want to describe the “personality” you want your boards to portray. You can write down some adjectives to help you remember this and refer back to them. So examples of adjectives would be friendly, positive, cute, compelling, for our animal nonprofit. Use thesaurus.com if you want some help coming up with great adjectives for the feel of your Pinterest account.

Another really important part of your board is: how do you want people to feel when they look at your profile? How do they feel when they see your boards? How do they feel about you? Our hypothetical non-profit might want them to feel empathy and that would help them feel moved to donate to the cause.

Now that you have more of an action plan, let’s get pinning.