Self-described as a ‘virtual pinboard’ Pinterest is a new social media site set to take off this year. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is not displayed as an up to date stream of postings but more of a mood board of photographs and images.  After being invited (which is needed in order to create a profile) you’re ready to start creating ‘pin boards.’ With the option to categorise boards, for example: cupcake recipes, kitchen interiors, costume jewellery, you can then go about ‘pinning’ images to your boards. Whilst browsing the site you can also ‘repin’ images of
interest which then appear on your own pin board, similar to retweeting.

As well as being a great way to express and share your interests and tastes with others, Pinterest also presents new opportunities for companies and brands to increase their online presence.  Creating pinboards with photographs, descriptions and SEO key words enables companies to share products, links and ideas with their audience. Another useful feature is that in the process of ‘repining’ images you also share the link from which the original image originated. Whether that may be a personal blog, online store or company website the opportunities open up for researching audience interests, contacts and buying habits.

Pinterest enables PR professionals, companies and businesses to use images to increase interest and personality brand campaigns.  With many other features to explore, Pinterest opens up a range of new opportunities to increase brand awareness, connect with audiences, research competitors and construct a creative, image-based profile to positively represent their client.

To start pinning take a look at http://pinterest.com/