| One of the things that make Pinterest so popular is that it is visually appealing to consumers. As we discussed in your last lesson, members can use it to organize and share images, photos, audio's and even videos (called ?pins?).
You can digitally pin and upload your own images or other people's images according to interests, events, hobbies, DIY crafts, etc. to create collections (known as ?Pinboard's? or ?boards?).
Pinterest only requires a few basic steps to setup a profile, so that you can begin your pinning adventure and start making connections as quickly as possible.
First things first, if you haven't already received an invitation to join Pinterest you will need to request an invite from the Pinterest main page (which can take several days) or find someone that you know who is already a member and get them to invite you (much faster).
Once you receive your official invitation you can register using either your Facebook or Twitter account.
TIP: If you use Facebook to create your Pinterest account it will pull the information from your main Facebook profile, not your Facebook business page. So if you're planning on using Pinterest solely for business purposes you may want to consider using a Twitter account specifically created in your business name.
During the registration process Pinterest will ask you a few basic questions about your interests, so that it can suggest pins, people and boards for you to follow.
Once you have completed the registration process you will receive a confirmation message from Pinterest. Be sure that you confirm your registration by clicking the link inside that message. This is important because you want to be able to receive notifications and updates, so that you can keep track of your connections.
If you ever need to, change your personal information, email address or add your other accounts simply go to your "Settings" located in the drop-down menu under your username in the upper right corner of your Pinterest account.
After confirming your registration you can begin creating boards, pinning pictures and following other pinner's. The best way to start your pinning experience is by getting inspiration from users who share the same interests as you.
As you begin exploring the site you will notice that if you move your mouse over any given picture you will have the option to repin, like or comment on it.
When you want it included a picture that is already on the Pinterest network to one of your own boards all you have to do is choose 'Repin' and a box will pop up with a drop-down menu allowing you to choose which board you wanted in the picture to.
Your account comes set up with some basic (broad topic) boards that you can start pinning to write away. You can also create your own boards by clicking the 'Add' tab in the upper right-hand corner of the page or by choosing to repin an image and scrolling down to the very last option of the drop-down menu and adding the name of your new board.
You are not restricted to pinning images from inside the Pinterest network. You can also pin images and other content from other websites to your boards by installing the ?Pin It? Button to your bookmarks toolbar.
You'll find it here, along with simple instructions for using it: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies
Once installed, you can quickly pin just about any image while browsing the web. You have to credit your use of the original creator?s image/photo/pins by linking back and including some thoughtful tags and links. You can also share each of your pins to your followers by simply clicking Facebook and Twitter buttons.
To start making connections, you have to follow users? pinboard's that have the same interests as you. You can click ?Follow All? to follow a user?s pinboard or click ?Follow? to follow a board.
Whenever there is a new pin added, you will get notified. Likewise, if you want to unfollow a user, you can do it anytime without the user knowing it.
When it comes to making the most out of your Pinterest account you will want to make sure to always follow proper Pin Etiquette. Make sure that you browse through the terms of service and acceptable use policy, because they have strict policies against copyright infringement, spamming and privacy violations. This simple step will help ensure that you maintain an active account.
You can find out more about proper Pin Etiquette here: http://pinterest.com/about/etiquette
If it any time you feel lost or confused you can always refer to the Pinterest help files located in the drop-down menu under 'About' in the upper right-hand corner. |