That’s Pinterest-ing

There’s been a lot of talk about Pinterest lately. The online, social equivalent of a corkboard, it’s a way to share images that fascinate, intrigue, or just plain appeal to you. While Pinterest asks that you not just upload and pin a ton of your own stuff, it does seem to me that artists and designers could use it as a source of inspiration.

You “pin” things onto “boards” with topics or themes of your choosing. I’m still building mine, but on a personal level, it’s a fun way to collect and share things with friends (and strangers, depending on your privacy settings).

So how can brands, companies, and organizations use Pinterest?

Some uses seem fairly self-evident; Real Simple uses Pinterest to share ideas from their magazine, as well as from other sources around the web. The look matches their style, particularly since they’ve been in the business of thematic content curation for quite some time, both online and in print.

Travel Channel uses Pinterest to share images from around the world, be they pristine beaches, international street food, or behind-the-scenes shots from some of their programs.

Source: bergdorfgoodman.com via Bergdorf on Pinterest

Bergdorf Goodman’s boards focus on seasonal trends, beauty products, and gift ideas, as well as shoes–some of which I find kind of scary (I have a sneaking suspicion that General Zod is somewhere in the toe of that shoe), but definitely creative.

The secret seems to be in correctly identifying your philosophy. Pinterest may not be where you share your own content, but it can help you demonstrate where your brand fits in the larger world. Oberlin College’s Ma’ayan Plaut has a great post on the CASE blog that looks at how this can work for colleges and universities–but her thoughts are hardly limited to that sector. (Michael Fienen at DotEdGuru says to hold off, but really he seems to be saying, “Think about how to make it work, first,” which is certainly good advice regardless of tactic.)

So, what do you think–is there room for Pinterest in your strategy?