To be honest, we’ve got some individuals here at CSG who are already quite addicted to Pinterest.

Though we’ve been using the site for months, we felt it was time to take our interest to the next level — so CSG has created a Pinterest page. We’re excited to put this phenomenon to work to ignite creativity, find fresh ideas and, of course, benefit our clients.

Pinterest, according to Mashable, is the fastest growing social media website on the internet, and the second fastest growing website ever, second to FormSpring. It is a different type of social networking site engaging users on a visual level. Instead of posting your weekend plans, changing your relationship, or posting pictures of yourself on vacation — Pinterest (pronounced like “interest,” with a “P”) enables you to find fresh ideas, explore new things, and get inspiration from fellow pinners who share your interests.

Pinterest is a site that requires an invite in order to join (let us know if you need one). Once you’re signed up, you can begin to create boards. Boards are the broad categories of interest you’d like to add to. After creating a board, the site will walk you through how to add the “Pin it” button to your toolbar. From there, you can scour the web, and any image you find can be pinned onto your very own board. If you aren’t feeling that savvy, you can take the more passive approach of cruising through what your fellow users have already pinned and ‘repin’ them onto your own board.

OK, so that’s how it works. But why do we love it? Let’s count the reasons! We’re visual people, and seeing all of these amazing ideas in one place is completely satisfying. The site makes it very easy to go back to pins you posted 6 months ago — and remember why you loved that image enough to pin it in the first place — and even return to the site where you found it! There is no awkward “I don’t know you but I like this invitation you posted, so I’m not sure I can repin it…even though I really really like it.” Repin it! People love to be repinned, to make connections and to share. The site strives to be positive and welcoming, and encourages you to do the same. But be careful, you too may soon be addicted.

The site can be a little intimidating at first. We recommend just diving in head first and start pinning – you will be amazed at how quickly your boards grow and pins accumulate.

Vital Vocabulary from Pinterest so you can talk-the-talk:

Board
A board is a set of pins. A board can be created on any topic, such as Cool Posters, Recipes for Dinner, or Wishlist. You can add as many pins to a board as you want.

Pin
A pin is an image added to Pinterest. A pin can be added from a website using the Pinterest icon on the toolbar (the site walks you through how to install it) or you can upload images from your computer. Each pin added, using the installed toolbar icon, links back to the site it came from.

Repin
A repin is adding an image you find while browsing Pinterest to your own board. When you repin an image, the user who first pinned the image will also get credit. Repins maintain the source-link of the image no matter how many times it’s repinned.

We can’t wait to utilize Pinterest to be even more productive (and have a creative edge!) at work. Some of our current ideas for using it are:

  • Pinning fresh color combinations that our clients will love
  • Pinning posters and advertisements with fun typography that will inspire our clients
  • Create a group board for a future brainstorm, changing our approach from verbal to visual — a fun experiment!

Be sure to connect with us on Pinterest!

http://pinterest.com/csgcreative

Happy Pinning!