The Focus Group: The Friday Focus - Very Pinteresting... Pinterest in 5 steps

5 Steps to

OK - we have the name out of the way, but what does it actually mean? Do we really have room for another social sharing platform in our management profile? The answer for Pinterest is yes. For now anyway.

Here's the rundown.

Step 1. Get an Invitation to join. It's a private site, well private in the terms that if you want to be involved with Pinterest you need an invite. (Pssst we just happen to have a few, email me at tbroadus at focusgroupms.com and I'll be happy to make some arrangements, since we're friends)

Step 2. Know the terms. You can't just starting pinning like a pro if you don't exactly know what that means now can you?

Pinterest - "Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste." - The official definition.
Pinning - the act of posting something you fancy to your personal area of Pinterest.
Board - the topical area on your personal page where you categorize your pinnings to share with the world.

To get the most out of Pinterest you should start pinning to your boards as soon as you find things you feel are share-worthy to your soon to be PinHeads. Ok, I made the PinHeads one up, but I think it'll catch on.

Step 3. Find some solid topics, brands, friends and brands to follow. Too often private networks end up being an online wasteland of high level techies (such as myself) looking for new people to interact with, but unable to find an audience. Pinterest is an exception to the rule and is a thriving network with new content added every hour, and depending on the size of the networks you are following, it could be as much as every minute. This will make your experience much more enjoyable.

Step 4. Dispel the "No Man's Land" myth - there are tons of guys on Pinterest. Don't just take my word for it, here's a good article on the subject. The rate of growth alone shows an adoption rate across the board from men and women and from differing demographics and age ranges.

Step 5. Check out The Focus Group Pinterest page, we're big fans of the community and use it as a place to share some cool design work, ideas and a few of our favorite places, foods and activities from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. http://pinterest.com/thefocusgroup/

And we promise to be good stewards...