If you live and breathe, chances are you’ve heard of Pinterest. According to Experian Hitwise, a tracking service for online trends, Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site EVER. They launched in March 2010 and have been growing like wildfire ever since.

Pinterest can be an amazing tool for promoting your business and gathering ideas.  Here are some simple tips to keep in mind to get the most out of your pins:

1. Be precise  –

As a business on Pinterest, you want to bring traffic back to your site. Be as specific as possible when pinning photos. If the photo is from a blog, pin it from the specific blog post page, not the blog home page. You want to make it EASY for visitors to find the photo and/or content they are looking for.

2. Detailed descriptions –

Pinterest is becoming a one-stop-shop for inspiration. Rather than surf the web, many users are going straight to Pinterest. So much for going to the source!  …but that’s okay. With a little attention to word choice, you can bring the pinners to YOU!  The key is in the descriptions you write for your pins. Use keywords and common phrases relative to the photo you’re pinning.

Source: http://www.countryliving.com/homes/house-tours/farmhouse-decorating-ideas#slide-1

For example, if I was pinning the photo above, I could caption it as “country kitchen with custom island, cream cabinets and white subway tile backsplash,”  I could even go a step further and talk about the pot rack, shelf above the sink or the glass front cabinets. …and check out those great stools!  Any (or all) of those keywords are going to better the odds of this photo showing up in someone’s search results on Pinterest. Don’t get lost in pages of “country kitchen” search results. Dive in and get descriptive!

3. Do your homework

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is being able to see what people pin from my site. Sound vain? Well maybe… but it’s also helpful! Figure out what’s popular for Pinterest users. We want to increase traffic so identify what people are pinning and cater to it!

How do you know what is being pinned? The easiest way is to type http://pinterest.com/source/INSERT_YOUR_DOMAIN.COM  into your browser. It will pull up all Pinterest pins that link back to your site. Fun right!?   If your latest bathroom remodel was a Pinterest hit, or maybe your new product is showing up often, you’ll know you’ve captured the attention of users and can build upon it.

These are just a couple tips to get you started. Have fun with Pinterest and pin to your heart’s content… but don’t blame us if you get addicted!