Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Meradeth Houston: Pinterest Social Media


Today's post is brought to you by Meradeth Houston. Her debut novel, Colors like Memories, is now available. She’s a Northern California girl, which generally means she talks too fast and uses "like" a lot. When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA - for fun! She’s been writing since she was 11, and if she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying, which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights. And now, she has a post for us that is most "Pinteresting!"

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Thanks so much for letting me guest post today!


I thought I’d tackle some marketing options (something that’s been on my mind a lot lately) and one of the most popular, and fast-growing, outlets for this is Pinterest. Have you heard of it? Wow, is it addictive! My sister showed me the site almost a year ago, and we’ve been sharing pins ever since. Lately it has really caught on as a way to market yourself, your product, and just about anything else that has a picture. It’s especially popular with women, but I do have a few male followers.

For those of you who might not have checked it out, Pinterest is an online pin-board. Much like corkboards where you pin things you want to remember, you can “pin” items from the web onto boards you make. So, for example, I have boards for books I want to read, and have pinned the covers to the books there (from links on Amazon or elsewhere). You can also look at what other people have pinned based on topic, shopping price range, etc. My personal favorite categories are the Humor and the DIY & Craft section—both dangerous places for any free time I might have.

You can also link your account with twitter and facebook (don’t worry, it’s not required), which allows you to follow the pins from people you know. You can also find people to follow based on shared interests. The “follow” function allows you to see what other people who know are looking at and pinning, and allows for sharing this information with everyone really simply.

In terms of using Pinterest as a marketing tool, it’s a great way to share your blog, photos, books you are reading, etc. Do keep in mind that it’s primarily imaged based, though that doesn’t have to limit you if you want to pin something that’s primarily text. I have several boards set up with pictures I’ve found that remind me of my novel, Colors Like Memories. If you decide to create your own boards, be sure to enter a category for the grouping so more people can find them! The main thing is to share not only your own information, but “re-pin” things from other posters (trust me, you’ll want to!).

On my blog I have a button for following me on Pinterest. I’ve also added a button to my browser that allows me to easily pin things I find around the web. These are both simple to do, with all the information here. If you’re interested in checking out Pinterest, you’re welcome to swing by my boards and get a taste of what you can do. Happy Pinning!

I'm Meradeth, the author of Colors Like Memories.

23 comments:

  1. Cool tips, Meradeth! I'd wondered why authors were fussing over Pinterest. Thanks for sharing your space DPK! :)

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    1. There are lots of authors over on Pinterest--it makes for a different kind of marketing, that's for sure!

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  2. I love Pinterest! Agreed that it's both a great marketing tool and a useful writing/inspiration tool. Win-win all around :)

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    1. I'm so addicted to the site, it's kind of crazy :) But, I try to label it as platform building, just to make myself feel better, haha!

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  3. I have seen this increasingly work for people building blogs and marketing books. Now if I could just stop looking at recipes...

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    1. Oh, I hear ya! I get so distracted looking at all the awesome recipes & fun crafts...

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  4. Rad, thanks for the tip on this awesome writer:)
    And I'm from NorCal too, and we use lots of other slang like...uh, well you know;)

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  5. I'm still trying to figure Pinterest out. Just haven't had the time lately to delve into it. But I want to eventually.

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    1. Good luck! It's a lot of fun, I think, so good luck with it!

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  6. Thanks so much for letting me post here today, David! Hope people found it useful :)

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  7. I think it's fun that the guys here were like *thanks* for the info, and the ladies were all over this like sliced bread.

    My point (no pin intended :) is I also thank you, as I don't think Pinterest is in my immediate future, but I am going to print and save this post on my corkboard - in case I ever need it :)

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    1. lol! It *is* geared more toward women, I'll admit :) But maybe that corkboard info will come in handy some day!

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  8. Eek; another social media I'm not looking to join. Sounds like you are having loads of fun though Maradeth.

    The book trailer looks interesting too :)

    .....dhole

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    1. I hear you about another social media outlet. There are way too many! It's more useful to pick ones that are fun to participate in at least :)

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  9. Thanks for this - I will definitely be checking it out. :-)

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  10. Have to admit, I'm still figuring out Pinterest. It's a cool platform though.

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    1. Good luck figure it all out--there are so many little details I hope to master myself :)

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  11. I have zero interest in Pinterest. I think I'll wait for the next fad to come along.

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  12. I love how you've outlined how you use it. Awesome. I have an account that I occasionally log in to. Thx.

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