More than likely, you have at least heard of Pinterest and how it is taking the world of social media by storm. The site is increasingly capturing the attention of the business community for its ability to create awareness, engage audiences, and drive traffic. It is also catching on in the blogosphere as its strong visual element has resulted in bloggers from a wide variety of niches hopping on the bandwagon in hopes of capitalizing on all the hype.
Are you ready to take advantage of Pinterest? If so, the following tips will show you how you can integrate this hot social platform into your current blogging efforts.

Grab the “Pin it” Button

Pinterest is catching on fast in terms of knowing what features users will gravitate to. With the Pin it button, bloggers can install the popular feature that allows people to share their content with others. This button is available in the form of a plugin, which lets you place it on your home page, blog posts, inner pages, or any mix of the aforementioned options. Another cool thing about the plugin is that it allows you to add a custom description for your content to ensure that the appropriate keywords are attached when people go to pin it – there’s your SEO value.

Install the RSS Widget

The key to having success with Pinterest is similar to having success with other social networks. Instead of just pinning your own material, you need to return the favor and share the content of other users as well. The Pinterest RSS widget provides a simple way to do exactly that. By incorporating this plugin, you can showcase all the interesting pins you have found through a widget positioned conveniently in the sidebar of your blog. This is a great way to establish yourself as an authority for all cool things on Pinterest – or at least all cool things that are relevant to your niche.

Add the Follow Button

Another characteristic Pinterest borrows from sites like Face and Twitter especially, is the follow aspect. If a user digs your profile and what you’re pinning, they can easily follow you with the click of a button. This simple action can also take place on your blog. Adding the button is as simple as dropping in a line of code, but if you you’re lucky enough to be a WordPress blogger, you can simply grab the new Pinterest Follow Me plugin, which automatically adds it for you.

Educate Your Readers

Maybe your readers have heard of Pinterest, but aren’t quite sure what the buzz is all about. Your blog is the perfect medium for filling them in on everything they need to know. Create a quick post that gets them up to speed on all the basics and what they could be missing out on. This is an opportunity to get your Pinterest integration off to a great start.