I drank the Pinterest Kool-Aid and now I find myself spending ridiculous amounts of time on Pinterest. However, I feel fully justified in using this under the ruse of  “doing work.”

What is Pinterest?

In short, it is a virtual bulletin board. In long, it is a virtual search engine, with direct links, that allows for real time trending and visual branding. The site has 16m users per month and is now #3 in terms of social media platforms, behind Facebook and Twitter, and it ranks highest in buyer trust (in social media platforms) with women.

What’s this got to do with me?

1. Research – Whatever you’re writing about this week, you can find educational resources, info-graphs and videos about said topic on Pinterest. While this search engine may be visual, the links are improving in quality and you can find great images that link to even better learning resources.

2. Thought Leaders – You can follow and re-pin images from thought leaders in whatever industry you are writing about. With so many companies and business owners on Pinterest right now, you’re bound to locate more than one individual who is posting some interesting trends, info or images about your topic.

3. Inspiration – When you’re stuck for ideas and just want to find some amazing visual inspiration, you can dial back your logical side and let the creativity and visual stimulation flow.  Where do you think I got the idea for this blog post?

Need an invite to get into Pinterest? I’m happy to help! Leave me a comment and I’ll send you one.

Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media strategist for a one of the biggest publishing companies in the country and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.