Hello. My name is Sandy, and I have a confession to make.

I’m a collector. One of my latest joys was unpacking my lifelong collection of seashells to display in a second bathroom we just added to our house (finally!!). When Beanie Babies were hot, I bought.  But I’m not a hoarder… well, at least not in tangibles.

Okay. I confess. I’m not just a collector. I’m an electronic hoarder. I’m hooked on Pinterest. My collection of ideas for that new bathroom – along with a number of other collections – are all pinned to electronic Pinboards so I can pull them up on my laptop anytime I please and enjoy my collections… er, hoarding. And, even better, I can check out what others are collecting… er, hoarding on their Pinboards and see if I want to add any of their collection to my collection…

You get the picture.

You *Like it?

Repin it!

I’m one of more than 10 million registered users of Pinterest, which hit ten million monthly unique visitors faster than any other website. Pinterest users create individual sites where they showcase “boards” that hold photos “pinned” from other parts of the Web. Other Pinterest users can “Like” other’s pins and/or “repin” those pins onto their own Pinboards. According to recent findings published last month, more than 80% of all pins are repins.

Jay Ehret, marketing specialist and author of a guide to using Pinterest offers this perspective, “about 70 percent of Pinterest users are female. Women just tend to use social media more than men. Even as Facebook has matured, 55 percent of Facebook users are female.”

Okay. I’m a woman… but why am I HOOKED ON PINTEREST? According to Ehret,  “…the reason is clear: It’s brilliant in its simplicity. Users just collect things they like. Simple. Their Pinboards are passively shared with their Pinterest friends, and they can peek in on anyone else’s Pinboards. Another big reason is that Pinterest is visual. People are attracted to pictures more than they are words.”  That’s true. It’s a fact: the majority of us are visual communicators and learners, and collecting has been a passion for people for thousands of years.

People love to collect. Collections connect us to our past and memories and satisfy personal aesthetics. Our collections provide us with a “happy place” within our comfort zone – away from the world out there – that reflect who we are and our own distinct personality. Many people enjoy unique and even strangely weird collections that showcase their uniqueness and individuality (gum wrappers? Not weird. Google “weird collections” and you’ll see WEIRD). Another reason we collect is to satisfy a need to be “complete” – how many of us rejoice when we find the final “thing” that makes our collection complete… Yes! It is FINISHED!

Add to all of this the interestingly publicized phenomena of hoarding. While viewers giggle as the media shares stories of excessive hoarders and the consequences of their lifestyle, electronic hoarding, (yes… Pinterest), has also become the focus of popular social media buzz for its rapid rise in popularity – in electronic collecting, er… hoarding.

What do we love on Pinterest?

Pinterest loves cute! The Humane Society of New York capitalizes on this opportunity with a Pinboard full of portraits of adoptable animals  in the New York area.

Pinterest loves recipes! Food is the fastest-growing and most viral category on Pinterest, as recipes and quick video recipes are shared from YouTube.

Pinterest loves to be a resource! Now Marketing Group collects social media infographics to share and enable others to learn more, and The Wall Street Journal created an informational Pinboard  to help new Pinners understand the social network.

Pinterest loves to be a little off-beat! Yogurt brand Chobani includes plenty of the expected Pinboards featuring recipes, but also brings a little flavor and personality with “We Would Like to Eat With You,” a board focusing on beautiful spoons and bowls. Get it?

Pinterest loves to inspire! GE leverages that popularity in its “That’s Genius” board  focusing on the sayings of GE founder Thomas Edison. Of course, not all brands have a well-known genius as part of their legacy, but we can all start somewhere…

And it’s NOT all fluff, either. Out of the people recently surveyed who had an account on the site, an astonishing 21% of them have actually purchased items that they found on someone’s Pinboard.

According to Mashable:

The Top 10 Categories on Pinterest

1. Home (17.2%)
2. Arts and Crafts (12.4%)
3. Style/Fashion (11.7%)
4. Food (10.5%)
5. Inspiration/Education (9.0%)
6. Holidays/Seasonal (3.9%)
7. Humor (2.1%)
8. Products (2.1%)
9. Travel (1.9%)
10. Kids (1.8%)

The 10 Most Popular Board Names on Pinterest

1. For the Home (3.15%)
2. My Style (1.97%)
3. Products I Love (1.86%)
4. Books Worth Reading (1.68%)
5. Food (1.23%)
6. Favorite Places & Spaces (1.00%)
7. Recipes (0.75%)
8. Craft Ideas (0.74%)
9. Christmas (0.72%)
10. Crafts (0.65%)

http://mashable.com/2012/03/12/pinterest-most-popular-categories-boards/

Pinterest is a place where we can store, showcase, and share images that have meaning for us and are important to us. It’s a place where we can get new ideas while being part of a group that shares things we enjoy.

Is Pinterest a tool your organization can use?

Does your business have, or can you create, interesting and sharable content on your website? Do you have products to sell that can be presented visually? Are you willing to devote the time that it takes to market on Pinterest? Businesses may be tempted to try social media marketing because it’s “free.” But the primary investment in social media marketing is time, not money. To be done right and accomplish purposeful goals of growing your online presence, social media must be a scheduled business activity, just like opening the doors or doing payroll.

Our focus at Now Marketing Group is to ensure that your business will be found, be social and be useful online. Our goal and guarantee to you is that your message WILL be heard. Check out our website at www.Now-Marketing-Group.com and stop by and see us on Pinterest! Check out our boards, *Like some pins, and we’ll be happy to check out your boards too!

Happy pinning everyone!

- © 2012 NOW Marketing Group, Inc.