Who introduced you to the social media platforms you use? Or you did just find them on your own and start using them?

For most of the platforms I use, there is typically one person who nudged me onto that platform. It was Barbara Bailey, owner of Visibility Consultants and founder of Business Women For Women, who encouraged me to check out Pinterest.

At first, I simply dabbled in Pinterest, popping into it now and then, creating a few boards, pinning a few items, but not really pursuing it strategically.

By the time I took the Digital Marketing with Pinterest course at Colorado Free University this fall, I was already sold on Pinterest. Through the course I found more ways to tie my business into my Pinterest activity.

Now that I have several months of Pinterest activity under my belt, I can think of at least 5 reasons why Pinterest is perfect for me.

  1. I get to know people better. For example, I am in a Toastmasters club with a woman I have known for just over a year. Yet, I only see her at the Toastmasters meetings. Since we have connected through Pinterest, we have found we have a lot of interests in common.
  2. I reconnect with people I used to see more regularly. Because I have my Pinterest linked with my Facebook account, I see the Pinterest activity of my Facebook friends. Even though I don’t some of my long term friends in person very often, I can still keep a bond with them through our shared activity on Pinterest.
  3. I find all kinds of places that I might want to visit or revisit. Since I am just one year away from retiring from my full-time job, I am thinking about places I want to travel to once I retire. Some I have never been to, and others I haven’t visited in decades.
  4. I learn all kinds of useful things about social media in general and about specific social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and of course Pinterest via the postings I find on Pinterest boards.
  5. I get to share tips on using social media via the items I pin to my Pinterest boards. Just lately I found a fascinating item called “What Does Your Online Image Say About You?” More people have repinned that item than any other item I have pinned.

How has Pinterest been perfect for you? Do you use it mostly for your personal life? Or do you also use it to share information related to your business?

Joyce Feustel, Founder of Boomers’ Social Media Tutor, helps people relatively new to social media to become more effective and comfortable in their use of this medium. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com