Pinterest – you’re invited!

What is Pinterest?

“Pinterest is a social catalogue service. Think of it as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.”

We think that our creative community will really enjoy Pinterest (clearly you have already demonstrated your great taste by joining Folksy.com!). How it works is incredibly simple.  You need to attach a little button to your bookmark bar, it’s just a case of dragging it, no technical knowhow needed. You can then browse the internet (or Folksy) and as you find great items or images you click ‘pin it’ on your tool bar and add it to one of your boards.

Pinterest boards can work like a wishlist, or a style/mood board, or a collection of similar themed items a little like we do every week with our Folksy Friday’s. Other Pinterest users can follow these boards, or follow you and click to ‘like’ items on your board, or even ‘re-pin’ images to their own boards.

As you can see from the image above I’ve been busy pinning Valentines Day Items for some upcoming gift guides (not all of the above will definitely be featured).  Already some of these items have been ‘repinned’ by other members to their own collections.  Every image contains a link back to the webpage it was sourced from so it’s easy to see how pinning items could lead to increased exposure for Folksy and it’s many shops.

I got in touch with Ben Silbermann, a co-founder of this US based website to ask for a few tips and to find out more about their policy on posting your own images.   He made it clear that they wouldn’t want people just to repost all of their shop items but he did add that they are more than happy for members to post a few they are especially proud of.

Ben gave us an example of how one of our shopkeepers could use the site –

“For example, if someone creates their own T-Shirts, we’d love to have them curate a board of exceptional T-Shirt designs and include a few of their own that they are proud of.”

Ben’s tips for good ‘pinning etiquette’

1. Try to pin from the original source
2. Write thoughtful descriptions
3. Add a price if the item is buyable so it is easy to find!
4. Be respectful and nice!

I hope you’re interested because Ben also sent us a special vip invite link for Folksy members to join without waiting to be invited (thank you!). So if you are a member of Folksy and you want to join up and become a part of this growing community. Click Here Now!

This invite has now expired, you can request an invite directly from Pinterest by visiting their site.