Pinterest Essentials!

Some of you may (or may not have read)  our previous Blog which gave an initial introduction to Pinterest and all the lingo (if you missed it then you can find it here).  This Blog is following on and designed to give you some helpful pointers about the basics of adding pins, boards, repining and the Pinterest etiquette.

So first things first (we are assuming you have already set up your Pinterest account and ready to log on. If you need help setting up a Pinterest account then have a look at the official Pinterest help section

When you first log in to Pinterest, you’ll see your home feed—it’s a collection of Pins from the people, boards and topics you follow, as well as a few Promoted Pins and Pins that have been picked for you based on your interests.

If you click on your Avatar (profile picture) you will then be taken to your main Pinterest page.  From here you will see the following tabs:

1. How to add a pin

There are several ways you can add a Pin, either directly from your Pinterest account or by using a ‘Pin it’ browser button.

Adding a pin from your Pinterest account:

From your Pinterest homepage click on the Pins tab and click ‘Add Pin’. 

From the screen that pops up you'll be able to add a pin by pasting in the URL of a website or by uploading a photo from your hard drive.

If you select the web then enter the URL of your pin.  If you select your device, then choose an image from your device.

You will then be asked to select an image that you want to Pin. 

Select the image.             

Choose which board to add the pin to and write a description of the image you are pinning.

If you want to add your pin to a new board, you can create one directly from the drop down menu as well.

Adding a Pin using a ‘Pin It’ button

The ‘Pin It’ button is something that you will need to download in order for it to appear on your bookmark bar.  You can find details how to do this here.

If you click the ‘Pin It’ button from the website you are reading then this is the URL that will be Pinned.  Follow the same process to select the image add a description and add the pin to a board

2. How to Create a New Board

To create a new board on your account, go to your homepage and ensure you are on the boards tab (this is the default), click the "Add +" button. 

Give your board a descriptive name so your followers know what types of pins they'll find on it.

The category options are set by Pinterest, so select whichever is closest or choose "other" for those wildcard boards.

Select whether you want the board to be Secret or not.  Only you or anyone that you invite will be able to see your Secret Board.  Secret Pins or boards will not appear in your home feed, in the search function or anywhere else around Pinterest.

Finally invite collaborators to your board. This means that they will have the ability to add pins (and other pinners) to the shared board. They won't, however, be able to edit the title or the category of the board.

3. Repin from Your Feed

Your feed appears when you first login to Pinterest.  If someone you're following has added a pin that you like, you can save it to one of your boards as well. Simply hover over the image on Pinterest and three buttons will appear—repin, send and like. To add that pin to one of your boards, click Pin It and follow the same steps you would to add a pin.

4. Repin from another Board

If you are looking for something in particular, then you can use the search function.  This will then bring up anything that matches your search.  To repin, simply hover over the image, click repin and add to one of your boards.

5. Like and Comment

You can Like and Comment on a Pin without having to repin it to one of your own boards.  The original pinner will be able to see that you've liked it, but it won't be added to the feed of pins that your followers see. (If you do want to see the pins you've liked, you can do so via the link on your profile page.)
You can also add comments to your pins or your followers' pins by clicking on the pin and adding a comment in the section below. Just remember to keep opinions civil and criticisms constructive.

6. Send

If you see a Pin you like that you would like to directly share with one of your followers’ then click on the Send button.

So what are you waiting for?  Start pinning!