You might have heard of Pinterest, the user-curated collections site; I'd seen mentions of it in passing, but hadn't given it much thought. A friend of mine who already uses it advised me "It's addictive." Given how much of my day is already spent on the intarwebs, I thought I'd give it some time before I investigated further. So, today I decided to delve into it, and wow! What a great way to explore the way other people associate and collect images, ideas and concepts!

I created my first "board" with a link to a Steampunk frock that I'd noticed exactly matched the fabric used in a custom hand-made tophat created by Sharon Sullivan over at Dream Hats. Within 5 minutes, someone else had spotted my board, and "re-pinned" it to their own collection. Five minutes later, someone else picked up on it, and "re-pinned" it to their hat collection. Now let's think about how much more visibility my one post created. The wheels are starting to turn, aren't they?

Quite often, products sell better when they're paired with additional items that coordinate or complement one another. A person buying a computer system is more inclined to acquire a printer, because they see the printer display right next to the computer section.

Can you think of complementary items that work with your own products? Perhaps you can work with other product vendors to create a Pinterest board of complementary items. If you're an artist, perhaps you can create a Pinterest board with an interior decorator, to let people visualize how your artwork could fit into various settings.

Pinterest is fun; the social aspect is a key element, as Pinterest allows you to see what your friends have added, and in turn they can see your likes, "pins", and such. Why not leverage that "fun factor" with your own customers? Have a Pinterest Party, and see how creatively they can incorporate your products on a Pinterest board; you can reward the curator of the board with the most "likes" with a gift certificate, or free product item or service. You might find that your customers' creativity can inspire you, or give you a key insight as to how your product is perceived. 

Keep in mind that as of this time, Pinterest is "by invitation"; however, when I applied to be "invited", I was accepted within a day, so it's not that lengthy of a process. If you have a friend who already has a Pinterest account, they can send you an invite as well.

One last caveat: per Pinterest's Etiquette page, you shouldn't create a Pinterest page purely for self-promotion, so don't create a "spam" Pinterest page, and expect to get great results. Instead, work with your customers and fans to give them a reason to share your great products!

Do you already have a Pinterest board you'd like to share? Leave the link in the comments section below - we'd love to see it!