Ever heard of the “Pinterest Mom?” you know, those impossibly creative moms who can make a pair of earrings out of a tin can? If you haven’t heard the holler about Pinterest, it’s a hoot to navigate and endlessly creative.

Not everyone can make a backyard tent out of pipe cleaners for their kids (ME included!!!!) but tons of Pinterest tools are available to make your life that much richer.

Navigating this endless visual pinning media is really worth all the fuss. We may not all be those Pinterest moms, but Pinterest can “pin” life into everyday crafts and activities. Don’t believe me? Try for yourself.

Prelim and Primping

A picture is worth not a thousand, but a BILLION words these days. Pinterest is a virtual corkboard where you can “pin” your faves right on your profile! Follow these starter steps to get a great profile rolling:

• Create the account using your Facebook or Twitter login. This automatically (unless you tell it “no”) injects your profile with available friends from your media. Important: you really should connect ALL social profiles. Especially if you want to market your own stuff.
• Install the “Pin it” goodies button to your bookmark bar.
• Tell Pinterest a few types of Pins you’re interested in. This will help determine followers and popular pins.
• Don’t forget to fill in the blanks about yourself. There’s nothing worse than a stock photo on someone’s profile.  Then fill out a fun and creative description about you and your awesome life. Make it witty, punchy, and full of your quirks, not salesy. This doesn’t fly on Pinterest.

Collection Creation

Once you’ve gotten through the prelim stages, fill in your categories to create a collection that is truly YOURS! This means stuff you like, things you’d love to try (or just DREAM of it!).

This also helps you obtain followers on specific boards who may “follow all” in a certain category. It may seem like a science, but this will help you market your own creations on Pinterest. Your board should have life and variety that is distinctly… you!!!

Repin and Win

One thing I love about Pinterest is all the sharing! Repinning is expected and creates a great environment for you and your followers to support each other.

I, for one, still get a little giddy when someone repins something of mine.

If you have your social media connected fully, this allows hashtags for Twitter, pictures for Facebook, interior decorating ideas for Houzz… etc. you get the point.

Outsource Your Pinning Power

Pin directly from your website to gain leads. This creates backlink traffic that’ll give you that much more clout. Pinning from websites is generally better than uploading pins. To keep from sounding self-serving, I suggest only pinning these 5-8 times daily, based on the number of total pins you’re doing.

Also, pin directly from your blog. Pinterest is an image-based media, but if you create custom images on your blogs or website, this is free ground for those. I’m a big fan of cross-media SMM, and it begins with translating your work into something accessible on each media.

If you have a tangible business address, you can advertise your business on Pinterest with rich pins. These rich little babies open up a whole new can of worms for reaching followers on Pinterest.

Last? Login at least once a day. Evenings between 7-11 pm EST is prime pinning time. Focus on beautiful images in categories like fashion, home décor, inspirational items, and quotes. Photos of people and friends are better suited for other outlets. I know it’s a mouthful. But you got this.

If that’s not enough, what other questions do you have? What’s your favorite pinning power?