Pinterest 411

If you haven't jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon yet, or you have no idea what everyone means when they say they're pinning; this post is for you. I've become addicted to Pinterest and find it so useful in soooo many ways. I hope this post will help you understand why it's very helpful to anyone who is excited about organizing your inspirations in ONE place. This is going to be a very LONG post explaining A LOT, but not everything will be explained here, and my grammar is TERRIBLE btw. Plus Mac users may have a slightly different way of doing things and I'm a PC user (desperate to switch to MAC though). So, sorry if you get overwhelmed or if I go on and on or you get lost in my computer jargon or if you are a MAC user and my directions are a little off. ALSO GOD FORBID PINTEREST EVER CRASHES, WE WILL ALL REVOLT AND HAVE COMPLETE MENTAL BREAKDOWNS!!

What the heck is this thing?

Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. A pin can be added from a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload images from your computer, or you can repin other people's pins. Liking a pin adds the image to your profile’s Likes section; the image does not get added to one of your boards. Once installed in your browser, the “Pin It” button lets you grab an image from any website and add it to one of your pinboards. When you pin from a website, they (the pinterest fairies) automatically grab the source link so we can credit the original creator. Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests. From books that you like, wedding inspiration, DIY ideas, fashion, fun art projects for your kids, inspirational slogans, silly animal pictures, whatever you are looking for! So let's go thru all these different ways of using Pinterest STEP-BY-STEP!

How to install the Pin I Button:

How to install the Pin I Button onto your navigation bar. Click on this link and all you have to do is literally drag their Pin It icon up to the navigation bar by clicking on it with your mouse and don't let go until you are up to the navigation bar which is the little horizontal area below the url bar, and then let go of the mouse and voila it's now saved up there for you to use. http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/ 

How to Pin:

Once you have the pin it button shortcut you can now start using it.....

For example you are reading an awesome blog and love one of the ideas on a DIY favor or maybe a really cute fashion style. 

1. Click the Pin It shortcut on your nav bar and it will automatically pull all the images from that blog post.

2. When you hover over the images you'll see a blue pin it button show up. 

3. Click on the blue button.

4. A new window will pop up and you can now decide where you want this image to be saved. You can create a new board or select a board you already created. There is a little black down arrow that when you click on it will open more options and your boards. Then you can write a little description of what you like about this image or just describe the image.

5. Click on the red pin it button and Voila it's saved! (I have found a few times that the link gets corrupted and does not save correctly and this is a glitch on their part)

Add pins by uploading images:

Another way of adding pins is by uploading images from your computer like an attachment. When you are logged into pinterest you'll see on the right top corner Add+  

1. Click on Add+

2. This then opens another window and click on upload a pin 

3. Then click on choose file and find where you saved your picture you want to add onto pinterest and select open.

4. A new window will pop up and you can now decide where you want this image to be saved. You can create a new board or select a board you already created. There is a little black down arrow that when you click on it will open more options and your boards. Then you can write a little description of what you like about this image or just describe the image.

5. Click on the red pin it button and Voila it's saved! (I have found a few times that the link gets corrupted and does not save correctly and this is a glitch on their part)

How to Repin images from other people: 

As mentioned before you need to know the difference btwn Repinning and Liking. Liking a pin adds the image to your profile’s Likes section; the image does not get added to one of your boards. 

1. The easiest way to find inspiration is to go to pinterest.com and click on the red pinterest logo on the top of the page and it will search for all the new pins of the day. 

2. You see something that you love, when you hover over the image you'll see Repin, Like, or Comment  button show up. 

3. Click on the Repin.

4. A new window will pop up and you can now decide where you want this image to be saved. You can create a new board or select a board you already created. There is a little black down arrow that when you click on it will open more options and your boards. Then you can write a little description of what you like about this image or just describe the image.

5. Click on the red pin it button and Voila it's saved! (I have found a few times that the link gets corrupted and does not save correctly and this is a glitch on their part)

How to Follow people:

Each image has been pinned by someone and the more people you invite or follow the more inspiration you'll have to look thru. Under each pin there will be a picture of who pinned it, where they pinned it to and maybe who they originally pinned it from and those links are active and will bring you onto that persons profile and all their boards. If you like them you can choose to "follow all" under their image on the left hand side OR you can choose to just "follow" the board that you like. Once you start following more people when you click on the red pinterest logo on the top of the page it will search for all the new pins of the day of whoever you follow and this will grow.

How to mention or communicate on Pinterest:

So now you're following people, or your friends have joined, or you have a wedding board and you want to tell another friend about the cool pin you just did, or you just want to say something nice to the person about the pin. You can actually communicate on Pinterest similar to Facebook. To mention a pin to a Pinterest user, you first need to be following at least one board belonging to him/her. Underneath the image of your pin or someone else's pin there is a add a comment section. Type the @ symbol immediately followed by his/her username. Potential matches to this username will begin to load; when you see the person you want to mention, click his/her name. The user you mention will receive a notification. (You can change your email notifications by going to the top right side and clicking on your tiny profile picture, then select settings, then click on change email settings, and click or unclick which ever settings you want). OR you can just type something in the add a comment below the pin and not tag anyone, but just say something nice.

Searching Pinterest:

On the top left there is a search box. There you can search for your friends by typing in their names, then click on the magnified glass and it will pull all the matches, then click on People, and it will narrow it down again. Find your friend and click Follow. 

Or maybe you are looking for signature drink ideas or arts and crafts for your kid. Just type what you are looking for into the search field and see what you get and start pinning. If people type into the description box about their pins the magical pinterest fairy will search all of those descriptions and pull out anything related to what you are looking for, just like google : )

Mobility!

Since I'm a wedding planner, I love clients who use Pinterest!!! Having a wedding inspiration board is really helpful for me to SEE your vision and get an idea of what you are looking for in your design. So when we meet in person you can SHOW me with your laptop, my laptop, or with iPads. Plus then when we follow each other I can help find you inspiration and you can repin my ideas. 

The BAD part of Pinning!

Brides please be aware that if you are collecting the "PERFECT" pictures list for your weddings or engagement sessions you need to be aware of a few things. I'm friends with a lot of photographers and they have already started complaining about the evils of Pinterest. Please understand that when you hire a photographer for your wedding you only have them for a specific amount of time and you may not be able to get EVERY SINGLE PERFECT SHOT on your Pinterest board. Also you may not be able to get that exact picture because you may be outside or inside and there is totally different lighting then the image from your "perfect image pin", or that photographer who took this "perfect picture" had a special lens or filter attached to their camera or did something afterwords on their computer photo software and tweaked that image. Plus who wants to be a complete copycat. It's ok to be inspired but be yourself and change it up a bit!

How to track who is pinning directly from your blog: 

Type this into your browser but replace "thenameofyourblog" obviously with your blog title. http://pinterest.com/source/thenameofyourblog.blogspot.com   OR 

http://pinterest.com/source/thenameofyourblog.wordpress.com

The great thing about Pinterest is that it can dramatically increase traffic to your blog! If you start pinning images from your blog so that people can repin them, and repin them, and repin them, then the more people will click on your image and they'll be directed to your blog where that image came from. Plus when anyone else goes to your blog and pins your images (which is why I love that little sneaky tracker above) you can see who is repinning your images and maybe you want to follow that person since you have similar styles. AND it's really cool to see how many people are repinning from your blog. It's great when someone repins your images because that will also generate more interest to your blog and create more traffic. You can also see who has liked or repinned your pins underneath each of them when you have your board open. It's crazy how fast people start repinning!! Vultures, I tell you!! JK :)

FYI If you have a flash based blog or you go to a website that has a copyrighted block or a flash portfolio, you will not be able to capture their images and pin them. 

MORE FYI Facebook will not let you pin images from photo albums. BUT if you right click on the image or any image for that matter and want to grab it (except copyrighted blocked images) then select "open image in a new tab", when the tab is opened with the image, you will then be able to use the pin it shortcut.


Followers vs. Following:
If you click on your profile name on the top right corner, then right below your profile name on the left hand side it will list how many followers you have and how many you are following. You can click on these to open up a window showing all of them so that you can be nosy, plus decide if you want to Follow them too or maybe you want to Unfollow someone (sad).

But what is lover.ly? Lover.ly is a new visual search engine and cloud scrapbook for all your wedding inspiration. IT'S ONLY FOR WEDDINGS If you want to use them here is their website: http://lover.ly/welcome  

HAPPY PINNING AND YOU CAN FOLLOW ME OR EMAIL ME AND ASK FOR AN INVITATION TO JOIN:  https://pinterest.com/laylam/