Pinterest for Dietitians: Is It Worth Your Time?
Let's cut to the chase. Are you on Pinterest?
Over the past week, Pinterest, has exceeded everyone's expectations. Originally, a small invite only website that began late last year, Pinterest allowed users to create virtual inspiration boards. Recent articles from tech savvy sites, to mainstream media, have released study results that have found Pinterest is crushing the social media competition. Everyone's noticed, and I'm getting lots of questions from my social media clients.
My Pinterest Story
As someone who cluttered their desktop with saved images and links, it was an organizational miracle for me. And as someone who was getting married this past fall I needed somewhere to collect wedding inspiration. Badly. Before my Martha Stewart Wedding catalogs exploded onto EVERY household surface. Pinterest has become useful beyond my wedding though and for different reasons. It has become somewhere for me to collect ideas for dinner, decorating, gifts, research, and even blog posts (Note: My Pinterest obsession crept into Figments HERE).
What the research on Pinterest says
- Pinterest drives more traffic than Google +, You Tube, and LinkedIN combined.
- Big companies (Including Chobani) are using Pinterest to personalize the face of their business.
- Sites are using Pinterest to learn how consumers view their brand & marketing.
- It hit 10 million monthly UNIQUE users faster than any site EVER.
How can you use it as a RD? Plus, a plea to each of you.
Over the past week I've seen lots of ways you shouldn't use Pinterest from new users. Pinterest is not for self promotion. Pinterest is a place to share visually inspiring links. It's a place to organize creativity. Shameless linking of every single thing from your own website, every article you're quoted in, choosing to Tweet each pin is wrong. Pinterest is the place to gather gorgeous recipes from RD run sites like Healthy Aperture, or link to a great infographic run down on the latest diet fad. It's a place to help connect to potential clients and other professionals on a more personal level. So please, use Pinterest with respect.
What are your thoughts on Pinterest? Need an invite? Let me know! I'm right here: http://pinterest.com/CarleneFutureRD/
Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.