Last week, we discussed how writers use Pinterest to promote and sell their e-books.  Pinterest has proven to be a great way to meet new people — people we may not have met otherwise.  And over the past few months, it appears that Pinterest is assisting in more referrals than Facebook, Google+, and other social media sites combined.

But is using Pinterest a viable option for other industries?

We keep hearing that Pinterest drives a ton of traffic to retailers.  That all sounds great, but how does Pinterest drive said traffic?

For example, Jenny Joe June pins a picture of her new hair-thinga-ma-jiggy that she received for Christmas.  On her pinboard, she writes about how she can’t live without her new accessory and explains exactly how to use it.

The picture and the “how to” instruction manual that Jenny Joe June provides is just what girls across America needed to know to help them determine whether or not they need this very same hair-thinga-ma-jiggy.  Next thing we know, thousands of girls are online and googling the home page of the hair-thinga-ma-jiggy’s main site so they too can purchase one.

This makes sense, right? What if we want Pinterest to drive traffic directly to our website where we sell evolving content?

Let’s say Mary May Moose is starting a new photography business and she has a plethora of pictures already available for purchase on her personal website, courtesy of Digital Content Center.

What does she need to do next and how can Pinterest help?

First of all, Mary May Moose needs to set up a Pinterest account.  Next, she wants to display (pin and create boards) a variety of some of her best and most colorful work.  Remember – most people are visual. Next, she wants to include her sale prices for the photos; otherwise, how will the viewers visiting her Pinterest page know that the pictures are for sale?

**But similar to all social networking sites, we must remember to interact.  Like Twitter’s “unsaid rule” of providing valuable content (okay, so it’s been said over and over just how important it is to provide valuable content on Twitter and to not just self-promote), engaging with the Pinterest community is a must to promote our businesses.**

Once Mary May Moose’s Pinterest page is set up, her photographs are priced, and she begins interacting with the Pinterest community, she can just sit back and watch as her evolving digital downloads (also known as her pictures) begin to sell left and right.

So what do we say: is Pinterest a viable social networking site for industries other than writing?

Yes!  We think so.