Pinterest Tips

Aside from discovering delicious recipes and inspiring quotes, there are several ways your can maximize your Pinterest account both professionally and socially. Here's what you need to know to take your Pinterest addiction to the next level, whether you're looking to start a group board, email pins to friends, or upload photos from Instagram.

Tip Number One: Get Social

Pinterest is a form of social media, meaning the more you give, the more you get. Just like Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest is a great way to communicate and share content friends. Besides pinning photos for your followers (you know, the basic concept behind Pinterest), you can tag friends and followers in pins — using @ in the comment section — to get a conversation going (for example, @popsugarfashion, do you like these shoes?). You can also share pins with friends over email, Facebook, and Twitter.

For those who like to collaborate, start a group board that allows multiple pinners to contribute. Don't forget about hashtags either. This symbol (#) easily allows your content to trend and filter into common categories that fellow pinners might be searching.

Tip Number Two: Get Searching

There's more to Pinterest than what appears in your home feed, with various ways to find content. Use the search bar to explore what's trending and possible gift ideas and to find new pinners to follow. Remember that you had once glimpsed a perfect-with-the-living-room item on Pinterest that was from the Pottery Barn website? Enter into your browser's URL field: http://pinterest.com/source/potterybarn.com. Use the pinterest.com/source/website rubric to find what pinners have been adding from your favorite sites.

Pinterest also affects search engines: if you're trying to track down a specific pin or something more general like a recipe, it can often be found through a search engine — this makes captioning your pins key if you want them to be discovered.

How to find specific uploads from within your thousands of pins, after the break.

Tip Number Three: Get Curious

Pinterest now allows you to rediscover content by searching your pins, so you can easily find that recipe you've been meaning to make. For businesses and blogs verified on Pinterest, see how well your content is doing through Pinterest analytics. This is helpful to track your influence on the site and allows you to maximize your content and efforts.

Tip Number Four: Get Uploading

Don't just repin! Influence Pinterest with your own content and web finds. You can upload your own photos and videos from your computer (extra points if they are high resolution) or photos from your phone and tablet (like pretty Instagram snaps). Don't forget to add the Pinterest button to your bookmark bar and keep your photos organized with boards. Note: never upload images that aren't yours without proper attribution.