How to use Pinterest for internal communication

This week I was interviewed by Russell Working who is a journalist at Ragan Communications in America, about content.

We were discussing how content has changed in the world of internal communication and the trends that we have seen inside organisations in recent years; from polished videos to smartphone vids to Vines, and the rise and rise of visual communication.

It got me thinking about how I use images and I thought I’d share some of the ways I have been collating and creating content.

My channel of choice is very often Pinterest.

PInterestYes, Pinterest.

For many people they view it as a place for people who are planning weddings or are crafty with a needle and thread to share their ideas, gather inspiration and promote their businesses.

How does it work?

Think of it like a virtual noticeboard. Rather than ripping pages out of magazine and putting them into scrapbooks, you can download the “pin it” button and when you spot something you like on a website, you can pin it onto your very own virtual noticeboard (known simply as boards).

I have a number of boards in my public profile including ones on internal communication and social media. You can see them all below or via my profile.

I not only pin professional links, but as I am a modern vintage fan I have boards for that too and shoes.

Here’s my internal communication one:

Follow Rachel Miller’s board Internal Comms on Pinterest.

Here’s my press and portfolio board: Follow Rachel’s board Press and portfolio on Pinterest.

I use Pinterest in these ways:

  • Save infographics I find useful and want to refer to in future
  • Follow people I find interesting who have similar interests to me
  • Pin images from my blog posts, which provides new ways for people to discover my content
  • Follow boards that I know nothing about, in order to expose me to fresh ideas and new people
  • Look for inspiration on certain topics
  • Visually understand how companies communicate
  • Build a mental picture of how a company presents itself
  • Create boards for planned or aspirational projects
  • Gather ideas for a specific campaign

Secret boards

There is also the option to have “secret boards,” which means I have boards that no one else can see. I use them to collate ideas, quotes and images that inspire me, that trigger thoughts and that I have a feeling I would like to refer to in future.
These boards are very often my starting point when I am asked to present by clients or to speak at conferences. I like to rummage through and see what has triggered fresh thoughts. If you’ve ever seen me present, you will have had an insight into just some of the content on my secret boards.

You can see some of them via my SlideShare account.

How do you use Pinterest? Would you consider using it for internal communication, e.g. could you collate content and embed boards in the same way I have on this page?

If you’ve not considered using Pinterest before in your personal or professional life, do give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised. Tweaks are being made constantly to the way the site operates.

In 2013 when I asked internal communicators how they use social media, 33% said they use Pinterest in their personal life, and 5.1% use it professionally.

How would something like this work in your company? Should I be following you on there? Do you have a good example of how Pinterest is being used effectively for corporate communication?

Do comment below or Tweet me @AllthingsIC to share your thoughts.

Boards I like include:

What boards do you like? Had you thought about using Pinterest in this way before?

Do let me know your thoughts, Rachel.

Follow Rachel Miller’s board Social Media on Pinterest. Follow Rachel Miller’s board Internal Comms on Pinterest.

Further reading: Read Russell’s article I reference above.

Post author: Rachel Miller.

First published on the All Things IC blog 31 January 2014.

Comments

  1. Matt Cody says:

    We use Pinterest mainly to collate our thought leadership material from our online web app (Angles – http://angles.atkinsglobal.com), as well as photos of some of our iconic projects. It’s still too soon to truly assess its effectiveness but I feel it’s good to have it as part of our social media portfolio. Our Pinterest boards are here: http://www.pinterest.com/atkinsglobal/

  2. I work for a small start-up technology company, and the bottom-line for all of our social media, including Pinterest, is to generate more sales leads. As the social media manager, I use Pinterest to feature our blog posts, videos, and fun company culture, and I also pin content posted by others to share information in industries related to our target markets. I think it’s crucial to have as many social media outlets as possible to just increase our visibility, even if visitors don’t turn into true sales leads. http://www.pinterest.com/vingapp/

  3. Thank you Matt and Rebecca for sharing your links, I will certainly check your boards out.
    Rachel

  4. Kirsty Walden says:

    Hi Rachel, thanks for such a useful article, I am an Pinterest users for planning my home DiY project etc. but I had honestly never considered it’s application to my professional life.

  5. […] l’un de ses articles, Rachel Miller, professionnelle de la communication interne londonienne, décrit Pinterest […]

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