Pinterest Guide for Nonprofits

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PINTEREST GUIDE
for NONPROFITS
by
Kristin McGinnis, MBA
about.me/kristin_mcginnis

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Pint
Background on Pinterest _______________________________________________________ 3
Demographics of Pinterest___________________________________________________________ 3
Benefits of Pinterest________________________________________________________________ 3
Followers ________________________________________________________________________ 4
Pinterest Basics & Tips _________________________________________________________ 5
Basics ___________________________________________________________________________ 5
Tips on Boards ____________________________________________________________________ 5
Tips on Pinning & Images____________________________________________________________ 6
Tips on Following & Followers________________________________________________________ 8
Tips on Liking Images, Repining, & Comments ___________________________________________ 8
Tips on Searches___________________________________________________________________ 8
Integrating Pinterest with Your Website________________________________________________ 9
Syncing Pinterest Account with other Social Media Websites_______________________________ 9
Pinterest How-To ____________________________________________________________ 10
Pinning 101______________________________________________________________________ 10
Creating Boards __________________________________________________________________ 10
Community Boards________________________________________________________________ 10
Adding Images to Boards Manually (without use of “Pin It” button) ________________________ 11
Best Of…Pinterest Pinners and Boards ___________________________________________ 13
Examples of Other Non-Profits on Pinterest____________________________________________ 13
Inspiring Green Boards on Pinterest __________________________________________________ 13
Other Successful Pages (not nonprofit)________________________________________________ 14
References _________________________________________________________________ 15

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Background on Pinterest
Demographics of Pinterest
Pinterest is now on the top 10 list for social media platforms (Buck , 2012). Most social media platforms
are populated by men ages 18-44 (Kaplan, 2012), however Pinterest reaches a different demographic,
with the predominant user being women ages 25-44 (Haydon, n.d.). Most of these women are product
and market-loving, being the main purchasers for their households.
Pinterest grew 4,000 percent in six months and had over 32 million visitors in November 2012 (Waters,
2012).
Benefits of Pinterest
“Pins” on Pinterest are linked directly to their website source. This can generate a lot of traffic to the
your website, if the images are pinned directly from the website. “For example, if you pin an image of a
product from your business’ website onto your Pinterest board and a person clicks on the image, they
will be directed back to your website (huge SEO bonus points),” as Haydon explains (n.d., para. 6).
Pinterest can also be used for creative marketing strategies. For example, Land’s End held a contest and
gave away a $250 gift certificate for the Pinner who created the most unique holiday pinboard.
More benefits from Waters (2011):
Do you have an interesting or compelling story to tell with images? Every cause does, but
believing you do is half the battle. Pinterest is a natural site for museums, historical sites and
cultural institutions. Maybe your nonprofit helps needy kids and you have a pinboard called
"happy moments" to capture all the great things you're doing for and with kids. (Waters, 2012).
Is your cause considered hip, trendy, or do you just want to be? Pinterest users are looking for
cool, trendy and hip things. I think organizations such as Goodwill and Shelter Scotland could pin
fashionable used clothes available in their stores. Conservation International could post images
of the beautiful and endangered frogs they are trying to save. (Waters, 2012).
Are you engaged on other social media platforms? Despite my enthusiasm for Pinterest, it's not
a standalone platform. I wouldn't start with it unless I already had an active blog, Facebook and
Twitter. It's win-win. You'll gain traffic from visitors to Pinterest but your social media platforms
can drive traffic to it as well. (Waters, 2012).

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Are you looking to reap the rewards of local SEO? I've talked about the benefits of your
nonprofit being easily found online. Pinterest can give your SEO a big boost because the links
posted there - every image links to a real web page - are being posted by REAL PEOPLE and not
marketers and spammers trying to game the system. This won't last forever so get busy now!
(Waters, 2012).
Followers
“Just like Twitter, Pinterest is a social community based on followship and that’s why you must be very
interested in offering users what they really want…followers. So, by following others people will notice
you and as a sign of appreciation they will follow you back in no time. Now, I’m not saying you should
start following like a freak, but try to find people with similar interest and try to build a bond with
them.” (Cosmin, n.d.).

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Pinterest Basics & Tips
Basics
1. “Give the job to someone who has an eye for aesthetics. Not everyone has a good eye for
pictures -- that includes me! Just look at some of the images on Pinterest. They're beautiful.
Yours should be too.” (Waters, 2012)
2. “Learn from these 15 Pinterest superusers. I found this article on the habits of 15 superusers
very helpful on what Pinterest is for and not and how to use it wisely. This post made me laugh
as there is only one guy on the list. Yep, Pinterest is for the ladies.” (Waters, 2012)
3. According to Moth (2013) Greenpeace is running their Pinterest very well, with over 1,000
images to 46 boards and over 6,000 followers. “Most of the boards focus on a particular
campaign or initiative, such as saving the arctic or protecting rainforests, while others make use
of Greenpeace’s celebrity endorsements….As with other charities and brands most of the pins
link back to Greenpeace's own website, but the overall mix of nature, animals, fashion and
celebs is perfect for Pinterest as it’s all content that people like to share…Greenpeace has also
made use of Pinterest’s community feature by creating boards that allow other users to post
their favourite images related to environmental issues.” (Moth, 2013)
4. Food is Pinterest’s most popular topic. “Oxfam has clearly done its research on the kind of
content that tends to get shared on Pinterest and as a result eight of its 23 boards are food
related... These include boards named ‘Cook smarter’ and ‘Less meaty meals’, which tie into
Oxfam campaigns around sustainable living but also cleverly target Pinterest’ most popular
topic.” (Moth, 2013)
5. Oxfam is “one of the few charities that isn't shy about pinning content from third-party sites”
(Moth, 2013)
Tips on Boards
1. “Create Pinterest boards with a specific purpose in mind.” (Haydon, n.d.)
2. “Collaborate with co-workers or team members to help build your Pinterest board by using the
board edit feature “Me + Contributors.” Let’s say your organization has a project to build a
house. You can call the board “The House That Love Built” and invite team leaders to post
photos of tools needed, progress of the build, and volunteers.” (Haydon, n.d.)
3. “Create an online fundraising catalog. Add “$” symbol and the amount of an item in the pin
description, i.e., $7.95 or $5.00. A grey banner with the price will be displayed on the upper left
corner. Your pin will automatically go into the gifts tab located at the top of the homepage.”
(Haydon, n.d.)
4. “Use keywords to name your Pinterest boards, board descriptions, and pin descriptions for
search engine optimization (SEO).” (Haydon, n.d.)

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5. “Create categories that reflect what users are looking for. If you run the Paul Revere House and
want to post pictures of the furnishings and silver work call it "Early American Decor" or "Silver
Teapots." (Waters, 2012).
6. Community boards are great way to increase traffic (Moth, 2013)
o Oxfam disclaimer on their community board: “Please add to this board pins related to
title theme. No spam, No nudity, No advertising! Do not pin more than 10 pins at a time.
If you would like to join group boards, you send me board name you want to join and
your Pinterest address at facebook message. I don't want to add your friends to this
board no longer. Happy Pinning!”
7. Moth (2013) recommends not having empty boards, ensuring each board has amply pins
8. “Amnesty UK has an excellent collection of boards, with content including its various campaigns,
celebrities, recommended reading, Christmas cheer and images of staff members.” (Moth,
2013)
9. Boards should have no less than 10 pins/images each, to show professionalism and to
engage/excite followers (McGinnis)
Tips on Pinning & Images
1. “Use eye-catching images to get people’s attention and repins. The more repins, the more
chances you’ll have people clicking to the source website.” (Haydon, n.d.)
2. “Like the other social media networks, Pinterest is not a place to blatantly promote your
organization. You will turn people away if you constantly push your cause. Instead, pin images
that capture the lifestyle and essence of your organization while building a community of
potential donors and volunteers who share the same interests.” (Haydon, n.d.)
3. “Be useful. Pinterest users are looking for ideas and inspiration. Speak to that muse. Just don't
pin a picture of the new lobby area of your school. Highlight an architectural detail that makes it
interesting, unique and inspiring.” (Waters, 2012)
4. “If you’re an environmental organization: Pin images of endangered species; Pin pics of
unique beach trash your volunteer teams clean up; Build a collection of innovative recycling in
your community” (Kaplan, 2012)
5. “If you’re a foundation: Pin images from your grantees' projects; collect images that
demonstrate the problem you are trying to solve; Community foundations can pin things they
want to celebrate in the community” (Kaplan, 2012)
6. Action Aid’s Pins contain a “huge amount of text describing what’s taking place, which can
discourage other users from sharing the image” (Moth, 2013)
7. Amnesty UK includes far too much text, according to Moth (2013), but good use of hash tags
promoting certain campaigns
8. National Trust “pins often include a massive amount of text which serves to break up the flow
of the boards and make them look a bit messy, but in most cases the images are strong enough
to hold your attention.” (Moth, 2013)
9. Unpinnable Images:

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a. Problems arise when a site just isn’t optimized for pinning. You can’t pin anything
from a Flash site, which is still a favorite of many high end retailers, so that is a
completely missed opportunity.
b. More subtle problems arise with product sites that offer nifty image preview tools.
In this example on Schumacher, a provider of high end textiles and wallcoverings,
they have a javascript image tool that prevents the images from being detected by
the Pin It bookmarklet. If you are a savvy user, you can click on “switch to JPG view”
and be able to pin that image, but most people will not know to take that extra step.
(Kinney, 2012)
10. Hashtags:
a. Sanchez (2013a) states: “From my research on Pinterest, #s used in board titles or in
board descriptions seem to have no impact on making boards easier to find in Pinterest
searches. I was able to find only 1 board named #Inspirational quotes and it was way
down on the list.”
b. “Where #s really seem to show their muscle on Pinterest is in pin descriptions. The # is
clickable within the pin’s description and when clicked, it searches and pulls up the
other pins that use the the same # or words in their description. It seems to be a
shortcut for using the search box.” (Sanchez, 2013a)
c. For a short time, while Pinterest was making the big transition from the old look to the
new look, hashtags stopped functioning but now they’re back. Within Pinterest, as in
other social sites such as Twitter and Instagram, hashtags serve as a shortcut
to performing a search for other pieces of content. (Sanchez, 2013b)
d. “There are several places that I have seen hashtags used in Pinterest including, board
titles, board descriptions, account descriptions and profile names. Sorry to disappoint
Pinterest users who have used them in these places in hopes of making their accounts
or boards easier to find but, hashtags DON’T work in these areas, they are not clickable.
In Pinterest, hashtags are only clickable and searchable in pin descriptions and they
work a bit differently than they do in Twitter or Instagram. Clicking on a hashtag in a
pin’s description will not only result in pins that include that hashtag but also in pins that
include the same word or phrase in the description.” (Sanchez, 2013b)
e. “Clicking on a hashtag can also result in pins without the word or phrase in the
description at all. I came across the hashtag, #babyclothes and when clicked on, some of
the pins didn’t contain the phrase or any of the words in the description. For example,
when I clicked on #babyclothes, one of the pins that came up in the search was of a
rubber duck. Duck was the only word in the description but the reason this pin appeared
was because of the link attached to this pin. The URL tied to this pin had the phrase
babyclothes in it. This is something to keep in mind when naming your images, blog
posts and product pages. Even though Pinterest is an image based, search results are
still based on words.” (Sanchez, 2013b)
f. “To make the most of hashtags the best approach would be to make one that is
unique. This technique is often used in Pinterest contest where participants must pin
items with a specific hashtag as part of the entry process. However, it may take a while
for you hashtag to be searchable. As a test, I included #pinterestingtips in a few of my

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pins and after 2 days they are not searchable. It’s unclear why. To maximize your pins’
chances for being found be sure to include more than just a hashtag in the description,
use common descriptive keywords too. For an extra boost, include key words in the link
attached to the pin.” (Sanchez, 2013b)
g. “hashtags are quite popular on Pinterest too, and like on Twitter and Google+, these are
the ones helping users to easily find your content. So use them, but try to be relevant
and don’t overdo it.” (Cosmin, n.d.)
Tips on Following & Followers
1. “Follow Pinterest users with similar interests with quality pins on their boards, like, Nonprofit
Organizations, National Wildlife Federation, Water.org, Jokolna Foundation.” (Haydon, n.d.)
2. “Follow back influential people who follow you. The trick is to click “Follow All” on the
individual’s profile, then unfollow specific boards that aren’t of interests to you.” (Haydon, n.d.)
3. “Being active is vital in every social community because that shows your followers and other
members that you are interested in doing great things. Besides that, commenting on others Pins
means feedback for others which in most cases means a lot especially if that person doesn’t
receive lots of comments.” (Cosmin, n.d.)
4. “My advice would be to start simple and grow from there. Spend some time on creating or
picking a pin that can easily go viral. This will bring you lots of attention and as a result, you will
get tons of followers.” (Cosmin, n.d.)
Tips on Liking Images, Repining, & Comments
1. “’Like’ pins or repin items that appeals to you. This action will show up on the user’s sidebar. It
will also send an email notification to the user (if turned on).” (Haydon, n.d.)
2. “Use the pin comments section to engage in conversation and leave your mark.” (Haydon, n.d.)
3. “Use the @ feature in the comment box to tag specific people (like other social networks).”
(Haydon, n.d.)
4. “Don't just pin, repin. Pinterest is just like any other social network. It's not all about you.
Search through Pinterest and find images that you can repin on your boards. As with most social
platforms, this is where the magic happens!” (Waters, 2012)
Tips on Searches
1. “Use the search box by typing in topics, people’s names, businesses, etc. Then filter search by
clicking pins, boards, or people.” (Haydon, n.d.)

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Integrating Pinterest with Your Website
1. “Add a Pinterest share button to your website and URL on your business cards.” (Haydon, n.d.)
2. “Let your supporters pin for you. Add "pin it" buttons to your blog or web site so your visitors
and supporters can create their own pin boards that highlight your cause.” (Waters, 2012)
3. Optimizing Your Site for Pinnable Images:
a. The best way to test how your site “pins” is to set up a Pinterest account, grab the
bookmarklet tool, and try pinning a few of the things you would like to see pinned and
review the results. This is also an opportunity to browse around and see what type of
images are being pinned in your market sector or niche. Pinterest is an extremely visual
medium, so pinners generally are looking for the largest and most appealing images
possible. (Kinney, 2012)
b. If you are a blogger, does your post offer some type of featured or lead image? Many
list/resource posts typically use many smaller images and lack a good featured image to
pin. If you use WordPress, remember that you can create a featured image that is
available but doesn’t actually have to be used in your post. (Kinney, 2012)
Syncing Pinterest Account with other Social Media Websites
1. This is a vital step if you want to obtain best results on Twitter, Facebook and also keep a place
open for the new Pinterest. You can easily synchronize the Pinterest account with Facebook and
Twitter by going to: Your Account -> Settings -> Simply Click on to Link Facebook or Twitter to
your account. You can also add Pinterest to your Facebook timeline as long as you don’t decide
to post the same story manually.
2. Once you synchronize Pinterest with Facebook and Twitter, you get access to many possibilities
including the friend messaging/following option which allows you to send as many Pinterest
invites you wish and also to follow your Facebook friends who are already on the platform. The
following process is almost instant and since they are your friends, it’s a huge possibility to
follow you back in no time.

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Pinterest How-To
Pinning 101
Instructional Guide from Pinterest site on how to Pin, Create Boards, Follow, UnFollow, & More
http://about.pinterest.com/basics/
Creating Boards
 Title
 Description
 Category
 Who can Pin? (used only for community boards)
Community Boards
 Can be set up when creating the board initially, or you can edit a board to convert to community
board
 Use “Who can pin?” option within edit or create
 You must be “following” the person/organization before you can invite them to pin
Helpful Videos:
How to Create a Pinterest Group/Community Board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5NRQmQU4gM
What is a Pinterest Board? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hds8J6Gtxk4

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Adding Images to Boards Manually (without use of “Pin It” button)
1. If images are not pinnable from website, download the image to computer. After image has
been downloaded, go to the “Add+” button at the top on the Pinterest page. You will be
prompted to upload a the image by locating it on the computer:
2. You can then add description text.

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3. The image pin will then show on your screen. Click “Edit”. It is very important to then add a
website link to the image you just added.
4. Then enter in the website link to where you want users to be directed when they click on the
image. For more information on this go to the following section in this manual: Linking Images
to Product Website vs. Your Website

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Best Of…Pinterest Pinners and Boards
Examples of Other Non-Profits on Pinterest
Greenpeace: http://pinterest.com/greenpeace/
Macmillian Cancer: http://pinterest.com/macmillancancer/
Action Aid: http://pinterest.com/actionaid/
Amnesty UK: http://pinterest.com/amnestyuk/
National Trust: http://pinterest.com/nationaltrust/
Oxfam: http://pinterest.com/oxfaminternatl/
RSPCA Little Valley Animal Shelter: http://pinterest.com/rspcaexeter/
UNICEF: http://pinterest.com/unicef/
Wateraid: http://pinterest.com/wateraid/
BC SPCA: http://pinterest.com/bcspca/
TerraCycle: http://pinterest.com/terracycle/
Inspiring Green Boards on Pinterest
Organic Logos: http://pinterest.com/holidayorganic/organic-logos/
Green Certified Hotels & Restaurants: http://pinterest.com/jdvhotels/green-certified-hotels-
restaurants/
Natural Cosmetics: http://pinterest.com/patandrub/natural-cosmetics/
FCS Certified Products: http://pinterest.com/scscertified/fsc-certified-products/
Leaping Bunny: http://pinterest.com/leapingbunny/
50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾ : http://pinterest.com/nationaltrust/50-things-to-do-before-you-re-
11-3-4/
NonProfit Resources: http://pinterest.com/npquarterly/nonprofit-resources/
Green Schools: http://pinterest.com/usgbc/green-schools/
Sustainability Infographics: http://pinterest.com/paolafiore/sustainability-infographics/

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Sustainability Infographics: http://pinterest.com/tracyjean/sustainability-infographics/
Sustainability Infographics: http://pinterest.com/greenmediasite/sustainability-infographics/
Sustainability Infographics: http://pinterest.com/jurlaub/sustainability-infographics/
Sustainability Infographics: http://pinterest.com/sunnycrowd/sustainability-infographics/
Other Successful Pages (not nonprofit)
Sony: http://www.pinterest.com/sonyelectronics/
Starbucks Beautiful Objects (board): http://www.pinterest.com/starbucks/beautiful-objects/
Nordstrom: http://www.pinterest.com/nordstrom/

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References
Buck, S. (2012, January 8). Pinterest: 13 tips and tricks for cutting edge users. Retrieved from
http://mashable.com/2012/01/08/pinterest-13-tips-and-tricks-for-cutting-edge-users/
Cosmin. (n.d.). Increase the number of followers on pinterest. Retrieved from
http://devstand.com/marketing/pinterest-followers/
Haydon, J. (n.d.). 12 ways to use Pinterest for your nonprofit. Retrieved from
http://www.johnhaydon.com/2012/01/12-ways-use-pinterest-for-your-nonprofit/
Kaplan, A. (2012, January 13). Steal these 42 creative Pinterest ideas for nonprofits. Retrieved from
http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2012/1/13/steal-these-42-creative-pinterest-ideas-for-
nonprofits.html
Kinney, D. (2012, February 1). Leveraging pinterest: How “pinnable” is your content? Retrieved from
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/leveraging-pinterest-how-
%E2%80%9Cpinnable%E2%80%9D-is-your-content/39623/
Moth, D. (2013, April 10). 10 charities and how they use Pinterest. Retrieved from
http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/62498-10-charities-and-how-they-use-pinterest
Pinterest. (2013). Stories. Retrieved from http://business.pinterest.com/stories/
Sanchez, C. (2013, January 15). Tips for using hashtags on Pinterest. Retrieved from
http://www.ohsopinteresting.com/tips-for-using-hashtags-on-pinterest/
Sanchez, C. (2013, April 13).Using hashtags with pinterest’s new look. Retrieved from
http://www.ohsopinteresting.com/using-hashtags-with-pinterests-new-look/
Waters, J. (January 7, 2012). Why and how causes should use Pinterest. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-waters/why-how-causes-should-use_b_1190956.html

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