Let's pin it!

By now you should have heard of Pinterest. If you are like me, and millions of other Pinterest users, you have been captivated for many hours by the different pictures on offer, browsing between clothes, recipes and clever DIY ideas.

But is this it? Certainly not! Online communicators and marketers are quickly taking possession of the visual platform, realising the potential for generating sales and increasing brand awareness.

In Australia, according to Alexa.com, Pinterest is ranked #23 of all sites visited. This makes it the fifth most visited social media site in the country.

So what's in it for not-for-profit organisations?

Being a major player, it makes sense that organisations start adding Pinterest to their social strategy. Visual content is a powerful way to engage with supporters as it gives them an insight into your organisation and what it does.

You are probably sitting on a gold mine of visual content you didn't even know existed. Below are some examples of non-profits that have truly embraced the platform. Hopefully this will give you ideas on how you could use Pinterest.

Organisations like Unicef and CARE, with a focus on fighting poverty, often use their pin boards to display photos of their work in impoverished countries.

Oxfam International offers inspiration boards for those wishing to change the way they live. They also feature boards with photos from events such as the Oxfam Trailwalker.

Amnesty Australia creates boards for a range of topics, but this one is an example of organisations promoting merchandise for sale.

Others like WWF for Earth Hour and more recently Unicef UK for the Ami Musa campaign created accounts for particular campaigns. In the case of Ami Musa, the pictures link to a donation page that was created just for this purpose.

Animal welfare and animal rescue organisations such as RSPCA Queensland or Animal Rescue of the Rockies increasingly use Pinterest to show pictures of pets available for adoption or needing fostering. Others, like RSPCA Australia, focus on showing images that relate to campaigns.

How do you or will you use Pinterest?