Pinterest -- a rather new online start-up (and founded by a Des Moines, Iowa native, my fellow Iowa friends) is taking the social media world by storm, further pushing marketers to think more visually than verbally. For those outside the Pinterest world or who perhaps are just window-peeking, here are just a few things about Pinterest you should know.

Q: What is Pinterest?
A: Pinterest is an online social bulletin board, allowing users to collect their favorite ideas all over the internet and "pin" them to an appropriate categorical board, such as "Recipes to Try" and "Favorite Artists" and "Inspiration."

Q: How does Pinterest work?
A. A user first installs Pinterest to her Internet toolbar. When she visits a blog or a website and sees something she likes, she simply clicks "Pin to Pinterest" and will see a display of all the images available upon that particular webpage. She chooses the image she likes and attaches it to her pinboard. Her followers can then see her "pin" and can "repin" it to one of their boards if they like. (Incidentally, according to ReadWriteWeb, there are already some users with 20,000 followers.)

Q: Who uses Pinterest?
A: Currently the overwhelming amount of Pinterest users are females and the pinning phenomenon seems to be spreading primarily through WAHM (work at home mom) blogs and crafters.  The platform is still young and will likely spread to other visually-oriented users soon. However, since women account for 85% of consumer purchases, this is not a demographic to take lightly.

Q: What types of business should use Pinterest?
A. If you are a business that sells anything visually appealing, you should consider Pinterest. Also, if you blog frequently using images or infographics, you should consider Pinterest.

Q: What are Pinterest Marketing Best Practices?
A. If you're seeing dollar signs just now and have already started a Pinterest account in another browser tab, you may want take a deep breath and "eMuse" just a while longer. There are some things you definitely don't want to do on Pinterest and those things could bring more harm than good. 

Pinterest is currently in beta and requires an email invitation to join. If you would like an invitation or want to learn how Zoetic Freelance can help you promote your brand through Pinterest, email me at Kristen@zoetical.com.

Part Two | Pinterest Marketing 101: Pinterest Marketing Best Practices
Part Three | Pinterest Marketing 101: The Science of Sharing

Your friendly email marketer has relocated to the gently rolling hills of Iowa and, now that the snow is past (I think), I'm enjoying my new surroundings quite nicely. Des Moines has more to offer than the stereotypes imply, and I'm looking forward to all of it with the added bonus of being closer to my family.

And, of course, here I'm in a better position to give to my Zoetic Freelance clients and to meet new ones!

Some of my favorite places in Des Moines so far are . . .

• Downtown, especially the East Village. This area strongly reflects the efforts the city is making to make downtown a main destination. They seem well on their way to succeeding, if not there already. I'm especially looking forward to the Farmer's Market opening in May!
• Historic Valley Junction. This is a quaint section of town with a nice  collection of antique and specialty shops. In the winter, they offer free carriage rides and in the spring/summer, they have a farmer's market, too.
• Jordan Creek Town Center. This is a somewhat new shopping center that has some great places to eat like The Cheesecake Factory, P.F.Chang's, on the Border, etc. The shopping center also features a sparkling lake, which I've found to be quite a relaxing environment.
• Ankeny. This is a growing town to the north of Des Moines where I work a part-time job. A small-town feel that offers nearly as much to see and do as a bigger city would. The people are great, too!

Are you in Iowa or do you know someone in Iowa whose small business could benefit from an email newsletter? Then shoot me an email at Kristen@zoetical.com!