Like with any other social media, awesome tools and plugins that increase the usefulness of the service are being developed all the time. It’s important to stay abreast of the different tools so that you can get the most out of your Pinterest account. You probably already know about the follow buttons and the “pin it” buttons so let’s move past that and talk about some other useful tools, apps and plugins.
Mobile Apps — Both Android and iPhone offer apps that allow you to immediately pin imagines that you’ve taken and saved to your mobile. You do have to go back in and edit links, as well as change the names of the pictures to useful, keyword rich file names, but it can come in handy when on the go to save important images and update and edit them later. However, if you have access to the web via your mobile device you may also be able to update links, keywords and more, all on the go.
Browser Extensions — Chrome, Firefox and Internet explorer all offer browser extensions to make Pinterest more automated and easy to use. Each adds a button to your various browsers for easier pinning from any website. Firefox’s extension allows you to create a right click Pin Image choice which is super useful and easy. Chrome even has an extension that enables you to search information about images you find on Pinterest, called Pin Search. It can even help you find the actual photographer of the image in question.
Editing Software — Developers are creating some useful fast ways to develop pin worthy memes and images with words. ShareAsImage.com allows you to create an image out of any quote or text that you find on the web. PinWords.com allows you to edit an image with professional looking captions and text quickly and easily without having to use complicated software like Photoshop.
Collaborative Apps — There are a variety of collaborative apps that allow open boards to be made even more interesting. Say you’ve created a collaborative vacation planner board for your entire family. If you have an app called Pinstamatic.com, you can add your favorite music, a sticky note for someone, quotes, maps, music and more to the collaborative board.
Infographic Creators — Pinterest is a very visual social media platform, but not all of us have the skills and talents to create eye-catching graphics using complicated software, nor the money to hire someone else to do it. That’s where cloud-based software such as Easel.ly, Bubbl.us and Infogr.am comes in. These online software allow you to create interactive infographics ( […Visual representations of information data or knowledge. — en.wikipedia) that are perfect for use on Pinterest.
Analytics and Alerts — As a savvy marketer you already use Google Alerts to be notified of content with your keywords or your name, why not add that functionality to your websites and blogs? You’ll be notified each time someone pins something from your web real-estate. It makes it easier to interact with your followers and those who re-pin your content. You can also try out Reachli.com, which helps business owners market Pinterest content across the web. Create campaigns with their intuitive system within your budget and get started right away.
Joshua Shoemaker
