Thursday, October 11, 2012

Pinterest: Pinning for Health Organizations


I cannot hesitate to explain how excited I personally get over Pinterest.  I fell in love with Pinterest because of its easy to maneuver set-up.  Unlike other social media sites, even Facebook in the beginning, it took me awhile to adjust and see what was really going on.  Pinterest, on the other hand, I find to be very simple. 
 
I resort to Pinterest just as often as I do Google or Bing, if not more.  I find myself getting lost in Pinterest, yet coming out with more information that I intended to get.  I have used Pinterest in the past for a wide range of reasons; including school project ideas, holiday gift ideas, photography tips, and much, much more.
 
I am not the type of person to research health topics of any sort through the Internet, but Pinterest really peaked my interest of starting too.  Through Pinterest I have actually started to explore the Internet more with health questions.  I have found blogs and health tips through the use of Pinterest.  Although I still do not fully trust the actual information, I still continue to utilize Pinterst to research.
 
 The features of Pinterest give health organizations an opportunity to put pictures to their words.  This would work for any organization, not only health organizations.  Through a separate article from socialmediatoday, Patricia Redsicker provides tips for a health organization using Pinterest.  Her tips include:
 
#1. Pin client photos and testimonials
#2. Show practical use of your products or services
#3. Use what you already have
#4. Show your organization’s culture
#5. Pin for conversation
#6. Take advantage of workshops, conferences and seminars
 
I feel the overall impression of these tips ask an organization to be themselves, work with what they have, and ask for help/contributions from their followers.  With tip #1 the organization could make their page more personable.  With actually testimony from clients a organization becomes more real for a viewer; especially those from a nonprofit organization.
 
As stated in a provided Mashable article, video is not yet popular on Pinterest, but is slowly growing.  As a user a video must have a catchy view in order for me to view the entire video.  Sometimes this is the very beginning of the video or is just a still shot from the video.  Either way, the initial screen must encompass a a bright pictures or a catchy phrase.
 
MultiMerchantChannel article makes an important observation that an organization should consider the great reaching capabilities of Pinterest.  Although this article in particular is speaking of retailers, this is true of health organizations also.  Similar to Twitter, you are able to connect a Pinterest account with Facebook and/or Twitter.  This connects your Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and Pinterest pins altogether.  Just another reason pins should incorporate many different audiences. 
 
Overall, Pinterest makes itself distinctive with having images instead of mostly words.  It also has the features of comments, likes, followers, and video capabilities as other social media websites do.  Pinterest should be used by a health organization that already has material built up.  This material could be promoted through Pinterest to increase donations/traffic, etc.
 
The American Lung Association has a somewhat successful Pinterest account in my eyes.  I say somewhat due to amount of action they present to viewers compared to the amount of followers.  They have 20 boards that range from 5 pins to 157.  The board with 157 pins allowed viewers to input their opinions.  With all of the information the ALA is providing to users they only have 49 followers. 
 
I would argue that the organization should attempt to gain more followers by targeting one particular audience at a time.  This could be done maybe by creating a different board for every audience they want to reach through Pinterest. I would consider their Pinterest as an overall success needing only small improvements.  
 

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