This week, I've seen a crazy amount of articles and blog posts talking about Pinterest. So, why not add one more. I joined Pinterest a few weeks back, as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. According to some, it is the 'holy grail' of the internet, and apparently this website is what the internet was made for.

I guess for those of you who haven't heard about it, or are still trying to figure out what it is (which I am too, to a certain extent), you could describe it as a "visual pinboard of dreams". It's a place where you can gather all the things that you love and show them off to the world, by sharing your pinboard with others. It is also a place where you can dip into other people's dreams and inspirations; you see something you like, you pin it. Someone likes what you have Pin-ed and Repins it, and so on.

Having been around for a few years, Pinterest has only in the last few months started to gain traction, and people are starting to pay more attention. Having taken a while to surface, Pinterest is slowly but quickly becoming mainstream and I fear we only have a short window before we see it hi-jacked by brands, and the monetisation opportunities become all too apparent.

However, brands taking advantage of this "next big thing", is no bad thing. It is a site that should definitely not be overlooked by marketers as there is huge potential here. Not for direct customer engagement as this is not a platform where you want to invade someone's social space, but more of a situation where you provide the content and wait for the magic to happen.

A brand can showcase its products and allow its audience to take them far and wide. Tailoring is key here, as the content shared needs to be carefully selected to attract the attention of a brands desired audience. Brands can offer 'sneak peaks' of new product launches, then sit back and watch people share and spread the content.

Pinterest is a platform that complements the likes of Facebook and Twitter, as these platforms can be used as a pathway to draw people in to your "pinboard of dreams".  As it becomes more and more familiar to brands and consumers, the viral nature of Pins/Likes/Repins will prove to be wildly successful and, when absorbed into a company's existing social engagement strategy, we will see its content spread to a much wider audience.

The buzz around Pinterest is increasing at a rapid rate and as more and more brands and consumers flock to check out this new and exciting platform, the flow of content will continue to grow and create a visual explosion of what the world thinks is, well, cool.

Jen