Content strategy for Pinterest

As Pinterest has gotten more media attention over the past several months, I’ve been getting more followers there. (You can follow me at www.pinterest.com/hilarymarsh.)

Here’s a handful of do’s and don’ts about using Pinterest effectively and joining the community.

DO decide who you are on Pinterest. Are you getting married, promoting your real estate business, collecting cool things for yourself? That can certainly evolve, but it’s a good idea to start somewhere.
DO start your Pinterest experience by pinning some things — pictures from newsletters, blogs, websites, or your computer…infographics, photos, recipe images, aspirations, etc. I’ve found the “Pin it” browser plugin to be really helpful.
DO explore who’s on Pinterest and see what they do and how they use it.
DON’T follow people before you have some boards set up. I follow people because I like their taste and feel that I can relate to what they put up. If you haven’t put anything up, I don’t know whether to follow you or not.
DO add your own comments to things you repin. Your voice is a great asset to you on Pinterest!
DO comment on what others pin — also a great way to lead other curious folks to your page. (Another reason to have boards set up and populated — to inspire people who visit your page to follow you!)

Do you have any others?

(Note: Since I originally published this post, I found several other good posts about Pinterest content strategy:

http://contentstrategyunleashed.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/pinterest-content-strategy-secrets/

http://seoandy.com/brand/marketing-using-pinterest/

http://pamelavaughter.com/2011/12/06/pinterestandbusiness/)