The other day, my sister-in-law texted me and asked me if I could show her how to use Pinterest.  I know when I first was invited, it was rather overwhelming.  So, I thought I would do a quick tutorial on the basics of Pinterest–a Pinterest Primer, if you will.  So, let’s get to it!

I am using my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 for these screen shots, but it is virtually the same on a computer, and slightly different on a smart phone.

How to Use Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the more recent social media platforms.  It is like having several virtual bulletin boards that you can “pin” ideas that you come across on the Internet or that you take pictures of in your everyday life.  You can follow other people– either all the boards they have or just specific boards that interest you.  Other Pinners can do the same with your boards.  Pinterest is not like Facebook in its interactions– you don’t have to comment or like or even acknowledge the person.  You can just re-pin the pin and go on with your business.  Super cool right?  So, let’s get started on how to use Pinterest!

When you first visit Pinterest, you will see a sign up and log in screen similar to the above screen shot.  Click sign up and either fill in your details or click the button to Connect with Facebook.

At the top of the screen, you have three options – a magnify glass, the word Pinterest, and the icon or picture for your profile.  Clicking the picture will take you to your boards and pins and other information about your followers and who you are following.  Clicking Pinterest will take you to the home screen that will show all the pins of the individuals’ boards you are following.  Clicking the magnify glass will show the screen below.  From this screen, you can choose a category to browse or type in a search keyword in the box.  This a good way to find boards and pinners to follow.  Type in something you are interested in– it will pull up related pinners, boards, and pins.  From there, you can pin the pins, follow the pinners or follow their specific boards.

As a Pinner on Pinterest, you can create one or more boards to pin your pins to.  These can be named anything you choose– anything that will help you identify what is being pinned on that particular board.  As you can see below, I have boards for Halloween, Christmas, as well as others not pictured like Scrapbooking, Cardmaking, Recipes, and Jewelry Making.  Your boards can also be public, meaning anyone can see them, or private, meaning only you can see them.  As you can see, I have several public boards, and then a private board entitled Fair 2014 where I am pinning ideas for next year’s Fair cards and scrapbook layouts.  You can have 3 secret boards and 350 boards.  (Of course, that would be crazy trying to find anything!  LOL).

To create a public board or secret board, click the appropriate board type box.  A small Create New Board window will pop up where you can type in your board name.  Tip:  If you are going to pin recipes, I suggest you create a board for each type of recipe, such as desserts, meats, breads– similar to what you would have dividers for in a recipe box.  This will simplify your search when you are trying to find that chocolate chip cookie recipe you KNOW you posted two months ago.

Once you type in your board name, click Create.  Your board will show up on your profile.

So, you have this awesome board but no pins.  There are several ways to pin.  You can install the Pinterest bookmarklet on your web browser.  This will allow you to pin almost anything you come across online by just clicking the bookmarklet.  You can download it here.  Another way you can pin is by using social media share buttons on your favorite articles or blogs.  Just click the one for Pinterest and fill in the information and click Pin.  Probably the way you will do most of your pinning is through re-pins.  You can discover pins through your home screen that shows pins from all the individuals you are following or through a search or browse using the category screen.

When you see a Pin you would like to re-pin.  Click the picture.  A bigger picture will appear with some information – who originally pinned the picture, where they pinned it, a comment section and where the pin is linked to.  You can click Edit to add a description – it will override the original description.  For example, you could click edit and type “This would be perfect for the Super Bowl.”  You can also choose to send this to someone outside of Pinterest via email or text or Facebook.  You also have the option to save the picture to your computer or device.  To re-pin the pin to one of your boards, click the PinIt button.

When you click the PinIt button, you have the option of choosing which board you would like to have the pin posted to.  For this one, I would choose my recipe board.  Click the board and a small notice will appear in a few seconds saying “re-pinned.”

To access your Pins, click the picture icon.  You will be taken to your board listing.  From this page, you can click one of your boards and see all the pins in that particular board.  You can also click Pins and see every pin you have pinned in the order they were pinned.  Oh, and make sure you click the About tab and fill out your information– this makes it easier for others to follow your boards!

So, there you have it!  A Pinterest Primer on How to Use Pinterest.  Make sure you follow me on Pinterest and I will return the favor!  Let me know if you have any questions and/or comments!

Disclosure:  I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Mom Voices Program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions about the device.  For more information, please visit  http://ad-for-verizon.com/,

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Julia is the divorced mom of twins, a blogger, a sometimes crafter, crazy snailmailer, and a corporate bean counter. In her "spare" time, she scrapbooks, travels, makes cards, blogs, designs jewelry, searches for missing cleats and pom poms, enjoys good dark chocolate, and sneaks naps.