17 things science writers can pin to Pinterest(that are notpillows or dresses)

Denise Graveline - @dontgetcaught

For Science Writers in New York and the

American Society of Journalists & Authors, March 2013

Relax. I won’t make a decorator out of you. That would take work.

You can find these slides at http://bit.ly/SWINYpin and all examples in the slides link to the relevant Pinterest pages.

Why bother with Pinterest? Third-largest social network: 15% of users overall

Right behind Twitter Fastest-growing social network. Ever. Valued at $2.5 billion Makes it easy to find things on the web Can have business presence or individual presence

Why bother with Pinterest? Every pin links to a website—so it’s a great traffic driver Can link items for sale Consumers shop more and spend more on Pinterest

You can use it without using it Even before I began using it, Pinterest was #2 driver of traffic

to my blogs Using it enhanced those numbers, but… …so does making it easy for your followers to share items

from your website or blog Pin It buttons Adding images When they use Pinterest bookmarklet

But you’ll do more and better with it if you actually post on the site

I wish more journalists & publishers were using it to… Storyboard sources & data

alongside finished stories Share more topics than

travel, fashion & décor Share their own behind-the-

scenes photos

Profile journalists and highlight their expertise

Widen their audiences Easily boost traffic Share more quotes from

stories Create their own “brand” so

others can spread it around

For most users, it’s addictive

…including people who like science More than 200 boards with “closet geek” in title More than 300 devoted to microbiology More than 1,000 about physics Nearly 1,000 about chemistry

Like most social networks, your audience is there before you are, and your job is to find them and let them find you

Geeky Pinterest users are sharing… Journal articles & covers Science experiments Vintage & new science

magazine covers Science photography Ebooks and books Videos Research institutions Quotes from scientists

Field work photos & videos Science demos Charts and graphs Infographics Data visualizations Slide presentations Explainers Famous scientists

This is what a scientist looks like

Scientists in the lab & field

Allie Wilkinson’s Pinterest: Freelance journalist, multimedia pro

Share science coverageNPR’s boards on Pinterest include one devoted to its science and health news coverage. However, many major news outlets skip sharing science topics in favor of fashion, travel and décor.

Build audience and collect images for projectsScience writer Jennifer Freeman’s Climate Health Pinterest boards collect images for the Climate Health Image Project, which helps people visualize the global health impacts of climate change.

Collect your talks and interviewsScience writer Carl Zimmer’s board on his talks shares video and audio of his lectures and articles in which he’s interviewed, taking advantage of Pinterest compatibility with SlideShare and video. He also shares his latest articles and books on Pinterest.

Drive traffic to your blogs and promote apps and resources

National Wildlife Federation social media manager Danielle Brigida uses NWF’s Pinterest boards to link back to blog posts, share NWF apps and encourage photo-sharing of wildlife and backyard activities

Pull and share quotes

The Wall Street Journal’s robust Pinterest presence includes a board of compelling quotes from its stories, capitalizing on the popularity of sharing graphic quotes on the site. There’s no reason a journalist can’t share her picks of the best quotes from any article, too.

Share archival material

The American Museum of Natural History’s boards include one on The Hayden Letters, from a 1950 promotion in which the public was encouraged to write letters about taking the first space trip—and where they wanted to go.

Find work

This UK pharma recruiter has an entire board to recruit a science writer, with posts on the location, offices, job description and more. You also could start your own Pinterest portfolio, with links to your published articles, your CV, photos of your projects and more.

Answer visitor/reader questions

The Arizona Science Center board “Never Stop Wondering” features questions conveyed in easy-to-read graphics and answers on video from scientists at the center. The board drives traffic to a website of the same name.

Announce research news

IBM Research shares research innovations. On this cognitive computing board, it shares a photomicrograph of the new IBM Holey Optochip, and a description of the novel approach used to create it. The pin links back to a related Flickr page.

Share resources with readers

The AAAS magazine Science Books & Films shares issues of the magazine, along with science podcasts, library resources and more.

Promote your book

Ebook publisher Boikeno shares ideas for books available in electronic formats. Pinterest users love sharing book covers, and give them plenty of likes and comments.

Divulgescience historywith humor

General Electric borrows the Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme to draw users in to its links with inventor Thomas Edison. The pins link back to a history page about Edison on the GE website.

Draw in visitors to see field work in action

South Carolina’s Archaeological Research Collective includes a board of urban excavations and sites that you can visit in the state.

Encourage fandomOne of NPR’s popular and widely-shared boards includes NPR Valentines, including this one journalists might appreciate.This makes it easy for Pinterest users to share your brand, have fun and see you as approachable.

Free report with more examples for blogs and websites

Go to http://bit.ly/SWINY and sign up for the SWINY/ASJA mailing list option to get

my free report on how to use

Pinterest to promote

your blog (works for websites, too)

Denise Gravelineinfo@dontgetcaught.biz

I’m on Pinterest at pinterest.com/dgraveline and I blog on social media and communications strategies at dontgetcaught.biz. I help organizations and companies with social media strategies, media relations strategies and speaker and media training. Check out my board of great ways to use Pinterest.