Pinterest

First things first: I absolutely freaking love Pinterest. I can easily spend minutes, hours, days, and nights on Pinterest, without ever getting bored. It basically covers everything I love, from cats to history, and I often find myself switching from theme to theme very quickly.
Who exactly do I follow? There really is not rhyme or reason. Most of the time, I'll "tap my app", and just see where the Pinterest faeries take me.
I did a quick search on nonprofits who use Pinterest effectively, and I really liked the angle taken by the American Red Cross. Their board consists entirely of historical photos that document the work they have done. It is simple, yet impactful. Most of the photos are in black and white, and show The Red Cross in action throughout the years. Being a history nerd, this was a great board for me to stumble upon.

Intro Post

Looking back through the posts to ensure that I have completed all components of this course, it looks like my introduction post never got published!
Thankfully, I have it saved, so here it is (better late than never!):

After graduating from the University of Calgary a few years ago with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, I took off on a trip around the world for a couple years and then returned back to Alberta, with a move to Edmonton. I'm currently working as the Marketing & Communications Coordinator for the Education Abroad program within the University of Alberta's International department. As the sole individual responsible for this portfolio, I certainly have a lot on my plate! With the help of a student assistant, I manage all of our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest); create and manage content for our website, a weekly e-newsletter, direct email campaigns, information sessions and coordinate all of our major events.

In addition to pursuing the Social Media Citation through University of Alberta Extension, I am also currently enrolled in a post-graduate diploma program in Public Relations at the University of Victoria.

I look forward to learning more about the world of Social Media through this course and how to effectively use the various platforms to communicate in my current role and wherever my career takes me.

Is Pinterest for me?

I've never been a Pinterest user because I'm a bit of an anti-consumer. My only glimpses of the site have been through my friends, who collect and share pins that translate to particularly delicious Thanksgiving dishes or unique wedding reception centrepieces.

Pinterest seems to me to be one of the more passive social networks, with fewer opportunities to really discuss one's pins—and thus one's interests—with followers. You simply upload something of interest with a comment and then it's left alone to be watched, perhaps commented on. Not my kind of network, and not one I would have thought would be worthwhile for a non-profit organization.

But the Edmonton Public Library, purveyors of all things exciting and creative in Edmonton, have a Pinterest worth looking at. Their 18 boards are all thematically linked to libraries, while branching off to explore the various components that prove that libraries are more than just a collection of dusty books. They reflect on their history using images and anecdotes, promote the local art they have on hand, help you decide what to read next, and leave a place for staff to offer their favourites.

For an organization as diverse as EPL, Pinterest seems like the perfect visual outlet for all it's endeavours. But for somebody who prefers the written word, I would be hard pressed to find a place for it in my busy social media arsenal.

A screencap of EPL's Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/EPLdotCA/.

ABOUT PINTEREST

Pinterest is not in the Top 3 of social networks most commonly used but is having booming lately. For certain types of businesses where the visual is very important, this medium is ideal and striking enough to capture the attention of the audience.

I use Pinterest for my personal life, so the kind of users that I follow is about Hair & Beauty, to get very good makeup tips, hairstyles, etc. I also like to follow users about Home Decor as Ikea.

About nonprofits organizations, I think Pinterest is a good opportunity to share the mission of their programs, and in this way to capture the attention to find other donors, fundraising opportunities or connect with the audience that can be sensitive to the cause.

One example of good use in Pinterest that I like is Operation Smile, whom are dedicated to provide free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate other facial deformities for children around the globe. They share images of the surgery results, fundraising events and others. However, one special board that catches my attention is that dedicated to celebrities who support the organization through donations, attending events and volunteering. I think is a good way to generate viral content and get a wide reach of the messages, because they are famous people whom for sure have a lot of followers.

Because a picture is worth a thousand words...

Image from Operation Smile - Pinterest

My Take Away from #ESMC Class with Jessica

First Day #ESMC

After #ESMC

In my Effective Social Media class I learned it is not enough to just be online you must make an effort to be actively engaged with people on an authentic level. Social media success means making connections and effectively using the technology to reach the people you want to connect with. I loved every part of the class especially the in-class time we all spent together, it was great meeting people after interacting with them first online. Jessica’s class kept me engaged from beginning to end; I loved learning how to blog which was previously foreign territory to me. A few of the valuable lessons I took away is that it's important to update your profiles on social media platforms regularly, make sure you are using all your platforms and making different content on each one. 

Pinterest Assigment by Sandra Cuadra

In my opinion, Pinterest is a visual social tool where you can have a visual look at the things you are interested in, is like an images bank of your favorite information where you can easily create collections and organize your pins. For me Pinterest is a source of inspirational ideas for my personal and professional life.   I follow different boards from cooking ideas, travel landscapes, educational sites, social causes to marketing companies, packaging and branding ideas.  

One of the NGO that have an excellent use of Pinterest is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) http://www.pinterest.com/officialpeta/.  Through their Pinterest boards they not only create social awareness, but also they create solutions and alternatives to help people support their cause.  They interconnect all their social media channels, have a good use of hashtags and post frequently.  They also interact not only with their followers but with the “outside community” audience as well and have a large list of ambassadors.  

Well done PETA!

Game changer: #ESMC

Hello all,

Unfortunately, I had to leave class early on Friday for a business trip in Calgary, so I took this selfie in the car! What I learnt from this class is that it's not enough to know about social media. I need to practice, practice, and practice. I need to be out there. I need to be social. This was a very hands-on interactive online class for me. Thank you all for letting me learn from you!