I’ve been a long time user of Pinterest (almost since it’s inception) and absolutely love it. I first started out using it for my personal hobbies and recently started a board for articles I write along with other technology related pins. Now, I realize not everyone has embraced Pinterest like I have. You might use Pinterest, but not know how to engage others in your Pinterest activities with a community board. Today we are going to explore my top picks for Pinterest Tools that will help you to use this platform for more than just browsing pins.
1. WooBox
Woobox is one of those really cool tools that does it all. The main feature of Woobox is to show your Pinterest boards and pins as a tab on your Facebook page. Creating Facebook Tabs is easy but this tool makes it one-click-easy to draw your Facebook fans over to your Pinterest page. Just click on the “Install Pinterest” tab in Woobox and allow the app access to your Facebook account.
Next, you will associate your account by entering your Pinterest Username. The Page Mode can be set to display “All Pinboards” or “Pins From A Selected Pin Board”. In the “FanGate” section, you can enable one of the features to require visitor’s to Like your page before they can view your Pinterest tab.
Once it’s set up, you’ll see it displayed as any other tab under your cover photo with the Pinterest logo.
To see the viewers perspective, click on the tab to open your boards. The first view will show all of your boards just like they are displayed in your Pinterest account. Each of those boards can be clicked and viewed independently so the boards and individual pins can be repined.
You can further analyze your Pinterest interactions by click on the “Stats” button.
It will display the current tally of Views, Visits and Likes. Once your app has been active to collect information, you can choose to Export The Stats From The Last 90 Days as a spreadsheet.
2. Pinzy
Pinzy isn’t a marketing tool but it can help you see what the competition is posting. It’s a handy Chrome extension that allows you to view the thumbnail images on Pinterest in full size just by hovering over them! No need to click through just to see the enlarged photo.
To use it, just hover over any pin and you’ll see the image enlarged. I love this tool because I don’t have to click through to see if it’s something of interest. I don’t use Chrome often so hopefully Pinterest will roll this feature out as part of their website soon!
Update: Pinzy is no longer available in the Chrome store.
3. PinAlerts
PinAlerts is a great tool if you use Pinterest for business. Within seconds of setting up your account, you’ll receive an email of the pins that were added from your site that day and be notified when anyone pins something from your website thereafter. Register and verify your email then enter the domain you want to receive alerts from. Select the interval you want to receive alerts and press “Create A PinAlert”.
You can add multiple domains to receive alerts on and manage all of them from within that dashboard. Use the alerts to thank the people who are repining your content and ask them to follow your other boards.
4. PinPuff
PinPuff calculates your “Pinfluence” measuring your popularity on Pinterest and the value of your pins. Simply register by entering your email address and Pinterest username and PinPuff does the rest! This could be very useful if you’re using an eCommerce site or planning to do some advertising as the first section gives you the “Pin Worth” and the “Cost Per Click” your content would generate.
The next few sections show the scores for your “Reach”, “Activity”, and “Virality Scores” along with some encouragement or suggestions to improve the scores.
A summary of all your board stats can be found at the bottom and your total Pinfluence Score along with your top boards in the right sidebar.
There are so many neat tools being developed everyday as Pinterest gains momentum and catches on around the world. Try these tools out and let us know what you think. We’d also love to know what tools you use and love! Leave a comment!
Jessica is a Support Technician for Cytanium Hosting who loves to teach people how to use modern technology to be more productive and organized. Simple tips, tricks and tools can make anyone computer savvy! You can follow her on Twitter @learningrl or visit her blog at www.learningrl.net.
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