You Have Pinterest Questions ‑ We Have Pinterest Resources

Do you have questions about Pinterest? Are you wondering about the Pinterest API? Does the thought of tracking yet another social media platform raise more questions than answers for you?

I’ve curated the best information about Pinterest that I can find, ranging from techie (API details, code, tracking, etc.) to non-techie (marketing, how-to, etc.). Please, do not use this information for evil.

Technical

Pinterest API

https://developers.pinterest.com/docs/getting-started/introduction/?

Pinterest used to have a page for developers that documented their API. Then, around the middle of February, that page disappeared and now returns a 404 error. According to this thread on StackOverflow, they “pushed the docs live in an attempt to get feedback but we had to shut it down since we saw activity.” Apparently, their explosive growth caused them to pull back their documentation, possibly to avoid the same problems faced by Twitter in the early days, with the notorious fail whale. Fortunately, you can still access the API documentation at the above link. The endpoint is still active, as long as you are making public calls that don’t require authentication.

Pinterest API Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/pinterestapi

Started by this guy (the same person who we can thank for the above-cached API documentation), the Pinterest API Facebook Group is a good place to get the latest updates on the API (what’s currently working, what’s not, rumors about an upcoming official API launch date, etc.). You can also ask questions and talk to other developers who are actively involved in creating apps (for web and phone) using the API.

Be prepared to wade through a lot of junk, as people new to the group seem intent on asking the same question over and over, without taking so much as 5 seconds to look at the previous posts and answers.

Tracking Pinterest with Event Tracking

The article above (shameless self-promotion) shows you how to use event tracking in Google Analytics to track Pinterest button usage on your site.

Pinterest Analytics Tools

PinReach – This is like Klout for Pinterest. It offers Pinterest influence scores (I’m a 24.0652, btw) and analytics. The scores are based on a combination of Pinterest-related social activities, like pins, repins, likes, etc. The 2 things I love about this tool – it’s free (at the time of writing) and the UI is intuitive and attractive.

Pinerly – This Pinterest analytics dashboard is currently in beta, and you need to add your email address to the waiting list to get access (taking a page out of Pinterest’s playbook). It will show you clickthroughs, likes, and re-pins for campaigns created through the service.

Pinpuff – Similar to PinReach, this tool calculates your influence (of course, they call it Pinfluence) on Pinterest, but it also allows you to sign up for perks.

How To

How to Use Pinterest – A Tutorial – In less than 4 minutes, this video walks you through all the basics, from explaining what Pinterest is to pinning and re-pinning content.

How to Pin Images from your iPhone – With much of the traffic on Pinterest coming from the mobile app, pinning your own original content or content you find on a website should be easier. It’s not. Lucky for us, this article shows you how.

How to Track Your Website’s Content on Pinterest – This Mashable article from Ann Smarty gives simple instructions for finding out what content on your site is being pinned. For example, you can start by going to http://pinterest.com/source/YouWebsite.com/ . After that, Ann shows you how to create an RSS feed to make tracking much easier.

Marketing

Everything You Need to Know About Pinterest – If you only have time to read one thing (after reading this article, of course) it should be this. This article from Greg Boser, veteran internet marketer and president of BlueGlass Interactive, gives a 360-degree view of Pinterest from multiple perspectives. It explains what Pinterest is and why people are obsessed, how it works, and closes with three benefits and five tips for brands on Pinterest.

[Edit: I updated the link above to go to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine copy of the article, since the article and site it was previously on are no longer available.]

26 Tips for Using Pinterest for Business – Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of tips in this Social Media Examiner article. Bookmark this article and make it a point to conquer 10 tips a week. You’ll be rocking Pinterest in less than a month!

Pinterest for B2B – This article from HubSpot explains in great detail how you can create a Pinterest strategy for those of you in the B2B world.

Pinterest Data Analysis: An Inside Look – This report from analytics software provider RJMetrics looks at Pinterest user retention and engagement, sites being linked to from pins, number of re-pins vs. pins and more. Use this report to understand the habits of Pinterest users and the trends of what’s being pinned.

6 Ways Brands Can Rock Pinterest – Brian Honnigan (former employee — but still always a part of the team in our hearts) gives six simple tips that any brand can use today to take advantage of the fastest growing social network since Twitter. I especially like tip #5 – add calls to action in your YouTube videos.

4 Easy Ways to Track Traffic from Pinterest – another shameless plug, this article lays out four things you can use right now in Google Analytics to track the impact of Pinterest on traffic to your site.

Your Turn

Did I miss any must-read resources or cutting edge Pinterest tools? Let me know in the comments!