You’ve no doubt heard of Pinterest by now, the fastest-growing social media network ever, and the third most-visited social media site on today’s market. It is tempting, as a business, to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon, and indeed, many businesses should do just this; the gorgeous interface, visual explosiveness, and content-hungry community behind Pinterest make the site a veritable powerhouse for generating traffic to your website. A variety of businesses have watched their traffic leap significantly after creating a well-curated Pinterest page. However, contrary to popular believe, Pinterest is not for every business , and joining Pinterest without a focus on your intended results will direct valuable time and resources away from other initiatives. Before you join Pinterest, ask yourself the following questions. Do I have a visual brand? The businesses that benefit from Pinterest the most are the ones that sell visually appealing products. Clothing and shoe sites, for example, are perfect for Pinterest. Travel sites, food and wine sites, home decorating sites, and craft sites also fare extremely well. If you sell a visually compelling product or service, people will want to share it, and you should leverage Pinterest. Does my brand have a distinct personality? There’s one way to make use of Pinterest even if you don’t sell a product: by using the platform to show off your brand’s personality. Maybe you’re a local business and you want to create a board that displays your local pride, a technology-related service that wants to create a board to show off your tech-savvy, or a nonprofit that wants to build connections by pinning about other nonprofits and community initiatives. For inspiration, take a look at Mashable’s Pinterest page, which has a massive following despite the fact that Mashable isn’t a very visual brand. How do they do it? By creating boards full of interesting content that coalesces with their brand’s overall personality. They generate traffic back to their own website by posting pictures from their blog with a link back to the story. Which leads us to the next point: Do I keep a blog and/or use other social media platforms? Like everything else in your business, Pinterest should be considered with regards to a Return on Investment. Follow your gut and decide whether your business has the time or staff capacity to maintain and regularly update a Pinterest account. Pinterest is most effective when it is integrated into other social media platforms. For example, every time you write a blog post, add a related image and post the link on Pinterest. Set up your social media platforms so that Twitter and Facebook can automatically post the news each time you pin something. Always think about maximizing your time while amplifying your voice as much as possible. And finally: Do I have the time to update a Pinterest account regularly? Like everything else in your business, Pinterest should be considered with regards to a Return on Investment. Follow your gut and decide whether your business has the time or staff capacity to maintain and regularly update a Pinterest account; keep in mind that the most successful accounts post multiple pins and a day spend a good deal of time socializing with the rest of the Pinterest community. The businesses that leverage Pinterest well seem to genuinely enjoy using the site. Speak to one of Clarity’s social media experts if you have questions about leveraging Pinterest or any other social media platform. Find out more about Clarity VenturesSee our Enterprise Web portfolio