The Art of Pinterest

Hey Edsters!

When I accepted my internship, I had no idea what I was in for. SEO (or search engine optimization) was a foreign concept and I had no background in CMS (content management systems) at all. Even my understanding of Photoshop would be considered intermediate at best. I was super nervous to take on all of the tasks my editors would throw at me, hoping I wouldn’t get anything that was too above my head. 

Three weeks later, I’m still on Pinterest. 

I’ve learned how to use most of the programs at work by now, and I was officially trained in CMS. Despite all of this new knowledge, my day-to-day tasks are primarily made up of pinning pictures from the site to the Mag’s Pinterest board.

When I was first told I could be on Pinterest at work, I was stoked. Who doesn’t love looking at pretty pictures all day? I found out early that I do.

There is a fine art to pinning photographs for the Mag, or any magazine actually. Depending on the magazine and their style, the caption could range from pithy to straightforward. My editor at the Mag likes the pins to have keywords mingled throughout the caption to bring as many people to the site as possible.

Personally, I use Pinterest for the pretty pictures. Only rarely to I actually click on the image to go to the site. At the Mag, however, it’s all about the site traffic.

I don’t feel like pinning is typical intern grunt work because all of my editors are on Pinterest too. I kind of just don’t get it. To me, Pinterest users always change the captions, and I rarely know anyone that uses Pinterest to go directly to other sites.

Although I understand the need of Pinterest and why it’s important, I think hours of my day are wasted on something the consumer will not appreciate. Edsters, have you ever been in my well-heeled shoes before? Have you ever worked on a project that seemed a bit useless? Sound off and help a fellow intern out.

Until next time,

Shelter Intern