Is Pinterest Profitable for Your Business?

Pinterest is the hottest topic in social media trends today, with businesses and bloggers alike trying to understand how it fits into their marketing strategy. At least in terms of bloggers jumping in to classify what it is and what this means. So, today I clicked over and signed up for a Pinterest account. Just to be clear, what I write is based on Atilus’ desire to focus on web trends and topics – like Pinterest – that will help your business grow through a strong digital marketing strategy.

Right now, we’re on the fence with Pinterest because of the hot water they’re in, and the risks that you could face.

Copyright Infringement can Happen to ANYONE!

According to a recent report from CBS News, Pinterest has tightened up its terms of service to address the copyright infringement incubator that its service fosters – something businesses should consider as part of their broader social media marketing strategy. Take a look at what prescient writer Erik Sherman wrote:

To that end, Pinterest has more recently geared up to monetize traffic, as TechCrunch’s Colleen Taylor reports. Unfortunately, given that consumers are putting masses of copyrighted photos onto their boards, that becomes a problem. After all, Pinterest doesn’t want to take the legal heat for making coin on the backs of someone else’s intellectual property, so it’s always made users responsible for posting only that which they had a right to use. But an update of its terms of service late on Friday made that abundantly clear.

If you are a business owner considering jumping into the Pinterest trend, be careful about copyright infringement when using the site for your business.

One of Our Favorites Breaks it Down

To add a layer to this discussion, I’d encourage you to visit Seth Godin’s post about fair use laws in the United States before using Pinterest as part of your online review strategy or reputation management approach. Our advice when it comes to posting something on Pinterest that you are unsure of: DON’T. Don’t risk your business becoming a target of corporate lawyers just to jump on the social media trend that it has sparked, especially if you are not fully prepared to manage how content is sourced and shared.

Especially before your business takes the risk of the leap.

If you’re unsure how to approach platforms like Pinterest while protecting your business and maximizing results, take a closer look at how a structured digital marketing strategy can help you move forward with clarity.