Pinterest is great for vacation planning

Are you a Pinterest addict?  You can admit it if you are.  You know you are if you go onto Pinterest and eight hours later, you’re still glued in front of your computer pinning your heart out.  You haven’t showered, fed the kids, or eaten all day.  So stand up and admit what you already know in your heart: You’re addicted to Pinterest.

pint-pic-2.0In case you haven’t visited Pinterest, it’s one of the most popular social media sites out there today.  The easiest way to understand it is to think of a bulletin board and every time you see something you like in a magazine or newspaper, you can pin it onto your bulletin board to review it later.  Pinterest is a social media site that is a virtual bulletin board where you can pin anything you see online onto your board for your review later as well as for others to like and re-pin.

What kind of things can you pin?  Maybe you’re planning a cruise vacation and are trying to decide which ports of call would be best for you.  You can create individual boards for each port and then in the search box at the top, enter in the port’s name and start browsing.  No need to start researching from scratch as I can guarantee others ahead of you have already pinned what you’re just about to pin. You can also pin cruise lines, cabins, onboard activities, drinks, food, excursions, and so much more.  If you can think of it, you can pin it and then explore it later.   Maybe you’re planning a road trip across the United States.  Pick the states you’re going to explore and make a board for each of them and then add areas you want to explore later.

You’ll find popular pins, pins that others have repeatedly pinned, and if you’re in a rush, these are the ones to choose.  All of the major cruise lines, hotels, etc. have boards and an abundance of pins to review.  But I do tend to stay away from commercial sites run by companies that are trying to sell something to me and stick with content and photo rich sites that are reputable and informative.

How many pins should I have in each board?  Since you can spend far too much time on Pinterest, come up with a max number of pins and stick with it.  For example, let’s say you’re looking at ports of call.  Pick 10 and move on.  Otherwise you won’t be able to do anything else and you’ll be pinning but not actually viewing your pins.

PinterestI’ve pinned my pins, made my boards – now what? After you’ve made your boards and pinned your pins, start clicking, exploring, and deciding. If you’re trying to decide, for example, between a Caribbean itinerary and Mediterranean itinerary, make boards for each and then go in and explore each of the pins to see which ones really stick out to you.  If you feel that you’re connecting with something specific, then that’s the one you might want to consider choosing.  If you come across a dead link or pin, one that leads nowhere, delete it.  If you really enjoyed someone’s pin because it was helpful, “like” it and leave a comment for the pinner.