Why Pinterest is the Perfect Online Portfolio

Pinterest is the Internet’s latest darling social network. And if you’re a college student looking to build an online presence, you need be on Pinterest.

It’s difficult to avoid stories about Pinterest: how much traffic the site drives, how much time people spend on the site, how an overwhelming majority of Pinterest users are women. Some publications have written about how you can use Pinterest to get a job; most recently the buzz has been about the questionable use of a company called Skimlinks to generate revenue from affiliate partners.

But how can Pinterest be most effective for college students?

Because so many people are spending so much time on the site, using it to showcase your work is a great way to build an online presence. Plus, you can do it quickly, and it doesn’t require too much upkeep.

To get an idea of the size of Pinterest compared to other social networks, check out this infographic from mediabistro.com and alltwitter.com: (Users Spend More Time on Pinterest than Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ Combined)

Social Network Usage (Source: statista.com)

Learn how to use Pinterest as a personal portfolio, and you’ll get your work in front of a whole new audience, and drive more traffic to your personal website.

Pinterest for visual artists, designers and engineers: When you first take a look at Pinterest, it’s obvious how effective the site can be for displaying visual art. Pinterest’s clean layout, easy navigation, and clear organization provides the perfect online portfolio for a visual artist’s work. Designers and engineers can also take advantage of Pinterest’s interface: post images of your work, design in both print and digital, and you’ll get much more exposure.

Pinterest for writers: Writers, too, can take advantage of the social network. Hosting your work on an external site, then posting an image related to your work on a Pinterest board is a fantastic way to drive traffic to your site. Post your work to a blog, publication or personal site, then link it to an image on Pinterest. Watch as the traffic increases to your writing.

Pinterest for Musicians and Film Makers: Similarly, musicians and film makers can post images related to their work on Pinterest that links to another personal site where their music or movies are hosted. Pinterest drives a very large amount of traffic; your work is more discoverable on Pinterest, and the social network helps get people to your personal site and listening to your music and watching your movies.

Find more great charts like this one on Statista.com!