Pinterest - be warned, it's addictive! You might venture over there to enter competitions but before long you'll be creating boards of comedy vegetables, favourite wallpaper and amazing tattoos! Pinterest is a collection of virtual pinboards, you can create your own and browse other people's. Their mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting" - it's one of the fastest growing social media websites, and its popularity means that brands are starting to run lots of Pinterest promotions. The good news is that because it's all about photographs or videos, these comps are usually fun and creative! You can find me on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/dicoke - there's not much on my boards yet but that's because I'm afraid of getting too addicted to it! I do add all the Pinterest comps I find to a Competitions board though.
To sign up to Pinterest, first you need to 'Request an Invite' at www.pinterest.com - you will receive an email with details of how to sign up (check in your junk folder for this!) - you'll need to choose a username and you can upload a profile photo and short biography.
Here's a quick guide to Pinterest - you can find out lots more on their neatly organised 'Help' pages!
'Pins' are images (or videos) which you can add from other sites or upload from your computer - clicking on a pin takes you to the original website. To add an image, choose 'Add' from the top right of your Pinterest page, then paste in the URL of the website your image is on. An easier option is to download a 'Pin It' button for your browser toolbar here which will make it easy for you to add images to your boards. When you're on a website and click the 'Pin It' button a window will pop up and you can click through all the images on that site - just click the one you want to pin. You can add text, links and hashtags to an image, as well as 'mentioning' fellow Pinterest users. When you Pin from a website, a link to that site will appear with that pinned image - be warned, some websites don't allow you to 'Pin' images from there!
'Boards' are a group of pins, usually with the same theme - for example, they could be recipes, hairstyles, typography - or competitions of course! To create a board, choose 'Add' from the top right of your page and 'Create a Board'. Here's my board of my favourite competition entries:
You can 'Follow' on Pinterest as you would on Twitter. Click 'Follow All' to follow a user, or choose a specific board and click 'Follow' to only follow that board. Pins from the boards you follow will appear on your homepage.
'Repins' are where you spot an image you like whilst browsing Pinterest, and you can choose to Repin from that board onto one of your own boards. The Pin will retain the link to the original website - you can edit the accompanying text if you like.
'Likes' are similar to Facebook Likes - some promoters (unfortunately!) use them as a voting tool in their competitions. Your Liked images won't appear on your boards but in your profile's 'Likes' section.
As on Facebook, you can 'Comment' on images.
'Mentions' are similar to Twitter mentions or Facebook tags, and can be used in an image caption or a comment. If you're Following a user, type @ and then their username - they will receive an email notification that they have been mentioned.
As with Twitter and Facebook, you can have Notifications emailed to you. Go to the Settings page (from the drop down menu top right of your home page) and you can choose which notifications you receive, and whether you receive individual emails or a daily round up.
Types of Pinterest competition
There are a few different styles of comps on Pinterest, although no doubt promoters will come up with more creative ways of doing it as more people get on board! As with Facebook creative/effort competitions, winners may be judged, chosen at random or by the number of Likes/Repins. For some comps you don't even need to be signed up to Pinterest, as the promoter might ask you to email or Tweet a photo which they will then add to their own board.
Contribute to a promoter's board
When you Follow a Board, the promoter adds you as a contributor. You can then upload a Pin as an entry to a competition. See the Amnesia and Confused.com links below for examples.
Create your own board
Promoters ask you to create a board with a certain theme - usually asking you to pin a minimum amount of items from their own Boards or website. Entries can be tracked by the Board Name, or a competition hashtag (eg. #ACHICAMustHaves) used in its description. Promoters may ask you to leave a link to your board as a comment on their competition post, or email through a link!
Twitter-style 'Follow and Repin' Comps
Similar to the RT and Follow comps that are so dull yet so popular on Twitter, on Pinterest a promoter may simply require you to Follow a particular Board (or all their boards) and then Repin a specific competition image, or your choice of prize image. Winners are chosen at random. As with Twitter, if you spot a Repinned competition photo on your comping friend's board, make sure you Repin from the ORIGINAL board (look for 'Repinned from....' above the pin, then click the link) - if you repin a comper's entry that won't count!
Voting Competitions
Yes, they exist on Pinterest too, unfortunately! With these popularity comps, the winner is the person who creates the board or pins the image that gets the most Repins or Likes. Before long the Facebook and Twitter cheats will be setting up multiple accounts just to 'Like' and 'Repin' their own entries I'm sure.
Where do I find Pinterest competition details and Terms and Conditions?
This is one of the main problems with Pinterest, as the competition details are usually posted as an image and then easily lost amongst the entries on the promoter's board. It's possible to select one of your pins as your board 'cover', and some promoters remember to do this so it's obvious on their profile page! Some promoters link to the full terms and conditions on an external website. Check carefully as many Pinterest giveaways are actually only open to US residents. I find most Pinterest comps by doing a Twitter search on 'Pinterest win competition', or searching on Google.
How do I know if I've won a Pinterest competition?
For competitions where you need to create a moodboard, the promoter may also ask you to email them a link to your entry - in this case they will email the winner. There isn't a messaging function on Pinterest, so if you've entered a Repin competition then the promoter is likely to Follow one of your boards and leave a comment on your Repin, or they may comment with an '@ mention' of your name on the original competition pin and ask you to email them (as with a Twitter DM, they will need to Follow at least one of your boards before they can '@ mention' you). If you've been added as a contributor to a board they are likely to comment on your entry to let you know you've won.
NOTE: Since posting this, I have won two Pinterest competitions. In both cases, the promoter sent a message to me on Facebook, which arrived in my 'Other' inbox. One promoter told me that they couldn't comment on their ten winning entries because Pinterest thought they were spamming!
A few current Pinterest competitions
Confused.com are giving away ten pairs of Butterfly Flats shoes. First, follow their competition board 'Driving in Heels'. When you Follow, they will add you as a contributor, then you need to upload a photo of you in your highest heels, with the caption 'I want to win a pair of Butterfly Twists with Confused.com'. The ten most extravagant pairs will win a pair of Butterfly Twists Eve shoes. Read the Terms here and enter before 30 April 2012.
Win a voucher for Afternoon Tea at the AfternoonTea.co.uk Pinterest competition - you don't actually need to be on Pinterest to enter this one, just email a photo of you enjoying Afternoon Tea to pinterest@afternoontea.co.uk and they will add it to their board. Unfortunately the photo with the most Likes wins (they've changed the rules on this one which is quite frustrating) but every voter also gets a chance to win a voucher too. Ends 30 April 2012.
Achica want you to create a board of your Spring Home Ideas. You need to tag the board in your description with #ACHICAMustHaves and make sure you use at least five products from Achica! Read more on the Facebook page - and you can search boards with the hashtag to see what other entries are like. Sadly, the winner of the £100 voucher and Orla Kiely bag is the board with the most followers, rather than the board judged to be the best. Enter before 30 April 2012.
Conflict of Pinterest is a creative and cleverly designed (if a little confusing!) competition from First Choice. Essentially, you choose your favourite country on their infographic and then you can either Tweet your reason for choosing it, OR create a Pinterest board of images and link to it. The Twitter winner - picked at random - gets an iPhone 4S, and the Pinterest winner - judged - gets a Nikon 3100 camera. Read the Terms and Conditions here and enter before 1 May 2012.
RedBullIntern is giving away a copy of the excellent Senna on Blu-Ray. This is an easy prize draw - you need to Follow F1 Fan on Pinterest, then Repin this photo of Senna. Read the details here and enter before 4 May 2012.
Amnesia Ibiza are giving away up to fifteen prizes of 100 Euros to the best photos of the club's early days uploaded to their 'Amnesia Memories' board before 17 May 2012 (although you'll need to be following their board before 1st May to be granted access to upload). Check out all the details on their website.
Here's a quick guide to Pinterest - you can find out lots more on their neatly organised 'Help' pages!
'Pins' are images (or videos) which you can add from other sites or upload from your computer - clicking on a pin takes you to the original website. To add an image, choose 'Add' from the top right of your Pinterest page, then paste in the URL of the website your image is on. An easier option is to download a 'Pin It' button for your browser toolbar here which will make it easy for you to add images to your boards. When you're on a website and click the 'Pin It' button a window will pop up and you can click through all the images on that site - just click the one you want to pin. You can add text, links and hashtags to an image, as well as 'mentioning' fellow Pinterest users. When you Pin from a website, a link to that site will appear with that pinned image - be warned, some websites don't allow you to 'Pin' images from there!
'Boards' are a group of pins, usually with the same theme - for example, they could be recipes, hairstyles, typography - or competitions of course! To create a board, choose 'Add' from the top right of your page and 'Create a Board'. Here's my board of my favourite competition entries:
You can 'Follow' on Pinterest as you would on Twitter. Click 'Follow All' to follow a user, or choose a specific board and click 'Follow' to only follow that board. Pins from the boards you follow will appear on your homepage.
'Repins' are where you spot an image you like whilst browsing Pinterest, and you can choose to Repin from that board onto one of your own boards. The Pin will retain the link to the original website - you can edit the accompanying text if you like.
'Likes' are similar to Facebook Likes - some promoters (unfortunately!) use them as a voting tool in their competitions. Your Liked images won't appear on your boards but in your profile's 'Likes' section.
As on Facebook, you can 'Comment' on images.
'Mentions' are similar to Twitter mentions or Facebook tags, and can be used in an image caption or a comment. If you're Following a user, type @ and then their username - they will receive an email notification that they have been mentioned.
As with Twitter and Facebook, you can have Notifications emailed to you. Go to the Settings page (from the drop down menu top right of your home page) and you can choose which notifications you receive, and whether you receive individual emails or a daily round up.
Types of Pinterest competition
There are a few different styles of comps on Pinterest, although no doubt promoters will come up with more creative ways of doing it as more people get on board! As with Facebook creative/effort competitions, winners may be judged, chosen at random or by the number of Likes/Repins. For some comps you don't even need to be signed up to Pinterest, as the promoter might ask you to email or Tweet a photo which they will then add to their own board.
Contribute to a promoter's board
When you Follow a Board, the promoter adds you as a contributor. You can then upload a Pin as an entry to a competition. See the Amnesia and Confused.com links below for examples.
Create your own board
Promoters ask you to create a board with a certain theme - usually asking you to pin a minimum amount of items from their own Boards or website. Entries can be tracked by the Board Name, or a competition hashtag (eg. #ACHICAMustHaves) used in its description. Promoters may ask you to leave a link to your board as a comment on their competition post, or email through a link!
Twitter-style 'Follow and Repin' Comps
Similar to the RT and Follow comps that are so dull yet so popular on Twitter, on Pinterest a promoter may simply require you to Follow a particular Board (or all their boards) and then Repin a specific competition image, or your choice of prize image. Winners are chosen at random. As with Twitter, if you spot a Repinned competition photo on your comping friend's board, make sure you Repin from the ORIGINAL board (look for 'Repinned from....' above the pin, then click the link) - if you repin a comper's entry that won't count!
Voting Competitions
Yes, they exist on Pinterest too, unfortunately! With these popularity comps, the winner is the person who creates the board or pins the image that gets the most Repins or Likes. Before long the Facebook and Twitter cheats will be setting up multiple accounts just to 'Like' and 'Repin' their own entries I'm sure.
Where do I find Pinterest competition details and Terms and Conditions?
This is one of the main problems with Pinterest, as the competition details are usually posted as an image and then easily lost amongst the entries on the promoter's board. It's possible to select one of your pins as your board 'cover', and some promoters remember to do this so it's obvious on their profile page! Some promoters link to the full terms and conditions on an external website. Check carefully as many Pinterest giveaways are actually only open to US residents. I find most Pinterest comps by doing a Twitter search on 'Pinterest win competition', or searching on Google.
How do I know if I've won a Pinterest competition?
For competitions where you need to create a moodboard, the promoter may also ask you to email them a link to your entry - in this case they will email the winner. There isn't a messaging function on Pinterest, so if you've entered a Repin competition then the promoter is likely to Follow one of your boards and leave a comment on your Repin, or they may comment with an '@ mention' of your name on the original competition pin and ask you to email them (as with a Twitter DM, they will need to Follow at least one of your boards before they can '@ mention' you). If you've been added as a contributor to a board they are likely to comment on your entry to let you know you've won.
NOTE: Since posting this, I have won two Pinterest competitions. In both cases, the promoter sent a message to me on Facebook, which arrived in my 'Other' inbox. One promoter told me that they couldn't comment on their ten winning entries because Pinterest thought they were spamming!
A few current Pinterest competitions
Confused.com are giving away ten pairs of Butterfly Flats shoes. First, follow their competition board 'Driving in Heels'. When you Follow, they will add you as a contributor, then you need to upload a photo of you in your highest heels, with the caption 'I want to win a pair of Butterfly Twists with Confused.com'. The ten most extravagant pairs will win a pair of Butterfly Twists Eve shoes. Read the Terms here and enter before 30 April 2012.
Win a voucher for Afternoon Tea at the AfternoonTea.co.uk Pinterest competition - you don't actually need to be on Pinterest to enter this one, just email a photo of you enjoying Afternoon Tea to pinterest@afternoontea.co.uk and they will add it to their board. Unfortunately the photo with the most Likes wins (they've changed the rules on this one which is quite frustrating) but every voter also gets a chance to win a voucher too. Ends 30 April 2012.
Achica want you to create a board of your Spring Home Ideas. You need to tag the board in your description with #ACHICAMustHaves and make sure you use at least five products from Achica! Read more on the Facebook page - and you can search boards with the hashtag to see what other entries are like. Sadly, the winner of the £100 voucher and Orla Kiely bag is the board with the most followers, rather than the board judged to be the best. Enter before 30 April 2012.
Conflict of Pinterest is a creative and cleverly designed (if a little confusing!) competition from First Choice. Essentially, you choose your favourite country on their infographic and then you can either Tweet your reason for choosing it, OR create a Pinterest board of images and link to it. The Twitter winner - picked at random - gets an iPhone 4S, and the Pinterest winner - judged - gets a Nikon 3100 camera. Read the Terms and Conditions here and enter before 1 May 2012.
RedBullIntern is giving away a copy of the excellent Senna on Blu-Ray. This is an easy prize draw - you need to Follow F1 Fan on Pinterest, then Repin this photo of Senna. Read the details here and enter before 4 May 2012.
Amnesia Ibiza are giving away up to fifteen prizes of 100 Euros to the best photos of the club's early days uploaded to their 'Amnesia Memories' board before 17 May 2012 (although you'll need to be following their board before 1st May to be granted access to upload). Check out all the details on their website.
