Is Pinterest a viable social media tool for Law Firms?

The current start up garnering the most buzz beyond the tech industry is Pinterest, a social network which is revolved around sharing, liking, and commenting on pictures discovered on blogs and around the Internet. Users can create “Pinboards,” which have a collection of favorite pins from Pinterest’s extensive archive. Also, users can upload their own content and interact with other “pinners” on the network through likes and comments.

Tech blogs and news sites alike have reported about the record popularity of Pinterest, and now, small businesses are starting to see how they can use Pinterest to advertise their services. While retail and other visual-driven businesses will probably benefit the most from Pinterest, more traditional businesses like law firms can also benefit from the social media aspect of Pinterest.

How exactly can a lawyer benefit from an image sharing social network? The place is a wealth of information that can be used in a variety of different ways. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Information is key for lawyers using a blog or social media for their firm, but sometimes that information can get lost in translation. Carolyn Elefant at Small Firm Innovation says that lawyers can utilize infographics–which are everywhere on Pinterest–with their own social media strategy.

• Pinboards can be about anything or anyone, which makes them a limitless source of ideas to jump start from. Law firms which specialize in business can have a Pinboard about recent business news, where to find affordable business supplies, and so forth. Or, maybe there’s a lawyer who specializes in copyright–he could dedicate an entire Pinboard to copyright news, since it is such a hot topic currently.

• Social media is all about being, well, social. People interact with each other whether they are a few miles apart or a few hundred miles away while on websites like Facebook and Twitter, and Pinterest is no different. Lawyers can use Pinterest to interact with other lawyers in a more innovative and visual way.

• While being social is good, Pinterest can also serve as an in-office way of sharing ideas and plans. Create a Pinboard for employees for an in-office newsletter, or perhaps the owners of the firm could swap ideas for new office furniture and interior design plans.

Of course, Pinterest can be used the “old fashioned” way, and that’s collecting cool ideas and pictures which can be used to spark new ideas for blog posts, newsletters, email campaigns, and other social media content. Saying Pinterest is only a hobby and should be only used by tech-savvy users and small businesses is going to seriously hurt any business wanting to reach out in social media in the near future.

Pinterest’s future is looking rather bright, especially with CNET reporters saying the image-sharing site could even be a big contender for a whole new e-commerce movement. After all, Facebook started out as a “hook up spot” for Harvard students and grew into the most popular social networking site in the world, while becoming a serious staple for anyone looking into marketing online. Pinterest is on the right path to becoming the same.