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"Lets face it; it's hard to look away from Pinterest. The hottest new social media site has become a go-to source for the latest shopping tips, design advice and funny dog pictures. Who wouldn\u2019t want to sit there all day and stare?\nAs Pinterest fans are discovering through the growing legion of companies that are marketing and selling products via the site, Pinterest also has great commerce potential. Nordstrom, Real Simple, Fresh Direct and even Major League Baseball, for example, have all developed active pages that encourage user interactivity.\nBut to take full advantage of Pinterest's possibilities, businesses should also be thinking about the site as a way to highlight their philanthropic endeavors and promote corporate volunteerism. In so doing, companies can increase employee participation in volunteer and giving programs and earn the goodwill of other Pinterest users and potential customers.\nHow does Pinterest work as a tool for employee volunteer promotion?\nUnlike Twitter and Facebook, images are key to Pinterest. This means that to successfully promote and encourage volunteering efforts, photos must be at the forefront of the initiative. Pinterest-interested businesses should thus encourage employees to take photos while they volunteer; use pictures in company handbooks to explain the company's volunteering opportunities; and keep extra snapshots available so there is content in reserve to regularly update the Pinterest page.\nNeed more reasons to start \"pinning\" your corporate social responsibility initiatives? Here are four other ways that Pinterest can promote corporate volunteerism:\n1. \u00A0Motivation\nEmployees often just need a trigger to pick up a cause, and sometimes this motivation comes from seeing others engaged in positive work. \u00A0That\u2019s why showing good work in action - or the results of that good work - can easily inspire others to do likewise. \u00A0And don\u2019t forget the potential of food for thought pieces; just posting motivational quotes can encourage\u00A0employees to start volunteering.\n2. \u00A0Support\nPinterest offers a compelling way to support those who are already volunteering. \u00A0Say that one of your employees wants to\u00A0raise funds for a particular nonprofit; why not post information about their mission on the\u00A0company Pinterest page? \u00A0Sharing these sorts of visual updates could encourage company-wide support while inspiring others to start their own fundraisers. \u00A0Combine that with a company match of some sort and you've got a great way to help\u00A0your employee reach his or her goal as fast as possible.\n3. \u00A0Engagement\nGamification is a hot buzzword these days, and when this sort of competition is applied to corporate volunteer programs it can generate significant employee engagement. \u00A0Through the use of solutions\u00A0like Causecast's Employee Impact Platform, companies can develop entire volunteer campaigns around a\u00A0competitive goal, like prizes for those who raise the most funds. \u00A0In this case, participants can use Pinterest as another tool to post updates about their progress and\u00A0efforts. For instance, seeing Dan next to a photo of 100 canned foods\u00A0may motivate Sue to bring in 110 the next day. With a prize that encourages\u00A0participation, seeing the frontrunner in photos can go a long way towards firing up the competitive juices of other employees.\n4. \u00A0 Interaction\nWith visuals featured so prominently, Pinterest can also be used as a\u00A0way to interact with employees around volunteering. \u00A0A picture speaks a thousand words, so posting a photo of an animal shelter set to close down and asking how co-workers can help could lead to active brainstorming. \u00A0Once ideas get rolling, who knows what's possible? \u00A0A charity drive may come together, or a Saturday for employee volunteering may\u00A0form. \u00A0But planting the seed can offer tremendous results, with little cost.\n\u00A0\nBesides the obvious goodwill generated, the final outcome of all of these ideas can be to create fantastic\u00A0content for your company\u2019s Pinterest page. \u00A0And if Pinterest is used as a vehicle to promote your overall corporate volunteering efforts, these compelling photos and interactions can bode well for your company's employee engagement levels.\nSo the next time you plan a company volunteer outing, just remember to \u201CPin it.\u201D\nWhat are some ways you think organizations can use Pinterest\u00A0to promote their good work? \u00A0Let us know what you think - comment below."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/05/04/pinterest-volunteerism/>