Pinterest is a new social network that has really taken off within the past few months. The visual site allows people to “pin” photos and videos they like onto their boards. Many people use these boards to plan events like a party or a wedding, but recently people have begun to create boards just for fun. Users can follow friends’ boards on the site and “repin” photos or videos from friends’ boards to their own as well as “like” photos and videos. Pinterest is now connected with Facebook so your Facebook friends can see what you are pinning.

Pinterest may seem useless to companies that aren’t centered around visuals, however you don’t need to be a photographer or designer to use this new social network for your advantage. Infographics and videos are also allowed on Pinterest and there are many advantages to pinning for your company.

• Photos are more popular than articles. Photos catch the eye of Web users much faster than the words in an article and are often added to articles for that very reason. Infographics are very successful in particular because they provide factual information without resorting to the usual blocks of text. Many people are visual learners and a graphic simply explains the point faster than an article. Pinterest is a great place to display your Infographics and videos and allow others to learn and share information about your industry and company.

• Pinterest will help your SEO efforts. Every photo or video that is pinned links back to the website where it’s originally from. This helps build your link juice with inbound links and will drive traffic to your website.

• Build connections with your target audience. Like any other social media network, Pinterest gives brands a platform to share and interact directly with their target audience. Sharing interesting and visually captivating photos and videos will encourage your followers to repin and share with others.

• Pinterest allows users to target which topics they’re interested in. This means the people who are seeing your photos and videos are more likely to be interested in your company. Since everything you pin links back to your website, you could find potential customers on Pinterest.

So what are you waiting for? Ask for an invite to Pinterest and start pinning for your brand. You’ll start engaging a whole new audience and boost your SEO efforts.