It’s been around for two years. But in the last few months, interest in Pinterest, the social media site that lets you “pin” images onto a virtual corkboard, is off the charts.

Before you start groaning because it’s one more thing to learn, check out these stats that prove the site, which appeals mostly to women, is more than just frivolous photos of bride’s dresses and cupcakes:

• From December 2011 to January 2012, unique visitors to Pinterest.com increased by 155 percent.
     
• More than one in four users make more than $100,000 a year.
     
• The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September.
   
• It’s pulling more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to one study.
   
• Research shows that many people are spending more time “pinning” than they are connecting with their friends on the almighty Facebook.

Why do Publicity Hounds need to know about Pinterest?

• By putting the “Pin It” button on your pages, all of your pins will include a link back to the source such as your website or blog, a great way to revive interest in old content.
   
• You can connect Pinterest to your Twitter and Facebook accounts, which means you don’t need a huge number of followers on Pinterest initially to start picking up steam.
   
• You can create boards around topics that tie into your products and services, being careful not to overtly promote.
   
• Users admit that Pinterest is absolutely addictive. That’s because unlike other social media sites, it’s filled with millions of colorful, capitivating photos and a clean design that pulls you in.
   
• I’ve see far more excitement and chatter about Pinterest than I have for Google+, which suddenly seems like a dinosaur.

How-to Webinar March 15

And I’ve gotten so many questions, including “How do I get an invitation for Pinterest?,” that I’m hosting a 90-minute webinar at 3 p.m. Easten Time on Thursday, March 15, on “How to Use Pinterest to Generate Clicks, Traffic, Links, Leads and Sales.” This is for beginners as well as pinners who have been on the site for awhile.

Register here, even if the time is inconvenient because I’ll be recording it and making the downloads available.

For an invitation to join Pinterest, go here and click on the red button “Request an Invite.”

If you’ve done something really cool on Pinterest that ties into your business or hobby, explain the Comments section, email me. I might feature your board in my webinar.