Virtual scrap-booking site Pinterest has quickly taken the world of social media by storm, leaving some business owners and marketers scratching their heads about how exactly to leverage their time investment accordingly.

To avoid spinning your wheels, follow these guidelines to ensure you’re getting the most from your time investment.

Most brands use Pinterest as a springboard for driving traffic from their pins to their website. When posting images, be sure to include a link back to your website or blog for additional photos and information.

This option to link to online content makes Pinterest a viable marketing tool for retailers with interesting, visual products – especially those conducive to consumer impulse buying. With more than 1.5 million site visitors a day, Pinterest provides more referral traffic to other sites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.

Images pinned must be visually interesting. Pinterest isn’t the site for everyday, predictable photography. Pin beautiful photos of your products if you want users to take interest. If your products aren’t visually engaging in and of themselves, consider a possible entertainment angle that communicates what you do while demonstrating that your team doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Pin photos that offer your customers new ideas for how your products can be used. Online shopping site Etsy shows consumers how they can incorporate the company’s vintage products into their everyday lives by showcasing products in an in-home setting. This retailer has racked up over 125,000 Pinterest followers to date as a result.

Comment, re-pin and like the posts of those you follow. After all, it is called “social” media for a reason. Start a conversation. Conversations lead to relationships, which can lead to sales. But be careful not to give a hard sell, or your followers could revolt.

Consider unexpected themes for your pin boards. Neiman Marcus organizes its pins into boards called “neon,” “yellow” or “lovely layering” versus the expected “new products” board that so many retailers offer. Get creative; Pinterest users like to be inspired by innovative thinking.

Integrate Pinterest into your website by offering your site users both a link to your Pinterest page on your website home page and a Pinterst icon on each of your product pages, allowing site visitors to easily share your product photos on their boards.

Lori Turner-Wilson is an award-winning columnist and managing partner of RedRover Sales & Marketing, www.redrovercompany.com, with offices in Memphis and Nashville. You can follow RedRover on Twitter (@redrovercompany and @loriturner) and Facebook (facebook.com/redrovercompany).