Name: Pinterest

In short: Think Facebook ‘likes’ meets Tumblr. Collecting all your favourite things, and discovering other people’s favourite things (and collecting them).

Popular with: Women, particularly those who like pop culture, images, pretty things.

The buzz: (From Mashable)

Pinterest is social media’s rising star — and now has the traffic stats to prove it.

The darling network of brides-to-be, fashionistas and budding bakers now beats YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January, according to a Shareaholic study.

Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic, while Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newcomer, accounting for 3.61% of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17% of referral traffic, proving the site’s blockbuster growth.

(Only Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Yahoo! outrank Pinterest in terms of referral traffic.)

Campaign potential: I’ve often wondered how we could better utilize my NGO’s incredible bank of photos and this might be the way. A pinterest board full of gorgeous, moving, “pin-able” photos or slogans might do really well. And the referral traffic could turn what is essentially a ‘superficial engagement’ (I just like this pretty picture/ animal/ place/ slogan) into a deeper engagement once they click and read any related stories. To really get the message across, pair amazing photos with moving or catchy slogans and sound bites.

For more info: This infographic from Mashable is a neat summary of Pinterest, how to use it, and why it’s relevant.