Quick and Dirty Guide to Pinterest’s New Secret Boards and 7 Secret Board Ideas for Businesses

Pinterest Introduces Secret Boards, Shhh…Don't tell!

Have you ever had a great idea for a Pinterest board or found something you wanted to pin, but you stopped for fear that your competition would see it and copy you?

Whatever profession you are in, be it an interior designer, home stager, wedding/event planner, website designer, clothing designer, author or something else, your ideas are one of your most valuable assets. You don't want to lose them to the competition. Pinterest has come up with a solution so you don't have to worry anymore.

Recently Pinterest rolled out secret boards. These boards are hidden; only people with whom you share the link can view or access them.

So, how do you set up a secret board and what kinds of secret boards can businesses create?

Here is how to set up a Secret board on Pinterest.

1. Login to your Pinterest account.

2. Click on your profile.

3. Scroll to the end of your boards and you will see a greyed out section like what you see below. (Or you can go to create a new board)

4. Click on “Create a Secret Board.” Once you do, the board below will pop up. 

5. Name the board and select a category.

6. Here's the important part. Make sure the ‘secret' setting is set to “On.”  

You can make a secret board public by switching the button to off. However, you cannot take an existing public board and make it a secret board.

7. You may have multiple contributors to your secret board. You can invite them by adding their name into the ‘Who can Pin' field and then clicking ‘invite'.

Only the person who created the secret board has the ability to make the board public.

8. Click ‘Create Board' and you are done.

It's really that simple. 

So, how can you use these boards for business purposes? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Competitive Analysis and Research
2. Competitive Products
3. Ideas for Your Business
4. Internal Idea and Communications 
5. Corporate Event Ideas
6. Research Boards
7. Your Favorite Business Resources, Blogs and Mentors

Do you think you will take advantage of Pinterest's Secret Boards?