Pinterest has come a long way since its earliest days; i.e., back when it was a hot spot for women to plan weddings, vacations and dinner, for example. Increasing numbers of businesses currently use Pinterest, especially after learning how they have a wealth of marketing possibilities within their pins. If your small business has yet to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon, this holiday season may just be the best time of year to do so!

In their recent article, 25 Amazing Pinterest Facts For Your Small Business, DigitalSherpa shares some excellent stats which may help motivate you to start pinning if you aren’t already doing so. These are a few which really stood out for me in the article, and may also help you start thinking about using Pinterest as part of your small business’ online holiday marketing strategy.

  • Pinterest referrals spend 70% more money than visitors referred from non-social channels
  • Pins related to trending topics see an average of 94% increase in click throughs
  • The average US Pinterest user follows an average of 9 retailers on Pinterest

Does this sound good to you so far? No matter what your industry, most businesses are able to find creative and useful ways to market through Pinterest. If you choose to start using Pinterest for holiday marketing, it is good to think about using it as part of your long-term marketing strategy as well.

The holiday season often brings out higher levels of enthusiasm among consumers for connecting with and purchasing from companies through social media. Because of the consumers’ receptiveness, the holiday season may be the opportune time to begin engaging them. It’s important to remember that no matter which social media platforms your business chooses to reach potential and/or current clients, your primary goal should be building and developing relationships rather than pushing your products or solutions.

With that being said, your small business can and should still have pin boards which showcase what your business does, such as its blog posts and pictures of your company’s products. When properly used, the images in Pinterest attract your audience and encourage them to learn more about your organizations’ offerings. When people really like your pin(s), they may like or share them, in the form of repins.

Do you think your small business will benefit from using Pinterest for holiday marketing? If so, go have fun with it! These are a couple of ideas which may inspire you:

  • Create a board showing your company’s offerings with a holiday gift guide theme. This is a perfect opportunity to share your products/solutions with your audience in a fun way.
  • Create a holiday-themed group board and invite your followers to contribute pins with their favorite holiday-related images, videos, recipes, wish-list items, etc. This allows for audience participation without making them feel pressured to buy. This also helps your business appear more “human” and approachable – both of which are important for relationship-building with current and potential clients.

What suggestions do you have for using Pinterest in your holiday marketing? I would love to hear what has worked for you in the past or ideas you may have for this season.

photo credit: _Kimie_ via photopin cc

This article originally appeared on the ME Marketing Services blog.