When it comes to social media marketing, Pinterest is frequently overlooked in favor of other social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And while Facebook and Instagram should certainly remain top of the list for small businesses to utilize, Pinterest also has a lot of features that can become true benefits to any company owner. Because (believe it or not) this image-based platform is not just for bloggers to share their recipes!

Pinterest is capable of being used in so many different ways, and we want to highlight that. So here are five clever ways that you should use this wonderful social media platform.

1. Create a visual board for your products or services.

Pinterest users love visuals, so the best way to show your products and services is to cater to that audience desire. Using the Pinterest boards feature available on the app, you can create a visual board that properly represents all you have to offer, whether you are a restaurant who wants to show off its most unique meals or a real estate business that wants to reveal all of its available listings.

And don't worry, service-based businesses, because Pinterest is a platform for you, too! When creating a visual board for your services, make sure that you think about how your service will improve your clients' lives and show that! For example: if you own an event planning company, you can show off all your different events (or use stock images of events similar to your own).

With a visual board, your Pinterest audience will quickly see what your business is all about and how it can help them with their own lives, hobbies, and jobs.

Tip: always include pin descriptions and links to your websites in each of your boards.

2. Track customer trends and preferences.

Pinterest is also amazing for tracking trends. They do all the work for you! All you have to do is visit their trends page here and you will be able to see surging trends of the week, trending ideas across their most popular categories, and you will even be able to see what Pinterest predicts will be trending in the future!

And this trending report isn't just great for Pinterest marketing, but also for your overall marketing, as you will be able to build content ideas off of what people are currently interested in and relate it to what you're selling.

We also have this advice: take it a step further! If there is a continued interest in something in particular, consider using that trend to generate new ideas for your products and services. For example: when Christmas comes around, we usually see Christmas-themed products and services pop up and trend. This gave Empowered Social Media the idea to create holiday-themed courses to help our clients learn how to market during the holidays.

3. Generate new leads.

Here is something you might not know about Pinterest users: they like to click off the app. Pins are just thumbnails to the content that actually interests them. This might come as a surprise if you're more familiar with social media platforms like Instagram, where users prefer to stay on site and scrolling until they get bored.

What does this mean for you? That you can use Pinterest to generate leads. If your pin is interesting enough, then users will want to click on your image link to go to your website. Just make sure that you're using a call to action on each of your pins and that you are including links!

For more tips on how to properly use Pinterest, visit our 20 Tips On How You Can Grow On Pinterest blog post.

4. Connect with customers online.

Another thing about Pinterest that many overlook is that it is also a social platform. You can like, click, and follow other profiles, building a community and connecting with your clients and customers. And there are many ways you can do this:

• Click the "follow" button on your customers page so that they know you want to connect with them.

• Comment on their original pins.

• Join group boards that they belong to and interact!

• Repin the pins that they post on their page.

Don't let your community be one-sided. Let your customers and clients know that you're listening to them just like they're listening to you.

5. Get inspired.

And the final clever way you can use Pinterest is to... get inspired. This can be done by following other businesses that you admire, or by pinning images of products or services that you would like to offer in the future.

Remember: Pinterest can be a great tool for businesses of all sizes whether you are a product-based business or a service-based business. To learn more about how to get started on this platform and Pinterest marketing strategies, we once again direct you to our last Pinterest article. Click the button below.