Pinners have become obsessed with finding new ideas, projects, quotes, images and more through this new and innovative platform. With the increased consumption of visual content, rather than simply text-based articles and blog posts, the Internet has once again opened new ways for marketers to reach their niche.

Now, through visualizing a product or service being used, rather than relying on the customer to simply imagine it, marketers have a far more powerful way to target their customers and drive sales.

Here are five reasons your business should get on board with the power of Pinterest:

1. Increased Social Reach – You may already be doing social media marketing (and if not, there are dozens of reasons why you should) and Pinterest allows you to increase your reach in these highly popular forums. Instead of popular social media outlets, such as Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest now gives businesses a new way to reach customers through visual content. This new type of social media has allowed companies to increase their reach online.

2. Increased Lead Generation – Each time a person pins an image, it is shown to their network of like-minded friends and followers. This exposes a brand to more consumers within their target market helping them to receive more leads from social media marketing. Added exposure can help brand a company and increase awareness in specific markets.

3. Increase Traffic – With each new person who sees an image that catches their interest, there is a high likelihood that they will click on the image and go directly to the company website to learn more. This means a higher click through rate from social media that can have profound effects not only on sales but also on search engine optimization efforts.

4. Improved SEO – From the boost in traffic from Pinterest, so comes a boost in links. With millions of people pinning and repining links to your company website, you are able to show Google that you have something that people are interested in. Pinterest remains a DO FOLLOW website, meaning the backlinks your company obtains on this powerful social media platform, as well as the increase in traffic, can have profound effects on your SEO efforts.

5. Analytics to Show ROI – As with all digital marketing efforts, analytics provides an almost instantaneous way to see the results that come from marketing efforts and spending put toward Pinterest. Companies can track the clicks that come from this powerful network and see first-hand the real time results that they can generate simply by encouraging their market to pin images and gaining exposure in front of their target audience.

Pinterest has a number of benefits for online marketers. With more and more consumers looking for visual content online, Pinterest has offered a way for people to find what they are looking for and businesses to promote their products through this enhanced social media network. Has your business started using Pinterest in marketing? And if so, what benefits have you seen come as a result of your efforts?