Full-service digital marketing and social media engagement agency Lodging Interactive says pinning, re-pinning, commenting and liking photos and data on this popular online bulletin board will help hoteliers better engage with customers and keep online content and marketing messaging fresh, especially for hotel brands targeting female travelers

Parsippany, N.J. – The battle over social media channel dominance continues to wage, as Pinterest (21%) becomes more popular than Twitter (18%) among Internet users in 2013, according to Pew Research Center. Further statistics from ShareThis shows that for the first time, Pinterest outpaced email to become the third most popular sharing channel in the fourth quarter of 2013. While sharing via email declined 11 percent year-over-year, Pinterest shares increased 58 percent, making it the fastest growing sharing channel last year. Most of that growth was driven by women, who account for 56.76 percent of social shares across all channels and 57.63 percent of shares to Pinterest. If Pinterest is on the fast-track for growth, why then are hoteliers neglecting to add it to their social media programs?

"Pinterest is the perfect place for hotel marketers to organize images and information into boards for specific categories, such as Weddings, Food, Beverage, Lighting, Water Sports etc., to make it easier for consumers and meeting planners to find what interests them most and then act upon it," said DJ Vallauri, Lodging Interactive Founder and President. "Pinterest boards are designed to highlight all the various aspects of a hotel, from the guestrooms and food-and-beverage areas, to recreation, social offerings and even local area attractions.

"Recent studies show that women in particular love 'pinning' things, like articles and photos to share with their friends rather than dropping links into emails," he said. "This opens up a whole new world of opportunity for hotel marketers. A hotel's followers will see the pinned content, and they can like, comment or re-pin it to their boards. Items of interest may contain links to the site where the image originated. Pinterest pins, like Facebook, have the opportunity to go viral. Unlike Facebook, visitors don't need to be friends with someone to follow their board. The key is simply sharing a common interest."

Did you know?

  • There are 70 million active Pinterest users; 68% of whom are women (MediaBistro)
  • 81% of U.S. online consumers say they trust information and advice on Pinterest (BlogHer)
  • The average order placed by Pinterest shoppers is $169, the average from Facebook is $95 and the average from Twitter is $70. (RichRelevance)

The recent rise of Pinterest is a sure sign of how quickly social media is changing the digital landscape. Hotel marketers looking to showcase their property, events, specials, and local area attractions plus express their culture or personality via social media, will find great success with Pinterest.

Did you know?

  • A call-to-action pin description renders 80% increase in engagement (Pinerly)
  • Pinterest pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without (econsultancy)
  • 20% of total social referrals to commerce sites come from Pinterest (econsultancy)

"Lodging Interactive's Social Media Marketing Agency, CoMMingle, offers a turnkey service for creating and professionally managing the Pinterest online bulletin board on behalf of any hotel," said Rosella Virdo, director of CoMMingle Social Media Marketing. "Our team becomes the eyes, ears and mouthpiece of the hotel, assisting them with planning their unique social media strategy based on their individual property goals. When it comes to Pinterest, we will develop boards on behalf of our customers, pin their photos and information, re-pin items as needed, engage with customers, identify relevant content and then sustain that content month to month, monitoring it and making sure that it stays fresh."

Did you know?

  • Pinterest accounted for 3.68% of overall traffic to publishers (people posting pictures) in 2013; far less than Facebook (10%) yet three times greater than Twitter (Shareaholic)
  • The Pinterest share of overall visits increased by 66% year-over-year (2012 to 2013), more than any other social network.
  • Pinterest now drives more traffic to publishers than Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit and Google+ combined.

Hoteliers interested in making Pinterest a prominent part of their 2014 Social Media Strategy are encouraged to call Lodging Interactive at 877-291-4411 ext. 701 or visit .

About Lodging Interactive

Lodging Interactive, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, is a full-service digital marketing agency exclusively servicing the hospitality industry for more than a decade. The company provides a portfolio of effective hotel Internet marketing services to hundreds of hotels, resorts, ownership properties, spas and restaurants. Clients include branded hotels from nearly every major brand as well as prestigious, landmark independent hotels. Through its CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division, the company offers hospitality focused and fully managed outsourced hotel social media marketing customized solutions. Lodging Interactive has been recognized as a leader by the International Academy of Visual Arts, Interactive Media Awards, Web Marketing Association and Travel Weekly's Magellan Awards. It is a proud supporter of the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and is a Preferred Vendor for Best Western International. For more information please contact us at [email protected] or at 877-291-4411 ext 701. The company's website is located at www.LodgingInteractive.com.

DJ Vallauri
President & Founder
+1 877 291 4411
Lodging Interactive