According to a new report from online content distribution service ShareThis, photo site Pinterest is currently the fastest-growing platform for online content sharing. Data analyzed across more than 120 social media channels and two million websites indicates that sharing via Pinterest grew 19.2 percent in the last quarter, while sharing grew via LinkedIn by 15.1 percent and on Facebook by 14.7 percent. The report also suggests that sharing on Twitter fell 7.6 percent.

“Digital advertising spend in the first half of 2013 was more than $20 billion and the social ecosystem has become an important marketplace for consumer engagement,” notes ShareThis. “However, when brands and advertisers think about social campaigns, they often focus on only two platforms: Facebook and Twitter. This critical mistake can prevent brands from reaching their customers at the most relevant moments on the most relevant platforms.”

“Because sharing is a clear indicator of consumer interest and intent, understanding sharing behavior across ALL channels has broad implications for advertisers and content providers,” suggests ShareThis, which also noted in an earlier report that Pinterest has surpassed Facebook and Twitter in sharing activity on tablets, with lifestyle-related content as the highest shared on iPads — and moms serving as the most active users.

“Small businesses can capitalize on the Pinterest and LinkedIn surge to market their products and grow their consumer base,” reports Business Insider. “Pinterest, a highly visual medium, gives businesses a chance to catch the eye of consumers with compelling images and colorful infographics that promote deals and new products. Pinning pictures of employees could also help customers identify with the people who work at the company, putting a face to a name.”

Pinterest has been working with partners to include more data on the service in order to help make recommendations and pins more useful. Last week, for example, it announced a partnership with Getty Images. Since the Getty collection includes data about its images, the partnership intends to enhance pin descriptions with information such as who is responsible for the image — and details regarding when, where, and what is in the picture.

“For example, you may stumble across a pin of a delicious dish that strikes you as something you might like to make someday,” explains the Pinterest blog. “Unfortunately, if the original pinner uploaded the image and skimped on the description or if the link is broken, we probably couldn’t tell you that it’s scallops with brussels sprouts, chorizo and mustard fondue. Also, if you searched for ‘scallops with brussels sprouts,’ we wouldn’t know that this great image by Getty Images contributor Thomas Barwick is a match. With Getty Images’ help, we hope to be able to make this image more useful and suggest another recipe with scallops and brussels sprouts or healthy scallop recipes.”