Last night I really should've used terrain. The final fight was several groups of kobolds in a huge dragon shrine with toppled pillars, cover, rubble, etc. The players used some of the standing stuff for cover, but that was about it.
Its sometimes frustrating when players think in only 2 dimensions. They can move at or away from the enemy. There were lots of instances to stand on, climb over or even swim around (the room was surrounded by a moat on three sides) the villains but no one really took advantage.
How can I encourage things like tipping pillars onto foes, standing on a big rock for attack from above, sniping, etc?
Try putting some 3-d objects on the battle mat. Don't just draw a slab of stone - put down a domino. Set a dry erase marker on end or stack up some dice and you have a tower no player can resist knocking over on the enemy minis. Sometimes players have a hard time following or remembering the entire room description and having solid reminders help.
Other things that help:
having a character whose shtick it is to use the environment, like a swashbuckler.
having a mechanism for PCs to succeed at heroic acts helps. How realistic is to knock over an old dead tree on the ogre when the PC can't even hit it with his sword? Something like hero points to spend when attempting that -4 to hit, 6d10 damage dead tree smack-down to help with the non-proficiency penalty help to keep the attempt more than just a wasted action.
having aspects of the environment that favor members of the party. Most PCs are optimized for flat, featureless planes. Difficult terrain is not good for them, underwater combat is not good for them, needing to balance during combat is not good for them. Things to tip over can be good _IF_ they have a strength where they might succeed. Having areas large enough for medium characters but not large monsters is good for them.
Well one player has been picking up on the cues. She's playing a barbarian and the setting in the last couple adventures has featured boulders, fallen pillars, rubble etc. She blocked exits with the boulders one game, then used them to smash kobolds in another.
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2 Words: Combat Maneuvers
This is really what the whole CMB mechanic is described as, rather than just the means by which grab, trip and awesome blow are adjudicated in play. Are you Grug Crood, and your family is about to get crushed by a landslide? Roll that CMB as you fling a rock at your son to make him trip and saving their lives.
That goblin hiding behind a pillar? Ram into it with a CMB, toppling it either onto the goblin, or in the least ruining its cover.
Let your players know that you're playing fast and loose with circumstance bonuses for being creative in combat. If they come up with a unique approach to something, and role play a means likely to succeed, give that extra GM nudge to do so. When they see their creativity is rewarded, they'll hopefully want to continue finding new and sometimes obnoxious ways to twart their enemies.