Pinterest: the ultimate soft-sell tool to add value to the sales process

In much the same way that Google pioneered the Internet search phenomenon, and Facebook changed all of our worlds with social media connectivity in a way we never thought possible (a high school crush wanting to reconnect with you after 45 years – good grief), now comes Pinterest.

My daughter Brooke started the ball rolling for me. She was telling my wife Laurel about it several months ago over breakfast. I was half-listening. "Blah, blah, blah…it’s so cool…it’s so amazing…blah, blah, blah."

So eventually I joined and started “pinning” some stuff and got back to the real world of work and the various tasks at hand.

And then Eric Kent from Archadeck Outdoor Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, phoned me this morning. I had an epiphany.

Eric is a rock star when it comes to designing and selling outdoor living spaces. In fact, in the cold of January, he designed and built more than a half million dollars in stunning screened porches, sunrooms, hardscapes, outdoor kitchens and decks. In January.

So what better person to have a discussion with about how to use Pinterest to add value to your business?

What I told Eric he should do is not focus on getting Archadeck images and banter out into the Pinter-verse, but rather to pull people into his Archadeck Outdoor Living franchise business by “pinning” items that people who have a love of outdoor living would be interested in.

For example, how to build the perfect raised bed, my first find after entering “Garden” in the search box – courtesy of Sunset.

Then I searched for “Summer coolers” and found a beautiful image of all kinds of refreshing-looking warm weather thirst quenchers, courtesy of Svetlana Kuperman – whoever she is.

So picture this. Eric is invited into a prospect’s home for a free design consultation to create an outdoor room for a young couple in fashionable Noda in Charlotte (North of Davidson Street).

The young married couple in their early 30’s with a beautiful toddler and golden retriever have nothing – and I mean nothing – in their backyard.

“I want a deck outside our kitchen door,” she says. “We also like to eat outside, so maybe a dining area over there (rear left, under the trees, a Belgard hardscape would be perfect).”

There’s an unsightly tool shed at the far right of the yard that needs to remain there for storage of summer furniture, lawn equipment and toys. But it needs some camouflage.

So when Eric suggests a sculpted Belgard accent retaining wall that would be the perfect time to pull out his MacBook Air and go to Pinterest.com.

He could then show the collection of tasteful in-wall water features he has “pinned” to help stimulate the thinking of his outdoor living spaces clients, maybe like this one posted by Allison Carroll – an aged but interesting cast iron water fountain wall sconce.

Get it.

Then get going.

“Pin” your way to fame, fortune and thought leadership.

The Editors at Meredith: precisely my cup (okay, mug) of tea

Larry Spada iPad Notes entry: February 8, 2012

I'm on United flight 3753 heading back to my home, having wrapped up a morning breakfast conversation on outdoor living trends with the editorial team of some of the most prestigious home shelter magazines in the world at Meredith. And even though it is the smack of early February, Mother Nature has cooperated by gifting us with a gloriously sunny, crisp day, as I renew old acquaintances and make some new friends at this media and marketing company, involved in magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting and brand licensing.

My last visit to Meredith with this esteemed group of home-centered literary minds was four years ago when Amanda Williams from Wray Ward (home-focused marketing and communications specialists headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina) arranged the visit. Back then we had only one outdoor living franchise concept to tout: Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, the most trusted residential and commercial outdoor and landscape lighting specialist. Now as Outdoor Living Brands, we have three outdoor living franchise opportunities.

For this visit to Meredith, the fine folks at FaceTime Strategy in Washington DC, Susan Stoga and LeJane Carson , carefully planned and meticulously orchestrated this sharing of new concepts and ideas in outdoor living for 2012, with special thanks to Jessica Brown, Meredith Corporate Communications, who hosted us.

The objective of this meeting was to share the latest trends in outdoor living with this esteemed panel, as these Meredith editors are tremendous centers of influence for consumers who take great pride in, care of and enjoy their at-home surroundings.

As Outdoor Living Brands, all we focus on is outdoor living, or celebrating the joys of outdoor living, to be more accurate.

It all starts with Archadeck Outdoor Living, North America’s favorite designer and builder of affordable, innovative and functional outdoor spaces. Screened porches, sunrooms, patios, hardscapes, outdoor kitchens, new decks, deck replacements – you name it.

And then, so our Archadeck Outdoor Living clients and other homeowners can enjoy their custom outdoor living spaces well into the evening, there’s Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, the low-voltage halogen and LED outdoor lighting experts, who concentrate on beauty, safety, security and functionality – with an outdoor lighting solution for virtually any taste and budget.

The last part of this outdoor living trifecta is Mosquito Squad, who eliminates annoying and dangerous mosquitoes and ticks and the bites that they bring. Using an EPA-registered Barrier Spray solution administered every 21 days around the home and throughout the backyard, Mosquito Squad allows homeowners to enjoy their “great” outdoors whenever they want – without the fear of mosquito bites and tick bites.

It was great to reconnect with Better Homes and Gardens Editor-In-Chief Doug Jimerson; Dr. Denny Schrock, Better Homes and Gardens (Garden Group Editor); James Baggett, Editor of Country Gardens as well as Deck, Pool & Patio and Jane McKeon, Senior Associate Editor at Better Homes and Gardens (Garden and Outdoor Living).

As for new business friends, I am looking forward to working with Jodi Henke, National Radio Editor with Living The Country Life and Justin Hancock, Better Homes and Gardens Senior Editor, who specializes on the Interactive side (BHG.com) of Meredith.

Social Media: Marketing Internship in Richmond, Virginia

Ah. To be 21 years old again.

If I were you, I'd be all over this.

Truly, an opportunity of a lifetime.

And besides, you'll get to work with me, too.

--

Summary and Responsibilities

This Social Media Internship Project is at the headquarters of Outdoor Living Brands in Richmond, Virginia. The internship assignment focuses on online marketing strategy for social media, in particular the Pinterest forum, a fast-growing, highly visual online community. 

The intern will have the opportunity to own this online project from start to finish – scoping, research, recommendations, and possibly, building and implementing. The hours of the internship are flexible. This project will enable the selected intern to build their digital capabilities in a fun and creative environment.

Basic Qualifications

-Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or Communications major
-Proven record of demonstrating performance and initiative
-Excellent computer skills
-Excellent interpersonal skills
-Familiarity with social media, preferably from a business perspective

Preferred Qualifications

-Junior or Senior college student
-Prior internship experience 

-Access to a computer

Outdoor Living Brands

We are a franchise organization with nearly 200 locations across the country.  We focus on outdoor living with 3 separate companies:  Archadeck Outdoor Living (sunrooms, decks, patios, etc.), Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, and Mosquito Squad (mosquito elimination and tick control). 

Please send resumes to:  Leslie McCarey at lmccarey@outdoorlivingbrands.com.

Apple iPad owners make retailers smile

According to survey results from Zmags, reported by Kevin Woodward, Senior Editor of Internet Retailer, consumers who own tablets tend to like to shop, and make more spontaneous purchases than consumers who do not own tablets.

Mobile and tablet apps, on their own however, are not meeting connected consumers’ browsing and purchasing needs. Only 4% like to shop using mobile apps, compared to 87% of PC owners, 14% of smartphone owners and 9% of tablet owners who prefer to browse and buy from Web and mobile sites. 

Despite that data, I use my Amazon iPhone app for just about everything I buy now.

The survey conducted by Equation Research in November 2011, found that:

•   14% of consumers who own tablet computers classified themselves as spontaneous shoppers compared with 9% of those who do not own a tablet.

•   9% of tablet owners said they were addicted to shopping, compared with 3% of those not owning a tablet

•   9% of tablet owners said they tend to buy luxury items than non-tablet owners

• 53% of tablet owners shopped for electronics, topping the list of most-preferred products to buy using a tablet, followed by:

•   Books, 41%

•   Toys, 39%

•   Clothing, 27%

•   Music, 33%

Sean Ford, Zmags chief operating officer and chief marketing officer, says that “... tablets stand out as better than smartphones for shopping for clothing and electronics products... 37% were more likely to buy clothing while using a tablet than on a smartphone... 53% would prefer to shop for electronics using a tablet...  while 35% preferred a smartphone... “

Zmags says that the average connected consumer is not a texting teenager or a hipster with more devices than flannel shirts. 52% of tablet owners are women and 81% of all tablet owners use Facebook. She is 40 years old, earns $63,000, loves to browse catalogs and is enthusiastic about shopping via her devices. On average, a tablet owner spent $325 during the survey period.

29% of tablet owners says convenience drives their shopping because they spend a lot of time using the device, while:

•   24% tend to browse sites, hoping to be inspired to make a purchase.

•   14% like the ease of making a transaction;

•   13% have a specific product or offer in mind;

•   11% shopped because of an advertisement for a product;

•   9% choose a tablet because of the ease of sharing products or deals via social networks

Social media: much more than talk this time

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.    Chinese Proverb


From the desk of Larry Spada
Brand Strategist and Creative Director
Outdoor Living Brands


During the past four years the Outdoor Living Brands Marketing Team has been singing the many praises of engaging our franchisees from Archadeck Outdoor Living, Mosquito Squad and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives in social media. This helps bolster our search engine optimization throughout our enterprise and reinforces that our franchise licensees are articulate and knowledgeable subject matter experts in their respective disciplines: designing and building affordable, innovative and functional outdoor living spaces; eliminating mosquitoes, ticks and stink bugs and illuminating dark and scary spaces with warm glows of beautiful low voltage lighting.


This year we even created a step-by-step PowerPoint to illustrate how to record a video client testimonial on an iPhone and then instantly send it to YouTube, to add even more momentum to our referral strategy to acquire new customers via our existing clients.


So you can imagine our surprise when about 15 franchisees were interested in personal instructions on how to do this, starting first with learning how to open a YouTube account.


So on day four of our 2012 Annual Meeting -- "Get Connected" -- the fearless and the brave joined me at the edge of the ocean outside the Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida, before sunrise for this personal tutorial.


Here's one result, courtesy of Matt Lange, Moquito Squad of Birmingham. Well done, Matt.

Happy 5th Birthday iPhone from Larry Spada and Matt Spada

My son Matt reminded me this morning that it was five years ago today we saw and heard Steve Jobs say "We're gonna make some history together today," live, onstage in San Francisco.


From getting into the line queue around 2 am that morning in front of the Moscone Center -- actually it was four blocks away from the front door at that point, as the line started to form some two days before the door opened -- to both being as excited as two toddlers on Christmas morning, it was an experience we'll both never forget.


The iPhone. Five years later. Wow. What a ride.


RIP Steve. You did good...and you are missed.

Your brand. Is it really you?

During the holidays I collected some blog pieces that I thought had a lot of merit and wanted to share them. This is one of the best.

Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, is featured in this Techipedia post by Tamar Weinberg:

Most people online are building “a brand,” but sometimes people forget whose brand they are building and if they are making the right strategic moves. For instance, if your Twitter handle reads “@fastcar,” then you aren’t building your own personal brand. When people retweet you, they are viewing @fastcar and not your full name. So stop for a second and consider what brand you’re trying to build and why. Are you looking to become an industry expert, or are you focused on establishing your company’s name, or both? We’ve seen a lot of successful personal brands explode online because they’ve either thought about how they would like to be perceived or they have slowly grown into their current roles, by experimentation, luck and hard work. I could write a post explaining how to use TV advertising or radio to build your brand, but most of you won’t shell out thousands of dollars for something that most people will ignore anyways. Social media, on the other hand, allows you to connect directly with the audience you want to target, on common ground, and build relationships.

Here are ten tips that will help you on your journey:

Discover your brand

A lot of people are rushing to get on social networks, and are forgetting to fill out their profiles, or what their purpose of participation is. You need to have a clear idea of who you are, what you want to be known as, and the type of content you can consistently publish, otherwise you won’t stand out. There are thousands of people who brand themselves as realtors, lawyers, social media gurus, and marketing experts, and very few of them are successful. By basing your brand off of what you’re passionate about and want to be an expert in (if you’re not already), you will be able to become a serious player in the social media world.

Create your own marketing system

I recommend that people take a portion of their day to learn as much as they can about what people are saying about them, as well as review competitor and partner activities, and peruse industry trends and case studies. The more you read, the better and more prepared you will be to communicate through various social media channels. Use tools such as alltop.com and google.com/alerts to find the right blogs and new articles, and then subscribe to them through RSS using Google Reader. The second step is to organize the most important articles that you review in Google Reader, using Delicious.com. Finally, share these articles using your social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and possibly cite them in your presentations and within blog posts.

Get endorsements

The world is run by recommendations and you trust what your inner circle has to say, rather than complete strangers. An endorsement could be from a happy customer, an industry expert, a professor or someone else that is respected by society. The endorsement will give you more credibility and respect. Recommendations happen publicly all the time now, so the more people say positive things about you, the bigger your brand will become.

Build your brand by association

By working for brand names, you gain more credibility in the process. For example, Tamar Weinberg is the community manager for Mashable, and she has written for Lifehacker.com and other mega blogs. Not only does this enhance her visibility as a brand, but this association has helped Tamar leverage her brand into new areas, such as becoming the author of a popular book. This is why I always recommend that you align yourself to well-known brands as fast as you can because it establishes a foundation that you can work with later.

Partner with others

It’s hard to spend hours each day working on creating content, working with clients, expanding your business, and possibly your full-time job. That’s why you should look to locate other people online that are looking to achieve similar goals and link up with them. If you’re looking to start a blog, a YouTube channel, or some other content platform, it helps to have multiple content creators so that you can focus on the marketing of that property too.

Have a unique identity and take a niche

Be different and love being different. The more you can offer a fresh perspective or a brand new concept, the more people will gravitate to you. No one wants to subscribe to another tech blog or meet someone at a networking event that does the same thing as someone else. The more you’re able to take your distinct personality and ideas and carve your own niche, the better off you’ll be.

Don’t join every social network

You might hear from people that you need to be everywhere, and I’m sorry to say that it’s not a good strategy. You won’t be able to scale your brand on fifty social networks. Instead, join the top four networks: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Once you’ve done that, then you should get accounts on social networks that are relevant to your field.

Join other communities

When you’re first starting off, or even if you already have a large platform, you should participate in communities that already exist. Whether it’s a Facebook fan page, a LinkedIn group, a local association, etc. This way you can target your audience, while forming relationships with the people who will be interested in your services.

Merry Christmas

Santa's no dummy.

iTunes Match was just released today

Be sure to download the update.


Here's the buzz:

What's new in iTunes 10.5.1

Introducing iTunes Match. Store your entire music library in iCloud, including music you've imported from CDs, and enjoy your collection anywhere, anytime, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer, or Apple TV. 

iTunes 10.5 also included:

• iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.

• Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices. 

• Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.

• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.

• Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they're both on the same Wi-Fi network.

Okay, so exactly what is iCloud?

From CNET everything you always needed to know, but didn't have the foggiest notion of whom to ask.

Patagonia: absolutely brilliant

This is why Patagonia will be around for generations to come.

Social media -- with a social consciousness -- for the greater good.

Everyone wins.

Check it our here, from Fast Company.

The next Apple aficionado must-have: Nest

From the inventor of the iPod, comes this beautifully and intelligently designed home thermostat, focused on energy conservation -- made easy.

It also has the most beautiful website I have seen in years, with a fluid user experience.

The social media component for Nest is also very effective and memorable -- and easily motivates interested parties (yeah, that would be me) to share with their friends.

I just bought two for my home with their professional installation.

I want to take this experience to the finish line.

Thanks, Matt.

iOS 5 for iPhone and iPad: what's the big deal?

iOS 5 Software Update

This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

• Notifications
• Swipe from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place with Notification Center
• New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen
• View notifications from lock screen
• Slide the notification app icon to the right on the lock screen to go directly to the app
• iMessage
• Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5 users
• Track messages with delivery and read receipts
• Group messaging and secure encryption
• Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi*
• Newsstand
• Automatically organizes magazine and newspaper subscriptions on Home Screen
• Displays the cover of the latest issue
• Background downloads of new issues 
• Reminders for managing to do lists
• Syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook
• Location-based reminders when you leave or arrive at a location for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
• Built-in support for Twitter
• Sign-in once in Settings and tweet directly from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube
• Add location to any tweet
• View twitter profile pictures and usernames in Contacts
• Camera improvements for devices with cameras
• Double click the home button when device is asleep to bring up a camera shortcut on iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
• Volume Up button to take a picture
• Optional grid lines to line up shots
• Pinch to zoom in the preview screen
• Swipe to camera roll from preview screen
• Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure, iPad 2 and iPod touch (4th generation) only support exposure lock

• Photo improvements for devices with cameras
• Crop and rotate
• Red eye removal
• One tap enhance
• Organize photos into albums
• Mail improvements
• Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts
• Indentation control
• Drag to rearrange names in address fields
• Flag messages
• Mass mark messages as flagged, read or unread
• Customize mail alert sounds
• S/MIME
• Calendar improvements
• Year view on iPad and new Week view for iPhone and iPod touch
• Tap to create an event
• View and add event attachments
• Game Center improvements
• Use personal photos for your Game Center account
• Compare your overall achievement scores with your friends
• Find new Game Center friends with friend recommendations and friends of friends
• Discover new games with custom game recommendations
• AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S
• Multitasking Gestures for iPad
• Use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen
• Swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar
• Swipe left or right to switch between apps

• On-device setup, activation and configuration with Setup Assistant
• Software updates available over the air without tethering
• iCloud support
• iTunes in the Cloud
• Photo Stream
• Documents in the Cloud
• Apps and Books automatic download and purchase history
• Backup
• Contacts, Calendar, and Mail
• Find My iPhone

• Redesigned Music app for iPad

• Hourly weather forecast
• Real-time stock quotes
• Wireless sync to iTunes
• Keyboard improvements
• Split keyboard for iPad
• Improved autocorrection accuracy
• Improved Chinese and Japanese input
• New Emoji keyboard
• Personal dictionary for autocorrection
• Optionally create keyboard short cuts for frequently used words
• Accessibility improvements

• Option to light LED flash on incoming calls and alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
• Custom vibration patterns for incoming calls on iPhone
• New interface for using iOS with mobility-impairment input devices
• Option to speak a selection of text
• Custom element labeling for VoiceOver

• Exchange ActiveSync improvements
• Wirelessly sync tasks
• Mark messages as flagged, read or unread
• Improved offline support
• Save a new contact from a GAL service
• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2
• iPad
• iPod touch (4th generation)
• iPod touch (3rd generation)