It is that time of the year again for commercial architects and designers to start getting ready to head to The National Exposition of Contract Furnishings (NeoCon) in Chicago, IL. Held from June 11-13, NeoCon is North America’s largest design exposition and conference for commercial interiors, and provides over 40,000 architecture and design professionals with over 120 CEU-accredited seminars, association forums and superior keynote speakers. NeoCon provides more than 700 showrooms and exhibitors that have innovative products for corporate, hospitality, healthcare, retail, government, institutional and residential interiors.

It seems like Pinterest has gained popularity overnight, but despite it being easy and fun to explore, Pinterest is also a wonderful tool to help promote existing social media channels such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter. In a recent article published by social media expert, Brian Solis, he referred to a recent study that shows Pinterest has the ability to increase SEO traffic to websites and various social media channels. “According to a new report published by Shareaholic, Pinterest drove greater traffic (to websites and social media channels) than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and Youtube…combined,” says Solis.

The key is to know how to use Pinterest correctly to drive traffic to your company’s website and other social media channels. In combination with research efforts and our own expertise, the ECPR team has come up with three helpful tips on how to promote URLs, Facebook Timelines, Twitter pages, and blogs with Pinterest.

1. “Pinning” photos from existing social media channels, such as recent blog posts, Facebook albums or TwitPics, automatically creates a backlink to the originating channels. Thus, the more people who select the link to the photo source as well as “repin” the photo, higher traffic to those websites will be created. Remember, a picture paints a thousand words- “Wow” images are likely to be “repined,” helping you gain traffic and backlinking. 
2. Using specific keywords in the photo captions also helps vamp up SEO for social media channels. Adding keywords to your boards increases the odds of them appearing in a search. SEO keywords should be a single word or a phrase that consists of two to three words that directly correlate to the content of your website or social media channel. For example, if your company specializes in designing light fixtures, one good keyword would be “lighting designs.” 
3. Like Twitter, Pinterest enables users to create “hashtags.” In Pinterest, the “hashtag” symbol can be used in photo captions, which functions as a link. This allows people to instantly explore Pinterest to find all pins with the specified search term. So how does this help your SEO? If consumers seek out popular “hashtags,” such as #gardening, the more likely your “pin” will show up in searches, which helps drive traffic to your other social media channels. 

Friends and fans, are you using Pinterest to help promote your company’s Facebook Timeline, blog and Twitter page? If so, what methods are you using to do so? Please feel free to share any additional tips, ideas and questions on how to increase SEO traffic to your social media channels.

It’s been a busy couple of months for our client Big River Industries Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of expanded clay lightweight aggregate (LWA). Recently the company announced the acceptance of two Safety Awards from the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute and National Concrete Masonry Association (ICPI / NCMA). The ICPI / NCMA Safety Awards are highly coveted recognitions that represent the utmost level of plant safety commitment. The company’s Erwinsville, La. plant and Livingston Ala. plant each received an award for the number of hours worked accident free. The Erwinsville facility was acknowledged for 102,462 safe hours, and the Livingston operation was awarded for 92,357 hours.

To learn more about the ICPI / NCMA Awards, read this article on Masonry Construction’s website: http://bit.ly/LiSucf.

In addition to receiving the ICPI / NCMA Safety Awards, Big River Industries has also launched a newly redesigned website. The website offers a comprehensive overview of the company’s history, current projects, recent press coverage, literature library, as well as in depth descriptions of the wide range of product applications.

Big River Industries is known for producing high-quality, structural grade, rotary kiln-produced LWA, called Riverlite, at the company’s Livingston and Erwinsville plants. The company’s LWA product has a long track record of quality and performance. Since its development, LWA produced by the rotary kiln process has been used extensively in asphalt road surfaces, concrete bridge decks, high-rise buildings, structural concrete, concrete precast / pre-stressed construction, concrete masonry, and geotechnical applications. Other applications include storm water management, horticulture and green roofs.

To learn more about Big River Industries, visit www.bigriverindustries.com.

Photo Credit: Southern Living

Southern Living’s 2012 Idea House is nestled in the quaint town of Senoia, Ga, located approximately 25-miles outside Atlanta. A revival of an early 19th century cottage-style farmhouse, the home is set to bring in almost 40,000 visitors from June through December 2012.

This year’s Idea House was designed by the talented team of architects and place makers, Historical Concepts, while the beautifully styled interior was carefully fashioned by Tracery Interiors. On the construction side, the home was developed by Senoia Enterprises, Inc. and built by John Bynum Custom Homes, Inc., one of the Atlanta area’s premier custom home builders. On the outside of the house, the landscape was designed by Get More Curb Appeal. Together, these companies have created a memorable home to benefit Camp Southern Ground, a charity organization founded by Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band, to help children overcome academic, social and emotional difficulties.

As a great resource, the publication’s editors have dedicated a page on Southern Living’s website about this year’s Idea House. The page shares the wonderful story about the home and town in which it’s located. In addition, our client, Historical Concepts, as well as Tracery Interiors have created blog sites that reveal inside secrets about the home and design process from start to finish. Blog posts include photos, videos and much more. And, for those looking for a minute-by-minute update, check out the page’s Twitter feed. The resource page also shares a list of sponsors who have generously invested in the 2012 Idea House.

ECPR has a long-standing relationship with the Southern Living team, and we have been helping to promote the Senoia Idea House via our social media channels and other means. Also, as our client, Historical Concepts, is the architect of the home, we have been working closely with the company’s staff to plan several upcoming events at the house this summer, including a launch party for the firm’s new book entitled Coming Home: The Southern Vernacular House. Our team is excited to help our friends at Southern Living and the incredible architects at Historical Concepts to make this one of the best Idea Houses yet. Stay tuned to our blog and other social networking channels for ongoing updates as the house opens and its active schedule kicks-off soon.

To visit or learn more about this year’s Southern Living Idea House, click here.

Garden writers and editors, Terra Nova Nurseries’ Heuchera City™ Series contains some of the worldliest heucheras on the market. The series includes two brand new varieties, ‘Gotham’ and ‘Rio’ as well as six others, ‘Havana’, ‘Hollywood’, ‘Milan’, ‘Paris’, ‘Shanghai’, and ‘Vienna’. This remarkable series is definitely one to keep on the radar for an upcoming blog post or article.

Heuchera ‘Gotham’

Named after the infamous city in which Batman resides, ‘Gotham’, is the latest addition to the City™ Series. With obsidian-black leaves, this compact plant is perfect in a container or as an edger in the landscape. A fast-growing variety, ‘Gotham’ produces primrose-yellow flowers that standout like the moon on a dark night from spring to fall. Heuchera ‘Gotham’ has H. micrantha and H. sanguinea breeding, which enables it to tolerate extreme heat and drought, as well as perform well during the winter months in zones 4 – 9. The average size of ‘Gotham’ includes 10” Width / 6” Height / 11” Flower Height. This sinister new variety prefers moderately well-drained, organic soil.

Heuchera ‘Rio’

Heuchera ‘Rio’ is the sauciest variety in the series. This multicolored plant is named for a vibrant city, Rio de Janeiro. With H. americana, H. micrantha, and H. villosa breeding, ‘Rio’ can be enjoyed throughout all four seasons. This stunning new heuchera produces beautiful, short maroon flower spikes with white flowers that bloom in the summer. Its foliage color is ever-changing from peach-amber, to amber, then to tan, and finally to yellow-amber. ‘Rio’ is a large and vigorous plant that makes for a great garden performer and a container star. Its average size includes 14” Width / 9” Height / 14” Flower Height and it performs well in zones 4 – 9.   

Heuchera ‘Paris’

Heuchera ‘Paris’ has striking, white-veiled green leaves that give rise to continuous columns of large, deep rose-colored flowers. With its H. americana, H. cylindrical and H. sanguinea breeding, this classy heuchera has repeat blooms from summer to frost, with a single bloom-stem lasting for 2 months. ‘Paris’ is excellent in containers or the shade border. Its average size includes 14” Width / 7” Height / 14” Flower Height and it performs well in zones 4 – 9.

Heuchera ‘Shanghai’

Interested in an insider look at the hottest new products for outdoor grilling and entertaining?

The ECPR team recently worked with editors of Casual Living, a top trade-based magazine that covers casual lifestyle news and products, to help co-write and act as Editor at Large for a trends article stemming from the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo that took place in March. The article entitled “Haute & Hot,” published in the April issue of the magazine and covers some of the latest and most innovative products in the hearth, patio and barbecue industries.

“Haute & Hot” features companies who manufacture technologically advanced grilling systems, outdoor fireplaces and fire pits, and elegant outdoor seating collections. The range of companies showcased in the article includes a selection of our clients as well as industry leaders such as RH Peterson, Big Green Egg and O.W. Lee. In addition to profiling new products, the article shares the latest industry and product trends our team uncovered. To read the full article on Casual Living’s website, click here.

It is that time of year again for our team at Eberly & Collard Public Relations to start preparing for the National Hardware Show (NHS) in Las Vegas, NV. Held from May 1-3, the National Hardware Show offers one of the most complete ranges of home-related products ranging from hand and power tools, electrical and plumbing, housewares, and paint to home décor, lawn and garden, and tailgating products. Show attendees, including retailers, buyers, distributors, media members, and more, will have the opportunity to network with some of the most innovative and well-known companies in the industry. And, to help kick-off the show, our team will be sharing an inside look at some of the products attendees will see this year.

As part of a preview prior to NHS, and in a series following the show, we will be reporting on top products and trends. We’ll begin by publishing a photo album on our Facebook Timeline for attendees and members of the media. Many of our media contacts (editors, publishers, producers, bloggers, etc.) have requested this resource, as is our norm, so we are looking forward to reporting helpful information about our clients and many others in the industry.

As you follow our posted Facebook album in late April and early May, feel free to add your comments under each narrative / photo. Products with the most comments could be considered for our post-show “Best of Show” feature series. We are looking forward to sharing valuable information and trends with our friends, fans and readers. Be sure to follow us on Twitter during the show, as we’ll be tweeting about products and trends from NHS as well. Here are our social media channels; be sure to bookmark, fan and follow them to stay on top of breaking information:

• Blog: http://www.eberlycollardpr.blogspot.com/
• Facebook Fanpage: http://on.fb.me/JB5hsj 
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/eberlycollardpr
• Flickr photo pages: http://tinyurl.com/ECPR-Flickr

Members of the media whom may not yet have tapped into this resource, contact us if you would like to receive special articles, product profiles, photos, etc. directly.

~ ECPR team

• Made in America Pavilion – The Made in America theme has increased in popularity immensely among Americans. This year, the pavilion has expanded to over 32,000 square feet, due to the growing trend of consumer awareness and demand for American-made goods. Exhibitors include Flat Rock Furniture, Habersham, Shiner/Home Source International, and many others. For a full list of exhibitors in the Made in America Pavilion, click here. 

• Century Furniture, LLC – Located in the Market Square Building, spaces 500, 412, Century Furniture will be showcasing upscale home furnishings and accessories. Ranging from a variety of styles including French, Coastal, Contemporary, Mediterranean, and more. In addition to producing elegant, handcrafted products, Century Furniture has embraced the sustainability movement. Since 1947, the company has been creating furniture and accessories at its Hickory, NC facility, using predominantly domestic materials to help reduce energy costs. To learn more about Century Furniture, click here. 

• Lamp Works – Buyers and retailers, Lamp Works, is one of the top lighting design companies showcasing new products at this year’s market. Located in the IHFC Building, space D341, Lamp Works designs beautiful, high-end light fixtures. Ranging in styles, shapes and sizes, the company’s designs are ideal for hospitality projects. One of the company’s most recent installations includes Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. To learn more about Lamp Works, click here. 

High Point Market is the place to be in April for companies in the furniture and accessories industry. Retailers, buyers and media members will have the opportunity to catch a first glimpse at the newest and most innovative products that will soon be available to consumers. For those of you exhibiting or attending the event, visit High Point Market’s website for more details at www.highpointmarket.org.

Twitter is a great way to connect with clients and customers via quick conversational exchanges. Though some Tweets can be vague and slightly ambiguous, the point is to create short phrases and messages to get your meaning across in a direct and instant manner. Essentially, Twitter is a short-form messaging tool, geared towards businesses looking for new ways to communicate with target audiences. And, not to forget, Twitter is also a platform for listening to the communication of others.

Twitter’s primary difference from other social media channels is that each individual tweet, is restricted to 140 characters or less. As a Twitter user, you can post updates; follow and view updates from other users; and send a public reply or private direct message to connect with another tweeter.

As a guide, below, the ECPR team has put together four simple steps to creating meaningful Tweets. Let’s begin!

Page Tags: Much like Facebook, Twitter allows users to interact and connect with potential clients, consumers and fellow industry professionals. The key is to use the “@” symbol to “tag” other Twitter pages. The “@” is a means of sharing valuable information from an outside source, who also has a Twitter account, thus virally connecting your business page with the source’s page.

Photo Credit – John Burcham for The New York Times

To our designer friends, we thought you might enjoy reading about “The Ultimate Man Cave.” Located in a remote region of Utah, Ivo Zdarsky has turned an airplane hangar, dubbed Lucin International Airport, into his very own bachelor pad. Complete with a 90-inch flat screen T.V., a drum set and two mattresses, Zdarsky goes about his daily business in the most distinct fashion. While the design of the hangar is intriguing in itself, the unique story of the man who created it is even more compelling.

To read the full article on The New York Times website, click here. Be honest, what do you think of Ivo Zdarsky’s man cave?