November 2011 Social Flooring Index Update Includes More Blogs; CRI Blog Continues Most Influential

Nov. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Kinnelon, NJ – Simple Marketing Now LLC’s Social Flooring Index  analyzes the flooring industry’s involvement with social media marketing tools, with particular emphasis on blogs. The November 2011 update includes more blogs than in April 2011 and The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog , established in April 2009, continues as most influential.

The November 2011 update to the Social Flooring Index includes 190 blogs [vs. 168 in April] focused on flooring and flooring related content. These 190 blogs have generated 8,174 total conversations [or blog articles] over the past 6 months which translates to 1.79 blog posts per week per blog.

Highlights of the November 2011 Social Flooring Index update include:

•   19 of 190 blogs have high and medium influence in the flooring social media community – a decrease of 2% since April 2011
•   48% promote other social network profiles [e.g., Twitter or Facebook fan pages] on their blogs, facilitating “in real life” connection. This is an increase of 7% since April, 2011
•   Those blogs engaged in other social networks primarily focus on Twitter,  then Facebook Fan Pages. Only 4% promote individual LinkedIn profiles.
•   The rate of blog post publishing is holding relatively steady at 1.79 blog articles per week vs. 1.877 in April 2011.
•   Although 43.6% of conversations specifically mention flooring products, ‘home’ comes up in 35%  of blog articles, ‘time’ in 26%, ‘design’ in 21% and ‘work’ in 20% of conversations.

“Blogs constitute the hub or core of a serious social media marketing strategy. They offer floor covering companies an effective means for connecting with core customers and establishing trust with them,” says Christine B. Whittemore, chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now. “When combined with other social media marketing tools, such as Twitter or Facebook Fan Pages, they can be extremely effective in helping company get found online.”

Credibility, trustworthiness and influence in social media marketing tools are based on publishing high quality and customer relevant content on a consistent basis over time. Relevance comes from addressing topics, issues and concerns in terms customers understand and relate to. Credibility comes from being transparent, connected [i.e., ‘social’] with others in the flooring community and willing to interact as human beings rather than as impersonal marketers.

“As Google has documented in its recent ZMOT [zero moment of truth] e-book, consumers start the purchase process online using digital and social media tools to educate themselves based on content they consider trustworthy and credible. Blogs, when done correctly, represent the perfect vehicle for the flooring industry,”  adds Whittemore.

The Social Flooring Index represents a special case of Simple Marketing Now’s Social Ranking Index for business. It provides a direct measurement of flooring industry companies’ use and integration of social media marketing tools into their day to day business. It clearly highlights who is, and who is not, making use of the new tools.  Since regularly updated websites and blogs are the single best way to get found online and attract the attention of search engines, the Social Flooring Index also provides a direct measurement of which sites are getting industry and customer attention.

Whittemore continues to add new flooring resources to the Social Flooring Index which is available by visiting http://simplemarketingnow.com/blog/social-flooring-index-... .  

For information about Simple Marketing Now and the Social Flooring Index, visit http://SimpleMarketingNow.com. Or, simply contact Whittemore at cbwhittemore@SimpleMarketingNow.com.

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About Simple Marketing Now LLC:
Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy, helps organizations get found online using social media and content marketing. For more information, visit http://SimpleMarketingNow.com.