Visual Marketing

VISUAL MARKETING

a presentation by Denise Keniston

web4retail.com 1-877-536-4786web ecommerce seo social email

Web4Retail is an internet marketing agency that works with home furnishing, textile, and interior design businesses.

Our philosophy is simple: create and maintain comprehensive and effective online marketing programs and provide our clients with superior service while doing so.

We believe that to make substantial gains, a business, no matter how large or small, must seize the vast opportunities of internet marketing.

We’ve proven this through our own success, and we guarantee

that our clients will experience the same prosperity.

WE DON’T JUST TALK THE TALK, WE WALK THE WALK

WHO WE ARE

web ecommerce seo social email


CEO of Web4Retail and a Social Media expert,

Denise Keniston is responsible for building many successful

online marketing programs with the use of many visual

platforms like Pinterest, Houzz, Instagram, and others. She

specializes in working with retailers and designers within the

home furnishings, interior design, and textile industries.

Initially a Social Media skeptic, Ian Savage has been shown the light. As

Web4Retail’s assisstant designer and developer, he works with Denise

on many projects, including this presentation, and helps her turn her

many marketing ideas into graphic reality.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS


OVERVIEWOUR VISUAL INDUSTRYMAKE WAY FOR MOBILESNAPPING PHOTOSPINTEREST HOUZZINSTAGRAMCONCLUSIONS


There’s no doubt about it, the Home Furnishings, Interior

Design, and Textile industries are all visual in nature. Your

clients and customers want to see beautiful room shots,

fresh product imagery, and interesting captions. Because

of this, visual Social Media platforms can be extremely

effective marketing tools.

We’re already seeing social networks that feature images

and videos increasing in popularity. But before you flood

Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram with your content, make

sure it’s of a certain quality. Paying a professional might

seem unecessary, but you can rest assured knowing you’re

giving the best possible photos and videos to your audience.

OUR VISUAL INDUSTRY


Over the last few years, we’ve seen a massive increase in Social Media access and

engagement from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Statistics show that

almost 60% OF USERS (4.2 billion people) access Social Media on a mobile device!

Check out the statistics below for a breakdown of mobile use by platform:

MORE THAN 75% OF USERS REPORT ACCESSING PINTEREST VIA A MOBILE DEVICE, WITH 40% SAYING THEY ARE ‘MOBILE ONLY’

BEING A MOBILE APP, INSTAGRAM SEES ALMOST ALL OF ITS USE VIA MOBILE, BUT HAS SEEN A 66% GROWTH IN THE PAST YEAR

MAKE WAY FOR MOBILE

IN 2013, HOUZZ SAW A 400% INCREASE IN MOBILE DOWNLOADS, TOPPING 5 MILLION, WITH THE MOST ACTIVITY SEEN ON IPADS


SNAPPING PHOTOS

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get quality

visual content to share on sites like Pinterest, Houzz, and Instagram.

You just need phone or digital camera and a bit of know-how. Here

are a few tried and true methods for ensuring you get a good photo:

• Use a smart phone! Most current phones have the

ability to take decent photos, but make sure to focus

your shot, keep your hands steady, or set it on a table!

• Use a digital camera! Whether you’ve got a simple

point-and-shoot or a professional DSLR camera,

they’ll both do the trick. Again, keep it steady or

mount it on a tripod to ensure a clean shot.

• Hire a professional! If you want to guarantee good

quality photos and don’t mind spending the money,

this is the best way to go.


With it’s heavy emphasis on interesting visual content

that can easily be shared amongst a large audience,

Pinterest has become a natural marketing outlet for

many designers and retailers within the industry. Here

are some things you should know in order to maximize

the potential of your pinning:

• Don’t just plaster your boards with bad

photos or obnoxious promotions

• Take the time to snap a few quality photos

or hire a professional to take them for you

• Add rich descriptions and add any relevant

hashtags or keywords

PINTEREST


PINTEREST cont.Though they’re a fairly new addition to Pinterest,

Rich Pins can be extremely useful for taking advantage

of the high purchase rate of the average Pinner. They

allow you to add real-time pricing and availability, which

immediately adds an incentive for pinners to purchase

your pinned products.

Another useful type of Rich Pins are ‘Places Pins’. These

allow you to attach a map with a physical location and

contact details to any of your pins. This can also really

help drive foot traffic into your location. For more

information on how to best utilize Rich Pins, visit

business.pinterest.com/rich-pins/


Though Houzz is a relatively young social network,

it’s emerging as a leader for the home and

garden community. The majority of its members

are comprised of professional architects, interior

designers, decorators, and landscapers who can

share their portfolios and projects with others in a

creative and collaborative environment.

Again, the visual nature of Houzz makes it an ideal

fit for an Interior Designer looking to make a name

for themselves, showcase their portfolio, and get

some feedback from fellow designers.

HOUZZ


One of the main draws of Houzz is the ability to create

and display what are called ‘Idea Books’. Aptly named,

they allow users to share ideas surrounding a

common theme, like trim colors, landscaping tricks,

or industrial-inspired decorating. Many are useful

how-to guides, and others are based on the personal

taste of the designer or author.

When creating your own Idea Book, you can use a few

of your own portfolio images in order to maximize

your exposure, but don’t use too many or you risk

coming across as being a bit egotistical or overly

promotional.

HOUZZ cont.


Instagram has grown from a simple phone app into

a massive social media community, and is now one of

the biggest photo sharing sites on the web. Part of

it’s success can be attributed to it’s purchase by and

intergration with Facebook in 2012. It’s key feature is

that it allows users to snap photos on their phone and

then run them through different filters, giving their

pictures a vintage feel.

As with Pinterest and Houzz, Instragram can play a

vital role in helping to market a furniture or interior

design business. It makes sharing snap shots of

your projects or showroom a no-brainer, and helps

reinforce your presence on Facebook. by providing

your clients and customers with interesting visuals.

INSTAGRAM


INSTAGRAM cont.It’s important to remember when using

Instagram that it’s primarily used and

viewed on mobile devices, like smart phones

and tablets. You’re only able to take and

manipulate photos using your phone, so have it

handy for taking opportune photos. And if you

don’t have a smart phone, trying asking one of

your staff if they could take a few shots for you.

Even though you might want to add a filter to

your image before sharing it, statistics show

that the most popular choice is actually

nottouseanyfilteratall. This is referred to

as #nofilter when using hashtags, which you

should always try to include in your posts.


With all the different platforms and mediums out there it can be tough to figure out how best to adapt your marketing to

this new age of social media. But based on what we’ve covered, here are the things to remember:

• The home furnishing, textile, and interior design industries are 99% visual. Start becoming familiar with photography related social media and use them to your advantage.

• If you’re going to post photos, make sure they’re not crooked, blurry, or otherwise poor quality. Take the extra few minutes to set up a shot, or hire a professional. To your social audience, it makes you more engaging and more reputable.

• Mobile is on the rise, and requires a bit of extra consideration. Keep this in mind when creating / distributing your content.

• Don’t spam yourself or your sales. No one likes getting bombarded with heavy-handed promotions. The smart marketer posts about their own content along with

interesting and relevant photos, graphics, or articles.

CONCLUSIONS