Archive for February, 2012

Pinterest-ed?

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Pinterest Board

Pinterest Board

What do you know about Pinterest, the fastest growing social trending site that recently reached over 10 million monthly users? Pinterest is now considered to be one of the top 10 social networks in the world with the main user group being females between the ages of 25 and 44.

Pinterest is a free website by invitation only. You can request an invitation from Pinterest or be invited through Facebook, Twitter or via email by someone you know who is already a member.

Pinterest is really about you. You are sharing things that reflect your personality, things that appeal to you. And it’s a way to connect to others who are interested in the same things.

Pinterest changes the way visual content is being delivered. Instead of tweeting it or liking it, you can pin-it. With their “Pin It” tool, Pinterest will allow you to grab any image from the web and pin it to boards you categorize according to your interests. Not only are you keeping an organized record of your searches, but you are sharing with everyone in the Pinterest community.

One of our co-workers recently pinned several recipes she intends to make at some time in the future. Within an hour, no less than 20 people were “following” her. Followers can view your boards, and they can re-pin entries on to their own boards. They can also comment on your pins. You can see how quickly these pinnings can go viral.

Many reviewers mention that Pinterest is very Etsy-like in part because early on, the content has been focused on crafts, fashion, decorating; but there is a much broader spectrum of categories that span just about anything you can think of – from motorcycles to Michelin to Mariachi Bands.

Pinterest is also a great way to showcase your business or products. You can create a board with photos of your products. Your description identifies the source which includes a link to your website. When your board is viewed or when an image is re-pinned, it provides a direct link to your website where consumers can view and purchase any of your products.

And just a reminder that the photos on your website need to be posted in a format that makes them easy to pin.

You will be hearing a lot more about Pinterest as marketers find ways to use this powerful and popular site to enhance their programs and promote their client’s products. Or maybe you will just find out more about your friends and what things interest them.

How do you reach Chinese customers? A Chinese language website, of course.

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Just in time for the Chinese New Year, red rocket LA Marketing & PR has launched the first Chinese language website for longtime client and home builder, LA Urban Homes.

The Chinese website is an adaptation of the general market site that we created last year to promote LA Urban Homes’ four neighborhoods within the Azusa master-planned community of Rosedale.

In order to completely engage the buyer profile, mainly first generation Chinese or buyers of Chinese descent, LA Urban Homes marketing director, Jil Blumberg Froman, charged us with creating a Chinese language website. Made total sense. After all, beyond having sales professionals who could converse in the proper Chinese dialect,  it was truly the best way to connect with this target.

Prior to translating the English language website’s copy into Chinese, we worked with Chinese marketing strategists to revise the content so it would resonate more with the target. For example, on the English language site, the Local Area section highlights stores and conveniences in the immediate area. For the Chinese site, we modified the focus of that section to provide information on nearby vacation destinations that we knew were popular with the target, such as Mt. Baldy and Lake Arrowhead. In addition to showcasing the local public services, we also made a point of highlighting the neighborhoods’ close proximately  to public services in neighboring cities that would be of key interest to Chinese buyers.

Once the copy was reworked, it was translated and incorporated into the site design. We were very selective with the team members we put on this assignment. For the process to work smoothly, they had to be proficient in both Chinese and English. They were. The site launched on Saturday, January 21, just days before the Chinese New Year.

To  direct prospects to the site most relevant to them, the  English language site features a graphic in Chinese directing viewers to the Chinese language site. Similarly, the Chinese language site features a graphic in English directing views to the English language site.

As far as we know, this is the first Chinese language website for a US developer.

In addition to the new website, red rocket LA has been supporting LA Urban Homes’ Rosedale neighborhoods with ads in Chinese newspapers. We also intend to communicate with the target via other Chinese language online tools, such as email, for those prospects who select it as their preferred language.

At red rocket LA, we believe this is just the first of many Chinese language websites that we will either adapt from existing sites, or create from the ground up. It’s simply too large a market for home builders to ignore.