Social Flooring Blog Index Update - May 2010

The last formal portion of the Social Flooring Index looks at Blogs which I've updated for May 2010.

[Here is a link to the first update, Social Flooring Index: Blogs - Beta, issued in July 2009. The second Social Flooring Blog Index was issued in November 2009.]

You'll notice that I've added two columns to sort these flooring related blogs:

+ Role in the industry: association, consultant, misc, retailer [refers to anyone engaged in flooring commerce], trade show and writer.

+ Blog content

Social Flooring Blog Index methodology

I continue to use both the Hubspot website grader and the Hubspot blog grader. I find that the information that each gives is of value and relevant depending on the blog's publishing activity [i.e., static vs. dynamic].

A few observations about the Social Flooring Blog Index:

I noticed considerable improvement in the Blog Grade for those blogs I graded in November.

This listing includes 18 blogs included for the first time!

Go explore! I suggest you focus on those with a personal tone as they will offer you the most ideas for using the blog medium to bring your organization's personality to life.

Then, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer:

For the record, I have included three of my blogs [Flooring The Consumer, Social Flooring Index and Carpetology] in the listing for calibration and also because of relevant content.

Also, I am involved with the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog, the DOMOTEX Blog and the Floor Covering Institute Blog.

As usual, if I've missed an active blog, please let me know.

[Note to see the rightmost columns, expand the width of this page. Last column is tone [personal vs. impersonal] and you should be able to see enough of the word to figure out which is which. I'll work on making this more user friendly. 5/18/10: I've tweaked the table a bit.]

4/26/2010

[as of 5/15]

Blog

Website

Blog

Grader

Grade

Post. Freq.

Last Post

First Post

Tone

ASSOCIATION

carpet industry

http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com

98

96

2x per week

5/11/2010

Apr-09

personal

flooring, design

http://floortalk.wfca.org/

88

98

monthly

4/22/2010

Sep-07

personal

CONSULTANT

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

wood flooring

http://hardwoodflooringnut.blogspot.com/

96

63

inconsistent

1/27/2010

Oct-07

personal

carpet, design

http://Carpetology.blogspot.com

77

97

monthly

4/22/2010

Dec-08

personal

flooring info

http://fromthefloorsup.com/

77

95

2x per week

4/30/2010

May-09

personal

flooring marketing

http://FlooringTheConsumer.blogspot.com

77

98

2x per week

5/12/2010

Jun-06

personal

flooring industry

http://www.socialflooringindex.com

69

89

2x per mo

4/26/2010

Sep-09

personal

flooring industry

http://blog.floorcoveringinstitute.com/

69

85

1x per week

5/11/2010

Sep-09

personal

flooring info

http://www.floorfacts.com/floor-blog/

42

73

inconsistent

11/18/2009

Feb-08

impersonal

flooring products

http://www.flooringprofessor.com/flooring-blog.html

42

81

inconsistent

8/11/2009

Jul-07

impersonal

flooring industry

http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/

20

94

inconsistent

3/9/2010

Aug-08

personal

flooring industry

http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/pro/

20

91

4-5x per week

5/10/2010

Jun-08

impersonal

flooring products

http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/consumer/

20

97

4x per week

5/10/2010

Jun-08

impersonal

Green flooring

http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/green/

20

95

inconsistent

5/7/2010

Dec-08

impersonal

flooring, design

http://www.scarletopustrendsblog.co.uk/

11

61

2x per week

5/14/2010

Feb-09

personal

MISCELLANEOUS

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

flooring products

www.askthebuildingexperts.com

85

71

inconsistent

4/6/2010

May-09

impersonal

flooring, design

http://rscarpet.blogspot.com/

85

67

inconsistent

3/29/2010

Dec-07

personal

carpet design

www.blog.ultron.com

85

82

inconsistent

12/21/2009

Jun-09

personal

carpet info

http://carpetgirl.wordpress.com/

22

51

inconsistent

3/3/2010

Jun-09

personal

RETAILER

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

flooring products

http://www.flooringnow.com/

98

93

inconsistent

4/7/2010

Sep-07

impersonal

flooring, design

http://blog.duralumcarpets.com

96

66

1x per week

4/25/2010

Oct-09

personal

wood flooring

http://faq.woodyoulike.co.uk

96

97

2x per week

4/28/2010

Sep-06

personal

flooring, design

http://blog.builddirect.com/

90

99

1x per week

5/10/2010

Dec-07

personal

flooring info

http://infloormation.com/

85

90

2x per week

5/5/2010

May-09

personal

flooring products

http://blog.mybigbobs.com

85

92

1x per week?

5/11/2010

Aug-09

personal

wood flooring

http://blog.mckayflooring.co.uk/

85

95

1x per week

5/10/2010

Oct-09

personal

wood flooring

http://www.mckayflooringblog.com/

85

88

monthly

5/6/2010

Jun-08

personal

flooring, design

http://flooringgallery.blogspot.com/

77

53

inconsistent

2/24/2010

Feb-09

impersonal

flooring products

http://www.colesfineflooring.com/blog/

69

79

inconsistent

4/5/2010

Aug-09

impersonal

Green flooring

http://blog.builddirect.com/greenbuilding/

69

98

1x per week

5/10/2010

Jul-08

personal

flooring industry

http://blog.builddirect.com/industryinsights/

64

95

1x per mo

May-10

Apr-08

personal

testimonials

http://flooringstories.empiretoday.com/

64

89

3-4x per week

4/29/2010

Feb-08

personal

flooring products

http://carpetonefh.blogspot.com/

62

49

inconsistent

9/1/2009

Mar-09

impersonal

flooring, design

http://hwintertile.blogspot.com/

62

45

1x per mo

5/5/2010

Aug-08

personal

Green flooring

http://alexandriacarpetone.wordpress.com/

62

86

1x per week

4/7/2010

Sep-08

personal

Green flooring

http://workinggreenrdweis.blogspot.com/

62

57

2x per week

5/5/2010

Feb-09

personal

rugs, design, info

http://rugnroll.blogspot.com/

62

42

inconsistent

3/25/2010

Sep-09

personal

flooring, design

http://hemphillbrett.wordpress.com/

42

65

2-3x per week

5/14/2010

Feb-09

personal

flooring products

http://www.mercercarpetone.blogspot.com

38

38

2-3x per mo

5/14/2010

Dec-09

personal

flooring, design

http://johnsoncarpetone.blogspot.com/

37

21

inconsistent

4/9/2010

Aug-09

personal

flooring products

asktheflooracle.com

31

49

inconsistent

1/26/2010

Apr-08

impersonal

carpet cleaning

http://craigscarpetcleaning.blogspot.com/

22

31

3-4x per week

5/11/2010

Mar-09

impersonal

flooring

http://bigbobherself.blogspot.com

22

35

inconsistent

5/15/2010

Feb-10

personal

flooring products

http://justinlmorgan.blogspot.com/

22

15

1x per week

4/29/2010

9/27/2010

personal

flooring promos

www.carpetoneboise.wordpress.com

22

30

inconsistent

2/25/2010

May-09

personal

flooring promos

http://hptyler.blogspot.com/

22

16

1-2x per week

5/10/2010

Mar-10

impersonal

flooring products

http://www.carpetsbyotto.com/

18

95

monthly

5/1/2010

Aug-08

personal

flooring

www.yourfifthwall.com

12

58

2x per week

5/7/2010

Mar-10

personal

wood flooring

http://bestwoodfloors.biz/

12

54

inconsistent

4/20/2010

Oct-09

impersonal

flooring industry

http://blog.builddirect.com/buildingmaterialsprocurement/

11

96

inconsistent

Mar-10

Jan-09

personal

flooring, design

http://www.zabitatz.com/profile/OntheFloor

11

51

inconsistent

1/26/2010

Apr-08

impersonal

wood flooring

www.wideplankflooring.com/blog

11

89

4x per week

5/9/2010

Jan-08

personal

flooring, design

http://floorcrunch.co.uk/

0

20

1-2x per week

5/12/2010

Dec-09

personal

Definitely, go explore for yourselves. Blogs, moreso than any of the other social platforms, represent the cornerstone for a content marketing strategy that integrates into the other social tools. Explore how these blogs differ from one another, which ones communicate relevant information to you, and how you might make sense of the medium for your business.

Best,
C.B. Whittemore

Note: Graphic above is Social Flooring Index Wordle from Flooring The Consumer

PlazaRugs.com & Twitter

PlazaRugs.com is listed on the latest update to the Social Flooring Twitter Index. They actively use Twitter.

Nicole Trafton, who manages PlazaRugs.com's Twitter presence, recently contacted me. She had noticed my many questions in the post and offered to respond.

I'm very pleased to share with you perspective from Plaza Rugs about their use of Twitter.

C.B.: Nicole, tell me about Plaza Rugs.

NT: Plaza Rugs is a family business that started in 2002. It began as solely an online store that featured both designer and discount rugs from a variety of brands. They eventually grew in their online presence, which lead to a new physical store opening in St. Louis, MO in 2009. They currently feature over 8,000 rugs on PlazaRugs.com, and the family still runs the business.

C.B.: Who manages social media for Plaza Rugs?

NT: Plaza Rugs' social media is managed by a small interactive marketing business, Digital Media Midwest [note: website in transition]. We work very closely with Plaza Rugs to pinpoint their message and the type of audience they'd like to reach out to.

I work for Digital Media Midwest as a "Digital Media Account Manager", which pretty much includes website copy writing, SEO, social media, and interactive marketing. I've been with them for about a year and a half- they're based in St. Louis, and I work out of Chicago because I'm in graduate school here as well.

CB: PlazaRugs.com is active on Twitter. I'd love to hear your take on the value that Twitter brings you.

NT: We at Plaza Rugs try to actively engage in conversation, as this provides a lot of value. Viewing Twitter as just a means to spit out information about your company means you're not taking full advantage of the medium- there's a lot of dialogue happening out there, and we want to be a part of it. You can learn from your followers (and potential customers) just as much as they can learn from you.

C.B.: What about growing your Twitter followers, are you actively pursuing followers or are you more conservative? What is your strategy and why?

NT: We probably fall somewhere in between these two. We focus on gaining more Twitter followers, but we don't just follow anyone. Our strategy is to reach out to those who share our common interests, and that's not necessarily just rugs. We look for interior designers, home decorators, DIYers, and anyone with whom we can engage in dialogue. They may not be in the market for a rug, but we can swap ideas and learn a lot from our Twitter followers. Plus, their retweets and comments always help us gain a better and wider audience and help us learn new things.

C.B.: Do you have Twitter success stories to share?

NT: We were able to connect with a blogger on Twitter who wrote about her life as a mom, her four children, and products they enjoyed. We let her pick out a children's rug and sent it to her for free. She then blogged about it, which was not only good publicity for us, but it allowed us to have some direct feedback on one of our products. The post is here: Their Feet Were Cold and Now They Aren't Thanks to Plaza Rugs.

C.B.: How important is geography in building your Twitter network?

NT: We do not focus on geography because PlazaRugs.com is mainly an online store. Although we do have a physical shop in St. Louis, MO, so we've connected with many people in the St. Louis area.

C.B.: What about Facebook?

NT: Right now we're focusing most of our attention on Twitter, simply because we seem to engage in more dialogue and connect with more people. Plus, we are able to seek out people, respond to their comments, and follow them. We have a Facebook page, and we intend to adopt more of a local strategy for that in the future (i.e., offers, discounts and competitions for the local store in St. Louis). We also hope to use Facebook as a way to showcase our rugs, as we can display images and connect users to the Plaza Rugs site.

Thanks, Nicole!

What questions do you have for Nicole and Plaza Rugs?

To follow Plaza Rugs on Twitter, click on @PlazaRugs.

Best,

C.B. Whittemore

Social Flooring Facebook Index Update - April 2010 Update

And, now, what you've all been waiting for... the Social Flooring Facebook Index updated for April 2010!

The last Facebook update of the Social Flooring Index was published in November 2009.

What's different?

You'll notice that I added a column to capture the percentage change in fans/friends since the last update.

In terms of yes/no for Convo? - I look for at least one interaction, acknowledgment, thank you, etc.

I separated out Facebook Fan pages with no activity, labeled them 'dormant' and listed them at the bottom of the list. Amazingly, even with no activity or interaction, many added Fans. Go figure.

I eliminated the Groups list - several of those had disappeared and many had little activity that had to do with specific businesses. Tracking whether the groups are managed or not isn't straightforward either. If you feel strongly about Groups, let me know.

Social Flooring Facebook Index Observations

• I was pleased that many companies formerly with 'friend' profiles for themselves have shut those down and created Fan pages instead. I consider that good Facebook practice!
• You'll notice that many businesses don't bother to interact with Fans: no acknowledgments, no thanks for your comments, no conversation...
  
• Several Fan pages have gotten very comfortable interacting with their fans since the last update. The result: phenomenal % increases.
  
• Pages with no oversight do attract Spam. I noticed one enterprising individual who left the same sales message on many of the Fan pages I checked out.
  

Once again, questions:

• Those of you active on Facebook, but not engaged in conversation, I'd love to hear more about why you use Facebook and how it benefits your business? Why not engage with Fans?
• Do you actively try to build your Fan base? How do you do so?
• Those immersed in Facebook, how has it benefited your business? Do you look for specific feedback from Fans? What works best in engaging them?
• Any Facebook success stories to share?
• How many in your organization help manage your Facebook page?

		As of 4/16/10		% since
Name		# of		11/18/2009		Fans, etc.		Convo		Last Upd.
Lowe's Home Improvement		100,108		25%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
The Home Depot		34,939		142%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Lowe's Creative Ideas		21,254		50%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Lowes		4,202		85%		fans		yes		1/27/2010
Mohawk		3,257		27%		fans		no		4/16/2010
CarpetMate Under Carpet Heaters		1,308		603%		fans		yes		4/1/2010
Flooring America		1,012		772%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
RugBuddy under Area Rug Heater		924		135%		fans		yes		4/8/2010
TileWarm Tile Floor Heaters		694		273%		fans		yes		3/24/2010
Carpets N More Las Vegas		693		3200%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
http://www.facebook.com/rugandrelic		641		na		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Palmetto Floors		592		38%		fans		yes		4/5/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home		573		128%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Carpets N More, Colorado		567		2600%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Avalon Flooring		559		na		fans		yes		4/15/2010
Carpet One Floor and Home- Wilmington		538		na		fans		yes		4/14/2010
Big Bob's DFW		531		na		fans		no		3/20/2010
Tile Magazine		465		45%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Tile Magazine		464		na		fans		no		4/16/2010
Oscars CarpetOne, NJ		419		28%		fans		no		1/25/2010
Floor Covering Weekly		394		52%		fans		no		4/14/2010
BuildDirect		365		71%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home, Panama City FL		325		37%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
HomePlus Longview TX		323		39%		fans		yes		4/15/2010
CarpetsPlus ColorTile		317		68%		fans		no		4/11/2010
Holloway Carpet One Floor & Home		302		23%		fans		no		4/13/2010
Karastan		301		34%		fans		no		3/22/2010
Oscars Carpet One Floor and Home [old?]		286		8%		fans		no		3/28/2009
Acadian Flooring America		260		na		fans		no		4/15/2010
Gold Star Carpet One Floor & Home		256		94%		fans		yes		3/25/2010
Mannington Floors		253		42%		fans		no		4/14/2010
Fans of Kenny's Carpet One		252		na		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Duralum Carpets, Inc.		233		357%		fans		yes		4/14/2010
Pierce Flooring and Design, Montana		217		99%		fans		yes		4/16/2010
Independent Carpet One Floor & Home		214		75%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Martin's Flooring		196		na		fans		no		4/8/2010
J&J/Invision		194		64%		fans		yes		4/1/2010
Bentley Prince Street		187		82%		fans		no		4/14/2010
Coyle Carpet One Floor & Home		182		37%		fans		no		4/9/2010
Big Bob's Flooring Outlet Yuma AZ		181		341%		fans		yes		4/14/2010
Baker Bros | Arizona Flooring | Arizona Floor | Phoenix Hardwood		169		na		fans		yes		4/1/2010
Johnson Carpet One Floor & Home		164		64%		fans		yes		4/15/2010
National Floor Trends		163		54%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Mannington Commercial		161		13%		fans		no		4/14/2010
DalTile		159		137%		fans		no		4/8/2010
Bradford Carpet One Floor & Home		145		174%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Big Bob's Flooring Outlet - Herself		136		na		fans		no		3/30/2010
L&M Carpet One Floor & Home		134		415%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Flooring Gallery		132		94%		fans		no		4/13/2010
ProSource Wholesale Floorcovering		128		97%		fans		no		4/13/2010
Aggieland Carpet One Floor & Home		121		75%		fans		no		4/7/2010
Foremost Interiors		121		1110%		fans		no		3/15/2010
Mercer Carpet One, Maryland		113		64%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Columbia Flooring		111		61%		fans		no		4/14/2010
ProSource Wholesale Floorcoverings		101		274%		fans		yes		4/12/2010
Carpets By Otto		94		19%		fans		no		3/24/2010
Florcraft Carpet One Floor & Home		94		38%		fans		yes		4/10/2010
Jabro Carpet One Floor & Home		94		96%		fans		yes		4/5/2010
Kensington Carpet One Floor & Home		91		102%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home - Carroll		87		85%		fans		yes		4/14/2010
Emerson Carpet One		87		na		fans		no		4/9/2010
Big Bob's Flooring Outlet - Flooring-Furniture-Mattresses		84		45%		fans		no		4/7/2010
Bear's Carpet One		73		na		fans		no		4/5/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home - Spirit Lake		70		218%		fans		no		4/14/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home - Ames		68		143%		fans		no		4/14/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home, Loves Park		67		168%		fans		yes		4/8/2010
Colonial Floor Covering Carpet One		63		200%		fans		no		3/25/2010
Baileys Carpet One Floor & Home		50		213%		fans		no		3/17/2010
Inside Design Carpet One Floor & Home		46		667%		fans		no		3/23/2010
Home Plus Tyler		41		na		fans		no		4/14/2010
CT Floor Covering Association		40		21%		fans		yes		4/7/2010
FLOORING BY COGDILL		32		19%		fans		no		4/13/2010
Coles-Fine-Flooring/126010313641		26		na		fans		no		4/14/2010
ProSource of Phoenix		10		43%		fans		no		4/16/2010
Big Bob's Alaska		8		na		fans		no		4/1/2010
Unique Wood Floors		7		na		fans		no		4/15/2010
WoodYouLike		4		na		fans		yes		4/16/2010

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Floor Leaders, Ft. Lauderdale		1,759		49%		friends		no		4/6/2010
McKay Flooring Glasgow		1,595		116%		friends		no		4/15/2010
Wd Flooring		1,516		194%		friends		no		4/16/2010
Speedheat Floor-Heating		1,209		58%		friends		no		4/15/2010
Herron Carpet One		855		na		friends		no		4/6/2010
Home Plus Longview now Tim Holland		500		131%		friends		no		?
Rhodes FA, Gulfport/Biloxi MS		223		-2%		friends		no		na
Kerns Carpets		208		49%		friends		no		3/10/2010
Abbey Carpet, Philadelphia PA		191		16%		friends		no		na
Bentley Prince Street		190		17%		friends		yes		4/8/2010
Floor Décor		180		na		friends		no		4/16/2010
Alexandria CarpetOne, Washington DC		170		115%		friends		yes		4/15/2010
Mohawk Flooring		158		86%		friends		no		3/31/2010
Premiere Flooring America		106		14%		friends		yes		1/29/2010
Floor Trader Richmond		92		300%		friends		no		3/29/2010
Broadway Carpet NYC		90		14%		friends		no		7/23/2009
Floor Data		64		na		friends		no		4/5/2010
Jim Boyd's Flooring America		62		265%		friends		no		11/9/2009
Ramey Carpet One		61		49%		friends		no		1/19/2010
Berks Carpetone		56		51%		friends		no		3/6/2010
Floor Trader Indy		43		79%		friends		no		3/4/2010

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dormant Facebook Fan Pages
Shaw Industries		566		95%		fans		no		2/2/2009
Cramers Carpet One Floor & Home		147		29%		fans		yes		12/9/2009
Relax it's Lees		111		10%		fans		no		9/4/2009
The Floor Trader - Jacksonville		102		1%		fans		no		7/18/2009
Ramey Carpet One Floor & Home		99		8%		fans		no		6/9/2009
Pucci Carpet One Floor & Home		98		42%		fans		yes		4/14/2009
The Floor Trader Orange Park		89		0%		fans		no		6/27/2009
Alexandria Carpet One Floor & Home		86		13%		fans		no		1/18/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home National Green Select Day		82		-1%		fans		no		8/11/2009
Century Carpet One Floor & Home		80		45%		fans		yes		2/12/2010
Carpet One Floor and Home Design Center		68		143%		fans		no		6/28/2009
BPS Rugs.com		65		38%		fans		no		2/19/2010
Floors To Your Home		63		26%		fans		yes		12/18/2009
Glines Carpet One Floor & Home		63		200%		fans		no		na
George's Carpet One Floor & Home		61		205%		fans		no		2/18/2010
Modern Carpet One Floor & Home		60		253%		fans		no		4/7/2009
Walkers Carpet One Floor and Home		59		195%		fans		no		3/9/2010
Plaza Rugs.com		58		na		fans		no		10/7/2009
Flooring America by CarpetSmart		54		20%		fans		no		2/10/2009
SCS Carpet One Floor & Home		53		194%		fans		no		2/14/2010
Carpet One Floor & Home - Dallas/Ft. Worth		50		614%		fans		no		6/17/2009
Olson Carpet One Floor & Home		50		456%		fans		no		na
Ultron Carpet Fiber		43		34%		fans		no		1/19/2010
Flooring America Supercenter		40		11%		fans		no		6/11/2009
Flooring America of Rapid City, SD		38		6%		fans		no		11/6/2009
Strathmore Floors-Design-Cabinets		38		na		fans		yes		3/7/2010
Majestic Abbey Carpet & Floor		31		82%		fans		no		11/24/2009
A A Carpet and Rugs		24		20%		fans		no		7/25/2009
Anderson Hardwood Floors		21		50%		fans		no		3/2/2010
Great S.E. Flooring America		15		50%		fans		no		na
ProSource of Denver		13		86%		fans		no		5/11/2009
Cannon Carpet One Floor & Home		12		50%		fans		no		na
Big Bob's Outlet Overland Park, KS		6		na		fans		yes		10/6/2009
Carpet Corner is… Flooring America of Bradenton		5		25%		fans		no		8/25/2009

I encourage you to explore these accounts on Facebook. You'll learn quite a bit. To visit any of these accounts yourself, simply go to http://www.facebook.com and search for the company name.

Note: you can find me on Facebook by clicking on SimpleMarketingNow.

Thank you for contributing names to this Social Flooring Facebook Index listing. If you know of others I have missed, please do let me know.

Best,
C.B. Whittemore

Note: Graphic above is Social Flooring Index Wordle from Flooring The Consumer