When it comes to embracing social media marketing to promote tile, you need to pay attention to Crossville Tile.  The company knows how to use digital marketing to get the word out about the beautiful tile products it manufactures.

Behind this expertise are two women: Lindsey Waldrep, vice president of marketing for Crossville Tile, and Irene Williams, owner of digital marketing and PR firm, Msg2Mkt.

How can a flooring website redesign from 2008 provide value 10 years later?

It's a good question. And, yet, as I read through the detail on the Wear-Dated website redesign, I can't help but think how relevant many of the principles of that redesign remain today.

Ready to explore with me?

If you've spend any time exploring the tile industry on social networks, you've most probably come across Irene Williams. She is the owner/principal of Msg2Mkt, a brilliant writer with a wicked sense of humor, not to mention the genius behind @TileTuesday on Instagram.

Arpi Nalbandian has an eye for visual content, especially when it comes to capturing the beauty of the tile industry on visual social networks such as Instagram. During Coverings17, she and fellow visual tile maven Irene Williams will share wisdom about marketing with Instagram. In anticipation of those sessions, I caught up with Arpi to learn more.

By the way, you'll enjoy reading these previous articles about Arpi:

• Tileometry's Arpi Nalbandian Talks Social Networking for Business

• Wondering About Instagram for the Tile Industry?

If you are wondering about how to use Instagram for the tile industry, you've come to the right place. 

Arpi Nalbandian, founder of Tileometry, is extremely knowledgeable about tile and social networking for business. She combines the two in her own business. 

Trend forecasting by its very nature forces customer focus. When done expertly, it identifies customer needs and preferences before they become aware themselves, enabling companies to connect in a way that generates Apple-like loyalty and passion. That in turn drives growth.

Scarlet Opus is one such expert trend forecaster and one I first encountered online in 2009 and met in person in 2010 at the International Surface Event (TISE) show.

In addition to How Website Analytics Helps Your Business, I will be reviewing the top social media trends of 2016 and their effect on business during The International Surface Event in Las Vegas.

My session is titled "The Top Social Media Trends That Will Dominate 2016" and takes place on January 20th from 3:45 to 5:15pm.

Do you have website analytics installed on your site? Do you use it regularly to improve your business?

Website Analytics, A GPS For Online Business Success

When I say 'website analytics,' I am thinking first of Google Analytics, the very powerful and free tool every business should have installed on its website. 

If you are serious about interior design and have a presence online, chances are you know Veronika Miller and are familiar with Modenus.com, the company she founded in 2008. 

I first met Veronika at Coverings 2010 during the first ever Tweetup there (see Meetups and Tweetups: Building Community) and was taken with her vision for using social networks and digital marketing to create community and connect designers with opportunities (see Content + Context For Customer Relevance and Relationship). 

How customer focused is your company website? The more it is, the better your chance to get found online and connect with qualified prospects as North Coast Packaged Homes' owner Ann Zollinger has learned.

The ultimate goal of most websites to get found online so you have the opportunity to convert visitors into leads. And, once that happens, you can then qualify them and even nurture them into eventually becoming customers. Simple, right?

Well, as logical as that sounds, doing so takes discipline and intense customer focus.