High Point Market Receives International Recognition for Social Media Work

HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- High Point Market, the leading global home furnishings trade show, has received international recognition as one of the top brands using the social media site Pinterest. Social media and branding experts such as Hubspot, Social Media Today, Likable Media, eModeration, and FrontLine touted the Market's Style Spotters program as a unique way to take advantage of brand building on Pinterest.

Named alongside such top-shelf brands as The Today Show, Whole Foods, Pillsbury, and Random House, the High Point Market was listed as a brand that creatively used Pinterest as part of its overall marketing plan. Style Spotters, launched during the October 2011 Market, recruited home fashion trendsetters to showcase their favorite products and top trends from Market exhibitors on Pinterest, a website that lets users organize and share photos on virtual pinboards.

Pinterest has become one of the fastest-growing social networks on the Internet and is now driving more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn combined.

"At the High Point Market we have a clear strategy for social media," says Cheminne Taylor-Smith, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market Authority. "We use it to increase brand awareness, to build a community within the home furnishings world, to provide customer service and respond to feedback, and to quickly circulate information about the Market.

"There is also a less tangible, but no less important, reason that we use social media tools, and that's to create excitement about the Market," she adds. "We've done that at every recent event, from a flash mob in the fall of 2010, to viral behind-the-scenes videos in April 2011, to our Style Spotters event last October."

The Style Spotters program will continue this April, with a new roster of trendsetters on the lookout for top products and trends. The Spotters will present exhibitors with signs that highlight the Style Spotter's name with a QR code and URL for the Market Pinterest board. Market attendees can also participate by voting on the pinboards and products, generating "likes" or re-pinning.

Style Spotters are also promoted on the Market's Facebook page and on Twitter, using the Market hashtag #hpmkt.

The April 2012 Style Spotters include:

• The winning Style Spotter from October, Tobi Fairley, Tobi Fairley blog, @tobifairley
• Crystal Gentilello, Rue Magazine, @CrystalG
• Shay Geyer, Designer Detective, @designershay
• Jamie Meares, I Suwannee, @jamiemeares
• Jennifer Mehditash, Dec-A-Porter, @decaporter
• Mat Sanders, Domino's Quick Fixes, @thematfinish
• Patricia Shackelford, Mrs Blandings, @mrsbdreamhouse
• Traci Zeller, Traci Zeller blog, @tracizeller

To discover more about the Style Spotters, go to www.highpointmarket.org/stylespotters. 

About the High Point Market Authority: The High Point Market Authority, www.highpointmarket.org, is the official sponsor and organizer of the High Point Market. Featuring an extensive selection of exhibitors spanning every category, style and price point and attracting thousands of visitors from more than 110 countries twice each year, the High Point Market is the driving force of the home furnishings industry. 

Media Contact: Cheminne Taylor-Smith High Point Market, 336-888-3227, [email protected] 

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SOURCE High Point Market