Manufactured housing is one of those products where the pre-conceived image doesn’t always align with the actual product. A picture paints a thousand words and a social media site based on images called Pinterest is helping to change that. Lifestylist Suzanne Felber has been using the site to showcase manufactured homes and other products, and she says the results have been astounding. “Even in the home builders arena, people don’t seem to be aware of it,” Felber says. “It has made more people aware of my brand than other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.” The site allows users to put their own images on the board, which link back to their web site. Felber says Pinterest users should put images on their own web site first, then “pin” them on Pinterest. One caveat, Felber says the images should be of a high quality or no one will re-pin them, and ultimately it could negatively reflect on the industry. While Pinterest is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, Felber says an up-and-coming site called Olioboard allows users to create design boards in 2D and 3D that include products like doors and windows complete with source and pricing. Unlike Pinterest, the design boards on Olioboard can be kept private.
