Social media is a fantastic resource for design industry professionals all around the world. Unlike with traditional marketing, the most successful social media strategies don’t aim for a direct sell. In fact, posting content only pertaining to your individual brand is typically considered bad form. The ideal approach is to cultivate and nurture relationships by sharing your unique knowledge and perspectives. But this is more easily said than done.
My Approach to Social Media:
When integrating interior design and social media, the most favorable results happen when you tap into the social aspects of each platform. I like to think of each platform as a type of “virtual cocktail party” where you personally handpick each guest. You “work the room,” inspiring discussions through your brand’s voice using commentary and media. It’s all about having a conversation. Oh, and it’s FUN!
What gets tricky, however, is figuring out what platforms work best for you and your brand. I’ve found a mixed-platform approach to be the most effective way to get myself out there. While Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are of course essential for a healthy and well-rounded social strategy, the two platforms that every serious interior designer shouldn’t live without are Pinterest and Instagram!
The Visual Platforms:
Clients want to be inspired! This means conveying new and exciting ideas that trigger their desire to beautify their homes. The best way to do this is through beautiful and engaging images. Images work to convey the quality of a designer’s work, aesthetic and taste. Without saying a word, you can excite a potential client enough about embarking on an interior design project, that they will reach out to their favorite source: you.
Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing social networks out there. The site is overwhelmingly visual and lifestyle oriented. Here, users create themed “boards” that are then used to organize images and videos, which can then be seen by other users and “re-pinned.” Click here to check out my Pinterest boards.
Instagram is another visual social networking site where designers can share images and connect with prospective clients on a very personal level. What’s different about Instagram, is that it lets designers share pieces of their personal life with their following. Interior designers are posting anything (and everything) from recent projects, to family pets and amazing vacations. This not only gives insight into the interior designer’s taste and lifestyle, it gives prospective clients a look at the kind of personality they could be working with if they were to hire the designer. Follow me at @SchusterDesign and click here to view my Instagram profile.
While using social media marketing may seem like extra work for an interior designer or firm, if done correctly and across the right platforms, it will showcase you and your work to thousands of people who may be in need of the exact talent and expertise you have to offer.