Is social media marketing relevant for design and architecture companies?

You may have noticed that there has been a bit of an explosion around the topic of social media lately. Companies are trying to figure out how to harness the power of this relatively new marketing phenomenon, and it seems to have spilled over into the world of design and architecture. Design and architecture firms often ask me for advice on whether to add social media to the marketing mix, and if so, how to do it.

The first answer I give is yes. The marketing function is undergoing an evolution, the social media express has hit town, and design and architecture firms that don’t get on board now risk being left behind. There are conversations all around us online that design and architecture firms could be involved in. Conversations that include customers and potential customers and if you don’t engage, your competitors will. This applies to almost any type of business, as more and more are joining on a daily basis.

But getting involved in social networks is not easy. It takes a lot more than just adding a profile to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. Like everything related to marketing, you need a strategy. But before we get into that, let’s start with a brief introduction to the wonderful world of social media.

Social media is an online tool that creates communities of people with shared interests who are interested in networking with each other. The focus here is on networking and conversation, which is the underlying premise. It’s a bit like ‘offline’ networking at events, but without having to leave home/office and with a little less booze. It allows you to connect with people who can benefit you or your business, which is useful for anyone who wants to connect with potential clients, peers, journalists, industry gurus, and anyone else who might be helpful.

The key uses of social media for marketing purposes are:

Brand awareness Brand reputation management Generating new business News distribution and PR Research (through online surveys) Customer service Specific product/service launch campaigns Connecting with affiliate companies SEO improvement

Not bad for an activity that requires little investment other than time.

There are a plethora of social networking sites available to us, from blogs to microblogging to networking and bookmarking. It’s easy to get lost in the quagmire, so here’s a brief description of each:

Blogs: a blog is a communication tool of a company that allows two-way interaction with its readers. They are different to the standard ‘brochure’ website in that they ‘talk to’ rather than ‘talk to’ the viewer. The blog should not be used to ‘sell’, but should contain advice and opinions that the reader will find useful and will make them want to subscribe to receive updates (and thus further increase the interaction). It might even make them want to get in touch. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Microblogs: Twitter is the most talked about and most useful microblog. Unlike longer blog posts, Twitter contains 140-character “statements.” It is a powerful networking tool that allows you to interact with people in a much faster environment. It has a global reach that breaks down communication barriers and allows real-time networking on a very large scale. Twitter users share information, give advice, discuss topics in real time, and generally chat.

Social Networking Sites – These include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Xing, etc., and this list is growing. So for now I’m going to stick with the two main ones that I find useful: LinkedIn and Facebook. Xing can be useful for architects, however it’s not widely used in the UK so far (that could change in the future, so it’s worth keeping an eye on). Networking sites allow you to connect and network with other people in your field. Group discussions and forums are particularly useful here and should play a big role in using them.

Social Bookmarking Sites – This includes sites like Digg and Stumbleupon. They allow us to bookmark a web page that we like or find interesting and ‘save’ it on these sites. They also have a voting system that allows viewers to vote on the pages they like. The goal here is to get your blog post or web page upvoted and then, in turn, encourage others to view it.

social media strategy

There are definite rules of engagement when it comes to social media. As I mentioned earlier, it’s all about networking and conversations. But before you get into any conversation, get your strategy in order:

1. What are your goals when using social media? Are you looking to increase brand exposure? Are you looking for new business contacts? Do you need to improve the reputation of your brand? Are you launching a specific product or service? Are you looking to recruit staff? The objectives should be clear from the beginning, as they will drive your messages forward.

2. Who do you want to reach? Write a list of the types of people or companies you want to engage with, and be clear about what messages you want to convey to them. But remember! Social media is all about two-way interaction, so you can’t completely control any conversation. However, having a clear idea of ​​what you want to communicate from the beginning will be useful for your strategy.

3. Who should be responsible for running the social media activity? Should there be a team or can one person take responsibility? Pay attention here, not all conversations on social media are positive, so you’ll need someone equipped to handle any negative comments on behalf of your company.

4. Next, you need to identify the platforms that are right for you. The model I’ve been using and recommending to clients is an integration of the following: company blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook with of course links to the main website and YouTube and Flickr as needed. As with other marketing activities, ALL must be integrated for optimal results. There are tools that allow you to link these platforms to save time, for example, Twitter updates can now appear on your Facebook profile via Tweetdeck, WordPress blogs can be embedded in LinkedIn profiles, Twitter updates can appear on blogs, etc.

5. Agree on the wording of the profile names before configuring them. For example, on Twitter, do you want all your company profiles to be prefixed with the company name and then the employee, or just the employee, or do you want to have one company profile name that everyone or just your company can use? name? Clearly this has branding implications, so it’s important to be clear about this from the start. I prefer real names for Twitter profiles, since it seems like you’re talking to a real person, rather than a member of a company. Once this is done, set up all profiles with clear bios and brand backgrounds where possible. If you don’t already have a blog, it would be a good idea to set it up now. This does not have to be expensive or time consuming. WordPress provides a very good system that is free. So start publishing relevant and useful posts.

6. Now you need to find the people you want to network with. Put together a list of those you want to reach, find them, and connect. Once you’ve connected, don’t make the mistake of diving into the conversation before you get a feel for how they do things. Listen to what they talk about for a while and if you have something relevant to add to a discussion, add it. But remember, don’t sell! What you want to do here is build the relationship. So be relevant and give them good advice. Soon they’ll be chatting away with you and may even want to unplug you for coffee at some point. that in the past

7. Next, make sure all platforms are integrated as I mentioned above. Take full advantage of all the tools available to optimize your activities on social networks.

8. Finally, time. Social media can be very addictive, so it’s worth scheduling as much time as you think is appropriate to spend on these activities. There are plenty of tools on Twitter that help reduce the time you need to spend online. For example, you can schedule your tweets to go out throughout the day so you can get on with something else. But remember, don’t do too much of this as the conversation will be one-sided, which is against what you’re trying to do here.

Here are some examples of companies that are making the most of social media:

Architects Journal, Architectural Review, Arup, Barefoot & Gilles, BDI, Blueprint, Brand Republic, Building Design, DBA, Design Council, Design Museum, Drivers Jonas, Ford Frog HOK I-am Associates Innocent Interbrand Landor Leo Burnett Loft Marketing Nokia Ogilvy RIBA Design Shed Saatchi & Saatchi Starbucks TBWA Williams Murray Ham WPP

So that’s it in a nutshell. If you still do not believe that social networks are for you. Think again. Those who don’t get involved now could miss out on an important development in marketing strategy.