The way and manner of marketing for architects has changed. In the past, architects had to make use of ads in magazines, newspapers, and good, old word-of-mouth to get their services to a wider audience. But that is no longer the case. Right there on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, architects are getting engagement and access to an endless pool of clients.
The benefits of using social media are numerous. It is one of the cheapest forms of marketing available and by far one of the most engaging. You can have access to a lot of potential leads without locational barriers. From this article, you will discover effective ways to use social media to increase your online presence.
The Best Social Media Marketing Ideas for Architects
Look at the twelve most effective marketing strategies for architects to apply on social media, such as:
1. Leverage on Viral Trends
This is by far one of the most effective social media strategies that architectural firms can apply. A common feature of social media is what is known as a “trend.” A trend is simply a subject, buzzword, or topic (any phenomenon at all) that has become popular, up to the extent of going “viral.” For instance, in 2020, Zoom calls, house parties, social distancing, amongst others, were some of the most viral social media topics. The strategy here is that you leverage these trends to generate benefits for your architecture practice.
An essential factor to note about viral trends is that they do not last very long, and thus whatever you want to post must be planned and published within this short period when the trend is still viral. You should, however, note that it is not all trends that you follow. Following too many trends may water down your creativity and make you lose focus on passing excellent messages. Leverage only those trends that are most relevant to architecture. For example, you can capitalize on the “work from home” trend with a bid to get clients who either want to design their new homes or redesign existing ones.
2. Use Relevant Hashtags
This works perfectly with following and leveraging on trends. Whenever there are any viral trends, there are usually hashtags to accompany posts relating to that trend. Thus, any time you are leveraging on a trend, you should use its accompanying hashtags.
However, note that you shouldn’t use hashtags during trends alone. Some hashtags are evergreen and will always get engagement. These hashtags may relate to architecture, for example, #design, #archilovers, #architecture, and many more.
3. Conduct Architectural Competitions
One of the key architectural marketing ideas that generate lots of engagement is organizing competitions to be thrown open to your fans, followers, and the general public. Being an architecture firm, the competition can center around building design, construction or decoration.
For instance, you may ask the participants to develop a building plan for their dream theme park or design prototypes for the interior design of their dreams. You can then include the competition instructions that mandate participants to follow your page and share the information about the competition on their social media pages.
4. Publish “Before and After” Posts
People generally love to see results, and you can leverage this as one of your marketing strategies for architects. Since your architectural services involve planning buildings, you can show the results of your work when the building becomes completed. Here the 3D building plan serves as the “before” while the actual completed building serves as the “after.”
5. Develop Content for Peers in the Industry
Another proven strategy around social media for architects is creating content that targets fellow architects. This may include technical but simple architectural posts or even memes about architectural services. You should think of what content can attract the attention of your audience and make marketing videos to promote your services. You may be the favorite channel on social media for architects.
6. Showcase Your Team
People want to be associated with cool brands, and one of the features of being cool is being authentic. You can show authenticity by introducing your team in engaging photographs, especially ones taken outside a professional setting.
7. Share Valuable Industry Information and Insights
While striving to be sought-after, you still want to appear professional to clients. Thus, regularly share essential tips, information, infographics, guides, amongst other architectural posts. Ensure that this is presented in simple formats.
8. Motivate and Inspire Your Followers
Motivational and inspirational posts are some of the most frequent on social media, and they get increased engagement. Thus, regularly dish out healthy inspirational content. You can even leverage on hashtags such as #MondayMotivation.
9. Embed Your Brand Identity
When implementing your architectural marketing ideas, some of your posts may go viral, and the credit should always come back to you. As such, you can embed your logo on any pictures or videos that you release on social media.
10. Show Video Testimonials
People love proof, in whatever form. You can prove the value of your services simply by sharing testimonials from your loyal clients. However, since visuals retain attention better than written texts, you should focus on video testimonials, for example, in the form of a recorded Zoom call.
11. Promote Other Businesses
You want to show clients that you care, and this is another way to do so. Showcase other businesses, even if they are unrelated. Preferably, such businesses may be those that are past or present clients. This can be a subtle way to appreciate them for working with you. It makes them feel valued and pushes others to want to do business with you.
12. Carry Out Opinion Polls
Making your followers and clients feel valuable does a lot of free marketing for architects. You get ample engagement by creating a poll asking their opinions on the better option between the two. For instance, you can post two plans for a particular type of building and ask them to choose which is better.
Final Word
Social media poses many benefits for architectural firms. However, you can get these benefits if you do social media marketing the right way. Use the mentioned ideas in your marketing strategy and make social media work for you.