Social Media has evolved significantly from a mere place to gauge political affiliations or the relationship status of others. Today, Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms are a driving force to help interior designers and other professionals increase business. They allow you to advertise your interior design services to potential clients as well.
Here are some tips on social media marketing for interior designers:
1. Resist the temptation to automate and streamline
Facebook gives the option of automatically re-publishing updates to other sites such as Twitter. This can be enticing, given the potential time vampire social media duties can represent for already-busy small business owners. Here’s a tip that many small businesses ignore: Never, ever streamline– customers despise it. Social media is best used by businesses to engage and connect with customers, both current and prospective. This is difficult, if not impossible with a Twitter account that’s just a collection of Facebook posts. Best social media practices for small business requires leaving a little bit of soul and authenticity in every tweet or Google+ post. It’s worth the extra five or 10 minutes a day. There are free tools such as HootSuite that allows you to make a post to all your social media accounts with a click of a button. This will help you save time and be unique all at once.
2. Take advantage of the medium
A prospective interior design customer wants to see past successes of the person they’re thinking about hiring. They want to gauge if their desired style will be a fit. More than this, they want their imagination teased. A website gallery is a great place for an interior designer to showcase their abilities, though if they’re savvy, they’ll do likewise with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social platforms seemingly built as virtual showrooms.
3. Advertise
Twitter and other platforms have begun allowing users to advertise themselves over the past few years. They will even offer free money if your looking to get started and see if it’s right for you. Pop Social notes: “Most social media platforms like Houzz and Yelp are offering sponsored listings for just a few hundred dollars a month. This means that if a user searches for a professional in a specific area, you will be pushed to the top of the list as a ‘Sponsored’ listing.” Social media advertising is still fairly uncharted territory, with many businesses yet to adopt. This means less competition and lower rates than traditional advertising, if somewhat less certain of a return. For a few hundred dollars a month, if that, it’s likely worth the risk for an interior designer whose looking to grow their business.
4. Don’t get too wrapped up
It’s easier than ever to spend an inordinate amount of time on social media, and it can offer valuable returns for businesses. That said, it’s likely still a small part of a greater whole for interior designers and other professionals. Make sure that you don’t get distracted on social media and focus on adding value to your profiles.
