These days, marketing for architects is mostly digital. So if you’re looking to promote your architectural practice, there are various channels at your fingertips. The Internet provides endless ways to promote your services and display your projects, but which are the most effective? Let’s look at why digital marketing is important for architects, and which platforms it’s best for you to invest in.
Why digital marketing is good for architects
Digital marketing is vital for businesses of all industries, but its focus on quality visuals and informative content has a lot to offer architects.
A recent study showed that 67% of people research professional service providers online before making their choice. This means you can’t afford to underestimate the power of social media for architects. Your posts don’t just draw in new customers – they also keep current clients engaged and facilitate new referrals. Social media for architects also serves the vital function of driving traffic to your website, which can result in generating more leads when executed effectively.
Most small architecture firms don’t have huge budgets to dedicate to digital marketing, so they have to be smart and strategic in their approach. Luckily, there are several free marketing platforms for architects. Managing these channels can be done cost effectively to boost your firm’s visibility online.
Marketing channels for architects
As an architect, everything you do online should become part of your brand. The main tools you have in your arsenal are:
Blog writing
Publishing interesting blog articles will complement your architectural practice and help you build a network. Through creating high-quality content and design, a blog can elevate you as an authority in your field, build your online audience, grow your social media networks and bring your brand to life. When done right, blogging will have a significant impact on the success of your business.
Blogging also gives you the chance to showcase your design skills while delivering useful information to your audience. You can build authority, connect with new prospects and embed positive testimonials from previous clients. A blog also provides a space for you to share your announcements, showcase upcoming and completed projects, and build awareness of your brand. All of this amounts to shareable content that will help build your SEO rank and social media profiles to earn new business.
Think of your blog as an online portfolio: a chance to tell your story through pictures and content and expand your network. Make blogging part of your daily life as architect, and watch your engagement grow.
SEO
You probably already know that SEO (search engine optimisation) is all about making sure your website stays up to date with Google and ranks well in search engine results. As with all forms of marketing, quality is more important than quantity, but posting blog content regularly will boost your on-site SEO and help people find you online.
Blogging frequently and promoting your articles through social media are two of the most effective ways to optimise your site. By updating projects periodically and keeping the blog fresh, you’ll stay relevant – both in Google’s SERPs and in the minds of your clients.
You can also improve your SEO by researching keywords to use in your content, building backlinks and employing metrics to monitor your website traffic.
Newsletters
Email newsletters are one of the most effective low-cost marketing for architects tools available. A weekly or monthly newsletter in digital form keeps you top of mind when someone in your circle needs an architect.
Social media for architects
Social media for architects can be a powerful tool, but you have to know how to use it. But with so many channels out there, how to do you know where to devote your time and resources?
With over 2 billion monthly users you don’t want to miss out on the vast audiences that Facebook has at its disposal. Facebook is the “catch-all” of social media for architects because it’s so accessible and easy to use. You could post about your projects, or share design inspiration and articles from your website. With Facebook (as with all social platforms) it’s all about making a connection through providing your audience with the type of content they want to see.
Instagram is a great way to display content pictorially and is a platform which is quick and easy to use. Instagram has mass appeal and is a great way to draw in different types of audiences with attractive images, videos and stories. Just remember to engage with your followers, whether they’re potential clients, other architects or merely admirers of your work through responding to comments, tagging and liking other peoples’ posts.
Houzz
With 16 million monthly users, Houzz has become a firm favourite amongst residential architects. Houzz is a great way to market your business and can produce real monetary results when used effectively
“About six months ago, I was contacted by a developer directly through (Houzz) who asked me to be a part of a $2 million contract for a luxury home in Florida. I’ve been on Houzz since it started about four years ago, and it’s starting to get really interesting,” Lionel Scharly of Scharly Designer Studios.
As an architect, you can develop and optimise free profiles with Houzz and share them through Facebook Groups and other social platforms.
No social media for architects arsenal would be complete without Pinterest. Pinterest is another image-focused social platform that allows users to collect and assemble photographs and illustrations with ease. You can link posts directly to your website, blog content or services page creating great potential for lead generation when done effectively.
There are many advantages to using Pinterest for architects and other design professionals. It’s a great way to showcase your individual styling and branding and really helps prospective clients get a feel for where your design strengths lie, all in a single space.
Pinterest is also a useful way to keep inspirational images and articles all in one place. You can have as many “boards” as you like and the images retain their original URL source. This means you don’t need to download web images or create a special bookmark for a site to remember it.
Marketing for architects: a strategy that works
Setting up a successful digital marketing strategy requires daily input. Therefore, managing a blog and various social media channels in-house is ineffective for most architecture firms, simply because there are often not enough hours in the day. As a result, many architects choose to outsource their social media.
The best way to ensure growth is to implement a holistic, full-service approach that covers all of the above bases and more. This means finding a digital marketing agency that understands your business goals and can work to meet your requirements. Greener Media can work alongside your business to create a flexible social media and blog writing strategy that works.
Digital marketing for architects is important, so don’t neglect your online profiles. No matter what you want to achieve, or the budget you have to get you there, we can provide a cost-effective solution that works. To learn more, why not request a proposal or book a call today?
