When a user enters your Architecture firm’s name into a search engine, your social media accounts may appear first, so it is important to keep these up to date. While you ultimately want to drive traffic to your website, you can use social media platforms to get them there by including links to web pages from your posts. On social media platforms, you can tell your story, introduce your team, build excitement about your accomplishments and community activities, and build brand recognition. Social media is also a great place to recruit.
There are several good ways for architects to use social media, from publicizing completed or ongoing projects, showing support for community events, and educating visitors about industry trends. Building a new home is an emotional endeavor for families. So is having a new business headquarters building designed. Social media is less formal than a website and can help architects establish emotional connections with potential clients.
1. Showcase Your Work
Posting videos and pictures of completed or ongoing projects inspires people to dream about a new home or building. A potential client may be enlightened, seeing ideas in your designs that are the answer to their needs or challenges.
You can choose to show work while on the drawing board, in progress, or newly finished. You could also show how your talents and expertise can ease or enrich the viewers’ lives by showcasing the home or building you designed occupied and being enjoyed after completion.
2. Share Candid Team Moments
People want to work with positive companies whose team members are happy. They also want an emotional connection to an architect they hire. Pictures of your team at work sharing ideas and making presentations help the public feel they know your company. Make the shots candid and show a happy and productive work environment. Use only top-quality images.
3. Posting Industry Trends
To present yourself as an industry leader, share recent architectural or building trends. Use good imagery and graphics to explain innovations and new ideas. For example, readers could enjoy reading or watching videos about the latest sustainability ideas and materials or using virtual reality to build a design collaboration. Include links to interesting professional sites.
4. Share that You Care
Let people know what causes your firm cares about and supports. Doing so will help you and your staff connect with people. If you participate in a charity running or biking event, post pictures of you and your team at the event. Whether you volunteer at a food bank or donate your professional services to a non-profit, post about it on your social media platforms.
Even if you don’t actively participate in a fundraising event, you can show your support by advertising and promoting the events on your social sites. Being associated with good works can help your reputation as a community leader and empathetic human.
Showing pictures and videos of what your teams do when they are not working also shows you support a healthy work/ life balance, which can’t hurt when you use social media to recruit.
5. Contests and Competitions
Sponsor either internal or community competitions. You can choose anything from a holiday recipe contest to a community holiday light display or home landscaping competition. Internally, you could have fun with a captions contest for candid team photos. Team members can have fun laughing and being creative, and the public will enjoy reading the captions your team writes.
Include team member’s families, too. Have a crazy family picture event or videos. Themes can be anything from “School’s Out for Summer” to “Best Halloween Decorations or Costumes.”
Do you want to encourage the next generation of architects? Support local schools by sponsoring a drawing contest. Connect with community college programs and sponsor contests there. Everyone loves a good competition, and it’s a good way to drive traffic to your website.
6. Introduce New Team Members
Social media can be great for recruiting. When you hire, tell the public about new people in your organization. You could also highlight a person who has been promoted or feature a team starting a new project. Give details about the project and some background about each team member.
7. Offer Seasonal Tips
If your potential clients are homeowners, offer them seasonal tips and advice on home improvements. When’s the best time to replace a roof? You might write about home improvements that boost home real estate values, giving details about ROI. Hopefully, some of them relate to the services you offer.
8. Post Community Updates
When someone buys a home, they are also buying into the community. It’s important to share what’s going on in the community. Sharing grand openings, new neighbors, and community activities is great content to share. Find a couple of online or published sources to pull from to save time.
9. Inspirational Quotes
Some firms like posting an inspirational quote every Monday. Community folks looking for an uplifting start to their work week may regularly check in to read the selection. Write or collect a list of quotes to post each week to deliver a variety without spending too much time each week.
10. Hosting a Live E-Event
Live remote events have become more popular on the Internet. Companies and organizations use e-events to share information and build community. Hold a demonstration of new equipment or announce a new project. It could be a demonstration, grand opening, or virtual tour of a recently completed building.
Social Media platforms allow architecture firms to reach and connect with clients and prospects, which helps them foster trust. Social media analysis can provide more information about client behavior. Being active in social media also increases brand visibility, and links within posts drive more visitors to a company’s website. Increased website traffic feeds your business’s success. It also provides additional marketing data to analyze so that you can continually improve your efforts.
