What Social Media Site Work For Built Environment Marketing?

Learn What Social Media Platforms Generate Sales For Your Firm Before You Start Posting.

You’re well aware by now that an active presence on social media is crucial for built environment marketing. But the question often is, which sites should I join and how often should I use them? Striking the right balance can be difficult.

In a perfect world, architectural, interior design, landscape and design-build firms would have an active presence publishing photographs and graphic design on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Houzz, and Pinterest. But not all companies can manage that, given time constraints, staffing levels, and marketing budgets. 

Want to pick just three? Focus on Houzz, Pinterest, and LinkedIn

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have greater reach than Houzz and Pinterest, but they’re not as useful for targeted built environment marketing. They do not seem to generate as many qualified leads for home improvement services. If you blog regularly you will generate enough content to drive prospects back to your website. Use tools like Canva to create graphic images that fit the image format of the social media platform you're publishing on and don't forget to link back to a landing page for lead generation.

Using Houzz for Built Environment Marketing

Houzz is quite possibly the most important social media platform for built environment marketing because it is focused on residential building, design, and remodeling. Potential customers are browsing Houzz, not Facebook or Twitter, when they’re looking for home-related inspiration and advice. They’re using it to find professionals, too.

Houzz is a visually-based social media platform, so you’ll want to load your profile with photos of your best work and a broad sampling of your work. Photos should be organized into folders by project, and they should be professional quality.

You will also need to create idea books that inspire Houzz users. Organize these by theme - if you’re an interior designer, create one for vintage finds and another for country French decor, perhaps. Incorporate some photos of jobs you have done but plenty of photos from other professionals and related products. This is not the place to be self-promotional. Houzz users will be more interested in your profile - and your brand - if you’re sharing good ideas and have keyword rich descriptions. Learn more on Houzz.

Built Environment Marketing with Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual site, too. Users “pin” their favorite photos and videos on all sorts of subjects to various boards. At it just so happens that “home” is consistently one of the most popular categories. Other benefits to Pinterest? It’s used by some 20 percent of Americans, including 30 percent of women. Users rely on it for buying advice. And the average user has money to spend - an average household income of $100,000.

Even if you don’t have a Pinterest account, you can benefit from it by embedding a “pin it” button on your website, which allows visitors to share your photos and videos. But the best results from Pinterest come when you sign up and create boards on various home-related topics and post content (not just marketing materials) that will interest your followers. Create a board featuring the latest architectural trends, for example, or modern trends in home decor. In addition to photos and videos, you can also post infographics and other graphics like top 10 lists.

LinkedIn and Built Environment Marketing

Most architects, interior designers, and design-build professionals already have LinkedIn accounts. But profiles that go unused or are little used are a wasted opportunity. A LinkedIn account is more than just an online resume; it’s a chance to expand built environment marketing.

The marketing analytics expert Dan Zarella, recommend taking 15 minutes each day to read your LinkedIn news, schedule two or three good influencer posts to be shared throughout the day, follow influencers that interest you, follow channels, join groups and post thought-provoking content related to your industry.