Which Social Platform Is Right for Promoting Your Design Services
Feb 15, 2022
Which Social Platform Is Right for You?
It is nearly impossible to run a successful interior design business without a healthy social media presence in the modern age. Unfortunately, many designers are hesitant to take the plunge and manage their social media more effectively.
There are so many platforms to choose from, and it can feel a bit overwhelming in the beginning. However, there are real benefits to being on these platforms for finding clients and sharing the work you do with the world.
If you are a designer who has been afraid of social media, it’s time to change your perspective. This breakdown of the major platforms will help you get started today!
Why Does Social Media Matter?
Social media for interior designers is a vital part of a thriving business. It gives you another chance to be seen by your audience. Some platforms even allow unique advertising to boost a new client's odds of finding you. Using social media effectively goes even deeper than that, though.
Most people would agree that social media is one of the best ways to forge new connections with prospective clients. It can amplify your voice. It allows you to organically share the work you are doing with those who may not have seen it otherwise. Social media also opens the door for communication and enables new clients to reach out to you with questions about your services.
No matter which social media platform you choose to go with, it allows you to share the value that you bring to your clients. You can use it to share free content and tips that demonstrate how professional you are, which may entice some to transition into becoming paying clients.
Social media is excellent for the bottom line of any business, but you have to know how to leverage it effectively.
Which Social Media Platform Should You Use?
One of the most challenging parts of getting started with social media is deciding which platform to tackle first. New outlets are popping up all of the time, and they each have a unique type of audience. Consider just a few of the most popular outlets to begin with:
- YouTube
- TikTok
Take a closer look at what demographic each one represents to help you determine which one closely aligns with your desired audience.
Facebook is one of the original giants of the modern social media movement. They have more than 2.85 billion users who are active monthly. In addition, it is estimated that seven out of ten adults in the United States use the platform, giving you the maximum opportunity to be seen by new clients.
Most users are between 25 and 35 years old, with slightly more male users than females. Furthermore, many users are in the following age bracket (ages 18 to 24), which may not make this your ideal age group. However, there are still plenty of people on the platform that you can target.
Instagram is another popular platform that Facebook owns. Like Facebook, it is a social media giant with 1.2 billion unique visitors in a given month.
Most people (9 out of 10) will follow a business page, giving you an excellent opportunity to put your work in front of others. As with Facebook, the most significant demographic on Instagram is the 25- to 34-year-old age group.
This platform is primarily visual, encouraging you to post photos of your work and videos. This makes it easy to showcase your projects and ideas.
Pinterest is another visual platform, allowing you to post pictures of your work and what you find inspirational. You may find that this platform is ideal because it caters to women primarily (60 percent of their global audience). Interestingly, almost 45 percent of users have an annual income greater than $100,000.
Many people turn to Pinterest when they think about taking on a new project, especially in the home improvement realm. This image sharing and social media service can give you new ideas about what your home could look like. If you can present your work to clients at this early stage of the process, they are more likely to be willing to pay for your interior design services.
YouTube
If you don’t mind being on camera, YouTube may be an excellent fit for your social media. Unlike other social media platforms that cater primarily to the younger generations, YouTube attracts some of the older brackets equally. Users under age 35 are the most common, but there are some similarly impressive statistics for others.
For example, 73 percent of Americans ages 36 to 45 use the platform, as well as 70 percent from ages 46 to 55. In addition, it is the second most used social platform, behind Facebook.
LinkedIn is marketed as social media for the working professional. It is great to have a profile here and post content demonstrating your work experience.
It has more than 675 million users worldwide, with many American users checking in on the site multiple times each day. The most popular age bracket to use LinkedIn is 46 to 55 years old (37 percent), but the younger age groups are not far behind.
TikTok
The growing popularity of TikTok has made many interior designers wonder whether this is an avenue they should pursue. It is equally popular among all age brackets, with users aged 10 to 49.
This may make it a bit harder to connect with your ideal client. Almost half of their users will be under the age of 29.
Tips to Get Started on Any Platform
Are you ready to start advertising on social media platforms? Your business could benefit from an active presence on some of these major platforms. Here are a few tips that will get you up and running in no time.
Choose Just One
Getting started on social media can indeed be overwhelming, so make it easier on yourself. Choose just one social media platform to begin with.
Post consistently several times a week for a month or two before you decide to start another social media channel. This regularity will help you to ease into the act of leveraging social media to gain more clients.
Include a Call to Action
Don’t just give your audience great content. Allow followers to respond to you and to hire you for your services. End your posts on social media with a strong call to action (CTA). Provide your audience with clear next steps that they can take to employ your services for their homes or businesses.
It should be easy for them to connect with you, whether that means sending you a message on one of these platforms or a link directly to the contact form on your website. This is a great way to drive more traffic to your website, as well.
Repurpose Content
You work hard to create the best content for your users. One tip to save you some time is to reuse your blog posts for increased visibility.
You can cross-post these blog posts on your social media platforms, linking clients back to your website to dive deeper into your material. This will make your blog posts even more valuable, so make sure you create high-quality content that accurately represents your brand.
Define Your Ideal Client
Many interior designers can go years without even thinking about their ideal client. Neglecting this step in your business-building process can lead to a lot of wasted time and effort. Before selecting the social media platform you want to start with, compare the demographics with your ideal customer.
Consider whom you have worked with in the past, the types of clients you prefer to take on, and those who can afford the services that you offer. Then, choose the right platform that caters mostly to that age group, location, income, or gender.
Set a Schedule
The best way to ensure that you are consistently posting new content on your social media is to set a posting schedule. Setting a schedule will help hold you accountable for posting new content regularly.
If something new comes up between posts, you can still be flexible enough to post during these times, especially if something important happens in your business.
However, you should have a bare minimum that you hold yourself to when posting on Instagram, Facebook, or any of the other platforms. You never want to inundate your followers’ feeds with unnecessary content.
Get Started on Social Media Today
Are you ready to get started on social media to grow your interior design platform? There’s no need to delay this any further! Instead, follow some of these helpful tips to get you started on the right foot.
Social media can be a great tool to drive traffic to your website and help you score more clients. For more information on how to get more traffic to your website, make sure to read our article “20 Simple Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Website here.
Sign Up for Our Monthly Newsletter
Get helpful career, business, and design tips right in your inbox each month.
At Behind the Design, we are committed to building a stronger design community by reimagining education, training, and support for interior designers. Through our various software training options, educational articles covering everything from leadership to marketing, and soon Continuing educational courses, we are committed to helping you. Join our newsletter to get the latest education and training updates.
