Social Media & Interior Design: A match which needs some therapy

Interior designers regularly struggle to discover new clients. Adopting social media for their marketing is their first response to this quest. They go to these platforms to expand their clientele but eventually, they find this is simply a big lotto contest where you never know which post will hit the prize, or even worth your effort.
While the wealthy and new buyers keep on investing in new properties, redesigning or renovating, designers somehow left behind and miss their fair share of the booming market. The client base of numerous in the business is maturing and business has eased back. Finding new commissions is becoming harder every day and designers are wondering why this is the case?

The Big Task
New designers face more difficulty than established ones. whereas the new wealthy class also have difficulty in understanding the value which an interior designer brings to their properties. They are more inclined to do it yourself (DIY).

​Renovating shows like Fixer Upper and On The Block make it look like these projects as fun and effortless whereas cutting down a lot of processes to make the show entertaining.

Everyone wants to do like Chip and Joanna, but they ignore the fact, that one is an experienced builder and another one an accomplished designer.

How much business is affected?
A recent survey among 450 industry designers and professionals highlighted the biggest issue is to maintain healthy cash flow and the influx of new jobs. This is further substantiated by the Gov, that household income of $230,000 or higher and a net worth of at least $7 million don’t seek the assistance of any designer or professional. In fact, only a fraction seek help for their properties.

This small fraction is not enough to sustain the business, while a million household in Australia falls into this social class, and only 100K seek interior designers, why is the other 900K not hiring the professionals? The answer to this is an effective marketing and reach to the right clients who are in need and at the right time. Communicating the value and savings an interior designer can bring to their properties.
​
What is effective marketing for Interior Designers?
The marketing which generates business, rest all is noise. Personal references and word of mouth are the most effective but the problem with these is that these are very limited and takes its own time and have organic growth. To accelerate this aspect interior designer move to the social media. 

Why Social Media is not performing?
​Almost 80% of ID professionals maintain their Social Media presence but only little 20% of these business reports, that it is helping their business, whereas word-of-mouth is the best way for 85% of the businesses, and a company website helps in generating business of more than 35%.

There is a multitude of SM platforms which can be used, and a designer has to navigate which platform to use and how to use. Analyzing the effectiveness of such platforms and understanding the Pareto effect is beyond their grasp and consumes a ton of time.

The Big Switch
There should be a comprehensive strategy from Social Media interaction to the commissions. Social Media is the first step to grab the eyeballs and to communicate the bigger picture. But it has a silver lining to understand the privacy issues of completed projects, which may adversely affect the business mostly for repeat clients.

Which One: Fb, In, Tw,... and How?
The easiest and fastest is Facebook and then Instagram, where they reach everyone, but is this helping the business, or we are just paying for likes and comments. These platforms rank the post in order of the number of likes and comments. So, any money spent without a specific marketing strategy is just a waste of time and money.

Question is; How a client behaves, when he needs the services, they search businesses in their vicinity, check their potential and credibility through a number of channels, and social media is just one of them. At last, when their intuitive queries are met, they ring the bell.

Reliance on Hope or Strategy
Marketing should be strategic and specific, rather than throwing a message in a bottle in the ocean. Hope will not help in expanding your business and paying your bills. Depending solely on the Social Media or word of mouth won’t help to sustain or grow the business. A 360-degree approach with the available platforms and mediums is required to bring the client to your studio.

The Winning Strategy

Marry the idea of word of mouth with Social Media. A few words from the client describing your engagement will put your marketing efforts on steroid. 
If further help is needed in designing these efforts and campaigns or to manage these engagements, don’t hesitate to engage with a marketing firm who understands your need. The Return on Investment may surprise you with these efforts and will take your business to a totally new level.