The interior design business is that of prestige and class, and one reason it’s growing at an unprecedented rate. The industry is currently worth $150 billion, with growth rates between 4% and 12% in the next six years. With factors like the growth of the interior design industry, the relative ease of starting a business online, and the reach of social media, designers are moving their business online. And with the pandemic hitting many people in the industry, It has propelled interior designers to take their online marketing a bit seriously. In the article, we explore how to market your interior design business online.
Build A Professional Website
The first step is to appear professional. If you have been running your business in the past without a professional-looking website, it’s time to update it. You can do this yourself using sites like Wix, WordPress, or Squarespace. They have a simple user interface that can help you create a professional-looking website in minutes. If you don’t feel up to the task, you can ask for expert help. Communicate well with the expert and explicitly instruct them on what you want. For many people, it will be their introduction to your company, so make it worthwhile. Remember, it’s your site, and as an interior designer, it should leave an impression on any visitor.
Start Blogging
Blogging is an excellent way to market yourself because it allows you to establish authority in your niche. Blogging used to be about writing personal diaries and experiences, but today it is used for content marketing. Content marketing is when you produce educative and valuable material for your audience. It usually has a hint of promoting your brand, but it is subtle. It’s written this way, so you don’t chase your potential clients away with explicit brand placements.
Content marketing aims to give the person valuable information, establishing yourself as someone potential clients can trust their opinion, resulting in future business. To get started, you can hire an expert in the area from a freelance site and contract them to write for you. Make sure to fact-check their work before putting it on your site. You want to have strong sources back all your facts.
Creating Videos Is The Way To Go
A visually inclined professional like an interior designer needs videos showing off past and current work. While pictures capture the essence and beauty of a moment, videos capture the beauty in motion – something your clients will appreciate. The videos don’t have to be long; short 10 seconds to 45 seconds videos will do fine. This way, you can integrate them into your website and social media platforms. To make a video, you can start with your phone if it has a high-quality camera. And as you grow, get a professional to film these short videos for you or buy a good video camera for yourself. You can start a YouTube account if you want to teach or film long-style videos.
Create A Presence On Social Media Platforms
Social media has done wonders for businesses, and one of its biggest benefactors is the interior design industry. Visual-centric platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have become a home for designers. If you don’t have an Instagram or Pinterest account, it’s time to get one for yourself. And if you do, then you need to optimize these platforms.
Instagram has hashtags, the picture size, and how clear the pictures are to consider before posting, while Pinterest needs you to look at your boards, the type of pins you post, and how to post your picture (vertical or horizontal). It’s wise to have a presence on other platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but it’s also essential to create a professional-looking profile on LinkedIn. It reinforces professionalism, and it’s also a link you can put on your website.
Learn About Search Engine Optimization
SEO has been a buzzword thrown around on the internet ever since its early days in the 1990s. It has evolved from a program that identifies words to an advanced A.I. that accurately searches websites and ranks them based on various criteria. To receive visibility online and get free traffic to your website, then you must understand how to use SEO to your advantage.
Since this is not an SEO post, the summary is research questions that people frequently ask under your niche, then research the keywords that have to do with those questions and write a post. The truth is it’s a bit more technical than this, but the whole idea is to draw people to your site by answering questions people ask. It’s best to hire an expert for this so you can concentrate on doing what you do best.
Email Marketing Never Gets Old
Email marketing is one of the powerful and efficient strategies to use if marketing your business online. A whopping 22.86% of people open their emails to read. That’s a very high open rate, and that’s why email marketing is an effective tool. To get the email address of your clients, you can use a pop-up page on your site or create a landing page. In both cases, you can request the name and email address of visitors. Follow up with newsletters every month with content on the latest industry news, an update on your blog, and any other news you believe will interest your clients.
Join A Community Of Designers
Joining a community allows you to network and link up with other designers both online and offline. It can be a brilliant decision if it is a known one with an excellent reputation. You can leverage that when marketing yourself.
Get Reviews From Past Clients
Online reviews can be very effective for any business. You can get some of your satisfied clients to give you positive reviews on popular review sites. Review sites are influential and can sway the views of clients. So utilizing them by getting some of your clients to give feedback is a wise marketing decision.
Partner With Brands
Partnering with brands is an excellent way to market yourself online. Partnership deals can come in different forms, so taking advantage of some that can help put your designer brand out there is good. The popular brand partnership online today are with influencers. If partnering with an influencer, make sure you do your due negligence. Be sure their followers are people who admire interior designs. You can also reach out to other brands to collaborate. Most of them don’t work out, but no harm in trying.
Final Thought
Marketing an interior business online is a lot of work, but it is rewarding when it’s all set up. Like any other business, there will be a learning and growth period. But with the right attitude, people and persistence, you will establish your online presence soon.
