Whether you are a seasoned veteran of the interior design industry or a newbie looking to grow your own design agency, there is a lot of pressure when it comes to attracting more clients online.
Adding to this is the stress to pay the bills, pay back student loans, and in some cases, pay your staff. These are not challenges unique to interior designers, in fact, it’s very common in most service-related industries.
What sets interior designers apart from other service-related industries is that it’s a highly visual field that’s more subjective rather than objective. This creates a unique set of challenges for interior designers looking to leverage digital marketing strategies and tactics to attract potential clients.
Not to worry, though, in this article we will walk you through creating a solid foundation for acquiring the right customers by creating a digital marketing strategy tailored specifically for interior designers.
Finding Interior Design Clients: Some Obstacles to Consider
Before diving into your digital marketing strategy, it’s important to understand some of the obstacles interior designers might face when trying to attract potential clients online. These obstacles include:
Perception:
A major obstacle interior designers face is the perception that their services are expensive. This is especially true for luxury interior designers.
Accessibility:
Unlike other service-related industries, interior design can be perceived as being less accessible. For example, a customer might not feel comfortable hiring an interior designer without first meeting them in person.
Expertise:
Another obstacle interior designers face is that potential customers might not view them as experts in their field. This is often due to the fact that interior design is considered a “creative” field, and therefore, is less tangible than other fields.
Despite these obstacles, interior design remains a lucrative and rewarding field. With the right digital marketing strategies in place, interior designers can overcome these obstacles to successfully attract new clients and grow their business.
So how do interior designers actually start attracting more clients online? The answer starts by building a basic digital marketing strategy. Let’s dive into that process in the next section…
Create a Simple Digital Marketing Plan
What is digital marketing? Simply put, digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands using electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc.
Digital marketing is a powerful tool that helps you reach more people with less effort.
So, why doesn’t every interior designer utilize digital marketing to grow their businesses? The truth is, that many interior designers don’t know where to start. If that’s you, then you’re in luck, because we’re about to show you how to create a simple, yet effective digital marketing plan for interior designers.
Buyer Personas
The first step in any digital marketing plan is to figure out your target audience. Hands-down the best way to do this is to start by creating buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal clients, that help you identify the key attributes and behaviors of your target audience. These attributes include:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Income level
- Interests/hobbies
- Occupation
A good rule of thumb when creating your buyer’s personas is to name the persona and really visualize who this person is. What are their wants and needs, what problems do they have that you can solve, what types of messaging do they respond to, and where do they spend their time online?
Answer these questions and you will be quickly on your way to creating a more effective digital marketing plan for your interior design business.
Creating Your Google Business Profile (GBP)
The #1 channel for attracting and acquiring potential customers for your business is Google.
So, how do you get started? By creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP). Your GBP is basically a digital representation of your interior design business and allows potential customers to quickly learn more about who you are, what you do, and how customers can contact you.
To set up your GBP, simply click the link here: Google Business Profile, sign up with your email address, and follow the instructions Google provides. It generally can take a few weeks to be fully processed on Google’s end. There are a lot of resources for how to optimize your listing.
If you start building your listing and find that you would like professional assistance with optimizing it, we offer that as a service. Simply click the link below to contact us and let us know!
10x Your Exposure on Houzz
Houzz is the interior design equivalent to a search engine like Google. Houzz is a platform that allows interior designers to showcase their work, interact with potential customers, and get discovered by new leads.
The best part about Houzz is that it’s free to set up a profile and start posting your projects. You can even add a link to your website on your profile, which helps with Search Engine Optimization.
To get started, simply create a profile and start posting your projects. You can also join relevant groups and forums to interact with potential customers and connect with other interior designers in your area.
For the more seasoned interior designers, this step seems really obvious, but have you taken the proper steps to optimize your Houzz listing? Here are a few steps you can take to audit your Houzz profile to maximize its effectiveness:
- Add a profile photo
- Write and optimize your interior design business description (make sure it includes relevant keywords)
- Add the interior design services you offer to your interior design services section
- Upload photos that truly showcase your interior design work (and make sure they are optimized for Houzz with good lighting and high resolution)
- Reach out to former clients and see if they would be willing to write you a review on Houzz
Houzz makes getting reviews easy, as all you need to do is send them a link to your listing and ask for feedback, you can even send emails to multiple customers all at the same time. Once you have written reviews from satisfied customers, it will significantly boost your interior design business’s visibility on Houzz.
If you’re looking for professional assistance optimizing or maintaining your interior design business on Houzz, we offer that as a service as well! Simply click the link below to contact us with the details.
By taking these steps, you will be well on your way to attracting more interior design clients through Houzz.
Get more clients with a beautiful online portfolio
One of the most, if not THE most important steps to your digital marketing strategy is creating an online portfolio to showcase your work. When you live in the creative visual space, getting this step right can mean the difference between getting scrapbook-level projects or being featured in a major design magazine.
Your interior design portfolio is your number one tool for generating potential leads, so it’s important to make sure that it accurately reflects your interior design style and the level of work that you’re capable of.
While it is standard for interior designers to feature their online portfolio on their website, new businesses might not be ready to take that plunge quite yet. Instead, go back to the buyer personas that you created and identify the places where you can get your design portfolio in front of your ideal customers.
One great option for interior design business owners is to create a separate online portfolio on sites like Behance and Dribble. These platforms are specifically geared towards interior designers, and they can be a great way to showcase your work and get discovered by prospective clients.
Hire a Professional Photographer – Why you need a pro to shoot your portfolio
When it comes to interior design, there is no denying that visuals are absolutely critical. After all, interior design is a very visual discipline and if you want your interior design business to succeed, you need to put your best foot forward when showcasing your work online.
One of the easiest ways to ensure that you have eye-catching interior design photos in your portfolio is to hire a professional photographer. Professional interior design photographers have the necessary skills and experience to capture interior spaces in the best possible light, creating interior design photos that really pop.
But getting high-quality interior design photos doesn’t have to be expensive – there are many talented interior design photographers out there who offer their services at reasonable rates.
By taking the time to find a professional interior design photographer, you can ensure that your interior design portfolio is truly stunning and will help attract more prospective clients online.
To get started, simply do a quick search for interior design photographers in your area or check out some of the amazing interior photos on Houzz or Pinterest. You’re sure to find plenty of interior design photographers to choose from.
Social Media: Promote Your Business and Showcase Your Portfolio
Once you have your portfolio, GBP, Houzz listing, and Buyer Personas all fleshed out, it’s time to put all of that information together and start promoting your interior design business.
Social media is the perfect platform for interior designers to promote themselves and their work, as it allows them to connect with interior design clients in a way that is both personal and highly visual.
To get started with social media, create a dedicated interior design business Instagram or Pinterest page. Then start filling up your feed with beautiful interior design photos from your portfolio and interior design inspiration from your buyer personas.
You should also create interior design Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to use for marketing, as these platforms offer a wider range of options for sharing interior design content, such as blog posts, and increases your online presence.
Really leverage the buyer personas that you created to tailor your content to the exact audience you are trying to get the attention of. Think about your brand voice and the types of messaging that will appeal to that audience. Most importantly, track your efforts to see which platforms are getting the best traction and if you’re really resonating with interior design
Social Boosting and Maximizing Your Visibility
Each social platform’s algorithm is selective in who they allow having their content seen. To increase your interior design business’ visibility on social media, you’ll need to invest in social ads and boost your posts.
Ads give you control over who sees your interior design content and give you the ability to target your ideal clients in a very specific way. You can promote posts that showcase interior design projects you have completed, interior design tips and tricks that would be valuable for interior design clients, or interior design blog posts that offer in-depth interior design advice.
You can also use social ads to amplify your interior design business’ reach by targeting local clients who are looking for interior designers within a certain radius of your business.
This is a great way to help more interior design clients find and connect with your interior design business, ultimately driving more interior design leads.
By leveraging social media marketing tactics like targeted ads, interior designers can easily improve their digital presence online and attract more interior design clients. With the right tools and strategies, you can turn your interior design business into a well-oiled marketing machine that continually brings in new interior design leads.
Social Proof: Why Testimonials Are So Important For Interior Design Businesses
Social proof is one of the most powerful ways to turn a prospect into a paying client. The reason why it’s so effective is that it speaks to our primordial human brain.
Have you ever seen the phenomenon where people will start gathering in a line for something and when asked what they are in the line for their response is that they saw other people in the line so it must be something worth waiting for? Mind-blowing right?
Well, not really. It is part of our survival instinct to follow the crowd and imitate the people around us.
This is exactly what interior design businesses can leverage to attract more interior design leads. By showcasing testimonials from interior design clients on your website, social media pages, or anywhere else that is easily visible to prospects, you will be leveraging this powerful tool to get more interior design leads quickly and effectively.
Use this superpower wisely!!
How to Build a Case Study That Attracts More Clients
One of the most often overlooked parts of an interior designer’s digital marketing strategy is to create powerful case studies that showcase the “RIGHT” information.
If you do a simple search online, you will find many examples of interior designers that utilize case studies, but upon review, you will find that they don’t provide all the best information that will help a potential customer come to a decision.
In order to get interior design clients with case studies, you need to make sure that you are featuring the right information that will help prospects understand how you can help them achieve their goals. Here are some tips to get you started:
– Only showcase interior design projects that are relevant to the type of interior design clients you want to attract. If you want to attract high-end residential clients, then only feature case studies that are for this type of project.
– Make sure your case study tells a story that interior design prospects can relate to. This will help them connect with you on a deeper level and ultimately, they are more likely to become interior design clients.
– Highlight your interior designer’s strengths and what makes your interior design services stand out from the competition. If you focus on highlighting these key differentiators, interior design prospects will quickly see that you are the interior designer they need to help them achieve their vision.
By following these tips, you will be well on your way to creating interior design case studies that attract more clients and help you close more interior design deals.
If you are still struggling to create the perfect case study from these tips, we are providing a free case study template that you download for free. Simply fill in your email below and your download will start automatically.
Conclusion
There you have it! By utilizing these digital marketing strategies, you will be able to get more interior design clients quickly and effectively. So what are you waiting for? Get started today and watch your interior design business grow!
Do you have any other digital marketing tips that have helped you get more interior design clients? We would love to hear from you in the comments section. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and fellow interior designers, and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to receive updates on helpful interior design marketing tips and strategies. Thanks for reading!
