Thoughtfully selecting which content to broadcast on which platforms respects the specific audiences and optimizes the social media traction.
Different Social Media Platforms:
Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world, and is extremely easy to use. From your Facebook business page, you can send updates, poll readers and publish links, as well as like and follow others
LinkedIn is the best social media platform for business to business. On LinkedIn you can form connections with other business owners and talk about your industry in groups (like a discussion forum, but much more awesome)
Twitter is a microblogging platform where you share short, sharp updates of 140 characters or less. It is particularly effective if you work in marketing or technology space
Youtube is for sharing videos. If you can come up with regular video content, it is THE place to be
Google+ is the “new kid on the social media block” but because it’s Google’s own platform, it has a heavy weighting in search engine results. A lot of business people are starting to use this platform
Tumblr is a blogging platform that favours visual heavy posts with few words, and makes it easy to “reblog” and share posts made by others. It could be a great platform for architects wanting to experiment with blogging
Instagram and Pinterest are platforms for sharing and chatting about images. Users are more commonly women and businesses successfully using these platforms are more commonly product driven. However, as an architect, your product is primarily visual, so these could be a great space for you
What to Do with Social Media Accounts:
Link to interesting posts you read in the media about your industry, or to things business owners should know
Link to your own blog posts about the industry
Ask questions about what your audience is having trouble with. What are they looking for in an architect? Social media can be an excellent tool for conducting market research
Give out short and snappy daily or weekly tips
Share links and thoughts on new, innovative and visually stunning architecture projects from around the world
Talk about something funny that happened in the office today
Talk about a common problem your clients experience and how to solve it
Bust a myth about your industry
Use #hashtags to join conversations with other people in your industry
Reply to consumer questions, or join in discussions on other profiles
Start a conversation with influencers in your industry
As to how often you should post, this depends on the platform you’re using and how often people want to hear from you. Remembering that on all social media platforms, your updates aren’t going to be seen by everybody, I’d recommend the following frequencies:
Facebook: between 3-5 times per week
Twitter: between 1-5 times per day
Google+: between 2-5 times per week
Youtube: 1-4 times per month
Tumblr: 2-10 times per week
LinkedIn: status updates 1-4 times per week, and appearing in discussions 1-5 times per week
Instagram + Pinterest: 1-10 uploads per week
Networking is the art of chatting to other business owners and forming a web of contacts throughout the business world. The concept of networking is simple: the more people you know, and the more people who know you, the more likely you are to receive referrals directly from your contacts. While traditional business networking is done face-to-face, networking online via social media is quickly catching up in terms of effective ROI.
How To Use Social Media for Networking:
Find five ”influencers” (people with lots of status and followers) in your industry and follow them. Make it your mission to get to know these people better and make them part of your network
Join 3-5 groups or discussion forums connected to your social media platform (such as groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, or #hashtag conversations on Twitter) and start actively participating
Make around 20% of all your updates sharing something someone else has created. Make sure you include their details so they can see you sharing their stuff
Approach companies that have synergies with your own through their social media platforms – perhaps project managers, contractors or mortgage brokers – and ask to connect
Tips to Get the Best ROI on Social Media
So you’re tweeting away, updating your Facebook and uploading silly photos on Instagram. Now that you’ve got the hang of it, how can you make your updates more effective?
Research common #hashtags in your industry and try to use a least one hashtag in most posts
Ask questions, and encourage followers to interact with you
Ask friends, family and colleagues to like your social media pages
Follow and connect with influencers in your industry
Reply promptly to anyone who comments on your updates or sends you a message
Include your social media links on your website, your business card and in your email signature. Encourage clients to signup to your updates to stay informed
