Instagram for Dummies: Formula of Successful Promotion for Architects (Part I)
For days and days, every SMM specialist witters on how popular Instagram is. The service became a global community of one billion users according to the Instagram official message in June 2018. We can only imagine the number of potential clients for an architect firm. What is the best strategy to promote your Instagram account? What are the main and common misconceptions in promoting architecture firm via Instagram? Read more to know all the answers.
Instagram is a famous social network for visuals. Beautiful pictures of cities, nature, food, and life take people away from everyday routine. At the time of writing, hashtag #architecture has more than 92 000 000 references. This goes to prove extremely high interest in the subject. People adore beautiful architecture and eager to like and follow such accounts like Amazing Architecture, Architecture Hunter, Architecture Addicted etc. Any architecture firm has the potential to collect target audience, increase the recognizability of the company, draw close to present and future clients, be in tune with the times.
What are the main and common false trends in promoting architecture firm via Instagram?
False trend #1: Sparse posting of content
We all want to have Instagram as a powerful and advanced marketing or PR tool. So if we take into account the opportunity of the recent Instagram algorithm, we advise experimenting with your content. Obviously, you need to post great and beautiful photos as often as you can. It's a general knowledge that Instagram evaluates images and shows them to its potential audience. Instagram ensures, that every user always sees the best publications for him/her at the very given moment.
Everybody knows that the number of followers never equals the number of views.
According to the recent Instagram algorithm, there's probably a possibility that you are reaching less than 20% of your followers. And nobody knows the perfect recipe for a successful and viral image. So try to stick to the schedule: post the best photos of your professional architecture projects minimum twice a day. It's vitally important to analyze the user's feedback. It will help you to find the best way for your Instagram promotion strategy.
Don't forget about hashtags! It is crucial to use proper architecture hashtags. Otherwise, you will lose the great number of your future followers.
If you want to plan publications for a month, you can use a posting module. It automatically posts your content accordingly to your planned schedule. It will definitely save you time and make the analyzing process even faster and much easier. If you want to get high-convertible hashtags, take a look at the following Instagram hashtag generator. It's an absolutely free service. Plus you can use the generated hashtags to make a successful promotion of your content via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc.
False trend #2: Polished posting
Of course, Instagram is a storytelling platform. But only you decide, what story you will tell. There's nothing wrong in posting pictures of your architect firm's everyday life. You can post pictures of current projects or just remember a successful project that was made three years ago. Try to post a Chief Accountant's Birthday congrats in your office or Björn the studio-kitten and watch an explosive reaction of likes and comments.
Leave boring official statements to company newsletters.
Draw the attention of your present and future clients, stay close to your target audience by using such an unofficial tool of marketing as Instagram.
False trend #3: Paucity of content
“I don't have enough images for my every day posting”. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? We all know, that there's always a hero shot of every project. But do not forget about the architectural concept. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting ideas in every project: the beautiful light shadows in the rooms, different hidden but really noteworthy aspects or details. People adore in-depth content.
Share ideas or distinctive features of every project your architecture firm does.
When it comes to architecture, there can't be just 1 picture of a project. You can get 100+ pictures of every project and spread content over the year and mix it with other projects. If you are out of ideas on what you can post, ask for professional help. A fresh eye can significantly help you with the promotion of your commercial Instagram account.
False trend #4: In-house content
It's always hard to be a newcomer at the market. How can I grip the attention of the people on Instagram if I have just started my architect career with a small and non-famous handful of projects? Don't give up!
Imagine the type of clients you want to reach and post other people's architecture work from all over the world. You can be an “architectural DJ” and match the content to the things you want to make. When you distinguish beautiful buildings from messy ones people will definitely love it. By promoting other people's work you build a positive perception of your own architecture firm. People will see that you have true architectural taste and you understand your client.
Conclusion
Professional promoting your architecture firm Instagram account is not difficult and complicated process:
- Try to post the best images as often as you can
- Analyze what content brings you the most feedback
- Use only high-convertible hashtags
- Be close to the client and don't be afraid to post unpolished images
- Make more photos of every project. Pay attention to the details that indicate the best architectural ideas of the project
- Don't hesitate to ask professional help
- If you are a newcomer and you don't have enough content, mix images from other sources
- We believe, that your firm will have the best architecture account on Instagram. If you want to see a review on the Instagram accounts of the best architectural firms in the world, follow the Part II