Is Social Media Marketing Relevant to Design and Architecture Companies?

You may have noticed that there's been a bit of an explosion around the subject of social media of late. Companies are clambering around trying to work out how to harness the power of this relatively new marketing phenomenon, and it seems this has spread to the design and architecture world. I'm regularly asked for advice from design and architecture companies about whether they should add social media to the marketing mix and, if so, how they should go about it.

The first answer I give is, yes. The marketing function is undergoing an evolution, the social media express has roared into town and design and architecture companies that don't get onboard now risk being left behind. There are conversations happening all around us online that design and architecture companies could be involved in. Conversations that include clients and potential clients and if you don't get involved, your competitors will. This goes for pretty much any type of business as more and more are joining in, daily.

But getting involved in social media is not straightforward. It takes a lot more than simply adding a profile to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et al. As with all things marketing, it needs a strategy. But before I get into that, let's start with a gentle introduction to the wonderful world of social media.

Social media is an online tool that builds communities of people with shared interests who are interested in networking with each other. The focus here is on networking and conversation, which is the underlying premise. It's a bit like 'offline' networking at events, but without having to leave your home/office and with a little less alcohol. It allows you to connect with people that can benefit you or your company, which is useful for anyone wanting to hook up with potential clients, peers, journalists, industry guru's and anyone else that could be useful.

The key uses of social media for marketing purposes are:

Brand awareness Brand reputation management New business generation News distribution and PR Research (through online polls) Customer support Specific product/service launch campaigns Connecting with affiliate companies Improving SEO

Not bad for an activity that needs little investment other than time.

There is a raft of social media sites available to us, from blogs to microblogs to networking to bookmarking. It's easy to get lost in the quagmire, so here's a brief description of each:

Blogs : a blog is a company's communication tool that allows two way interaction with its readers. They are different to standard 'brochure' website as they 'talk with' rather than 'talk at' the viewer. The blog shouldn't be used for 'selling', instead it should contain advice and opinion that the reader will find useful and which will make them want to subscribe for updates (and thus extend the interaction further). It might even make them want to get in touch. Wouldn't that be nice?

Microblogs : Twitter is the most talked about, and the most useful, microblog. In contrast to a blogs longer posts, Twitter contains 140 character 'statements'. It is a powerful networking tool that allows you to interact with people in a much faster environment. It has a global reach that breaks down the barriers of communication and allows networking in real time on a very large scale. Tweeters share information, give advice, debate real time issues and generally chat.

Social networking sites : these include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Xing etc, and this list is growing. So for now I'm going to stick with the main two I find useful: LinkedIn and Facebook. Xing can be useful for architects, however this isn't being used to a great extent in the UK so far (that could change in the future so it's worth keeping an eye on). Networking sites allow you to connect and network with others in your field. The group discussions and forums are particularly useful here and should play a major role in their use.

Social bookmarking sites : this includes sites like Digg and Stumbleupon. They allow us to bookmark a web page we like or find interesting and 'save' it to these sites. They also have a voting system that allows viewers to vote on pages they like. The aim here is to get your blog post or web page voted on and then, in turn, encourage others to view it.

Social media strategy

There are definite rules of engagement when it comes to social media. As I mentioned earlier, it's all about networking and conversation. But before getting into any conversation, get your strategy sorted:

1. What are your objectives for using social media? Are you looking to increase brand exposure? Are you looking for new business leads? Do you need to improve your brand reputation? Are you launching a specific product or service? Are you looking to recruit staff? The objective/s need to be clear from the outset as these will drive your messages.

2. Who do you want to reach? Write down a list of the types of people or companies you want to interact with and be clear what messages you want to get across to them. But remember! Social media is all about two way interaction so you can't fully control any conversation. However, having a clear idea of what you want to communicate at the start will be useful to your strategy.

3. Who should be responsible for running social media activity? Should there be a team or can one person take responsibility? Take heed here, not all conversation on social media is positive so you will need someone equipped to deal with any negative comments on behalf of your company.

4. Next you need to identify the right platforms for you. The model I have been using and am recommending to clients is an integration of the following: company blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook with, of course, links back to the main website and YouTube and Flickr as necessary. As with other marketing activities, they ALL need to be integrated for optimum results. There are tools that allow you to link these platforms to save on time, for example Twitter updates can now appear on your Facebook profile through Tweetdeck, WordPress blogs can be embedded into LinkedIn profiles, Twitter updates can appear on blogs etc.

5. Agree the wording of profile names before setting them up. For example, on Twitter do you want all profiles for your company to be prefixed with the company name then the employee or just the employee or do you want to have one company profile name that can be used by all or just your name? Clearly this has branding implications so it's important to get this clear at the outset. I do prefer real names for Twitter profiles as it feels like you're talking to a real person, rather than a member of a company. Once this is done, set up all profiles with clear bio's and apply the branding to backgrounds where possible. If you don't already have a blog, it would be a good idea to get this set up now. This needn't be costly or time consuming. WordPress provides a very good system which is free. So get blogging with relevant, useful posts.

6. Now you need to find the people you want to network with. Get together a list of those you want to reach, search for them and connect. Once you've connected don't make the mistake of diving into conversation before you get a feel for how they do things. Listen to what they talk about for a while and if you have something relevant to add to a discussion, add it. But remember, don't sell! What you want to do here is build the relationship. So be relevant and give them sound advice. They'll soon be nattering away with you and may even want to take it offline for a coffee at some point. How very yesteryear.

7. Next ensure all platforms are integrated as I mentioned earlier. Make the most of all available tools to streamline your social media activities.

8. Finally, timing. Social media can be very addictive so it's worth scheduling the time you feel is appropriate to spend on these activities. There is a plethora of tools on Twitter that help cut down on the time you need to spend online. For example you can schedule your tweets to be sent out during the day so that you can get on with something else. But remember, don't do too much of this as the conversation will be one sided which is against what you're trying to do here.

Here are a few examples of companies that are making the most of social media:

Architects Journal, Architectural Review, Arup, Barefoot & Gilles, BDI, Blueprint, Brand Republic, Building Design, DBA, Design Council, Design Museum, Drivers Jonas, Ford Frog HOK I-am Associates Innocent Interbrand Landor Leo Burnett Loft Marketing Nokia Ogilvy RIBA Saatchi & Saatchi Design Shed Starbucks TBWA Williams Murray Ham WPP

So that's it in a nutshell. If you still don't think social media is for you. Think again. Those who don't get involved now could miss out on an important development in marketing strategy.

Gemma Went runs London based design and architecture marketing consultancy, Red Cube Marketing. For more go to http://www.redcubemarketing.com Her blog contains lots of relevant advice for design and archtiecture companies, to view and/or subscribe click here http://redcubemarketing.wordpress.com/

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How Industrial Companies Can Succeed With Social Media

More and more, the conversations I have with industrial and manufacturing companies about social media don't start with questions like "What can Twitter do for my business?" - but rather, "OK, I've got a Twitter page - but how do I keep coming up with things to say?" I'm sure that if I didn't have a social media calendar and the help of some amazing tools, there would be plenty of days when I, too, struggled to come up with interesting posts for all of my social media pages.

Even though more and more manufacturing companies are stepping into the world of social media, very few that I talk to are approaching it strategically. It's more like they're experimenting, and if they see any benefit THEN they'll start taking it seriously. For any company to be successful with social media, it has to be considered in the same way in which any other marketing communications initiative would.

Develop a social media content strategy; determine your company's social media persona; then make your social media campaign efficient and keep your posts updated regularly by utilizing a social media calendar. There are lots of ways to develop a social media calendar, from very simple (for those of us who are more right brain) to detailed and complex (for the true project managers!) Following are some basics to help you get started.

Start with a strategy

The very nature of social media demands more spontaneity and frequency in contact than other, traditional forms of marketing communications; but that doesn't mean companies should toss out basic principles of sound marketing or any other complex project. You need a strategy. Go back to Marketing 101 and ask yourself these questions in regard to social media:

Who is your target audience?
Where are you most likely to find them?
What objective (results) do you hope to achieve?
How will you measure your efforts?

After you identify your target audience (and there may be more than just potential customers) you need to think about what kind of information they would want to hear from your company. This is critical to your strategy. You really have to put yourself in the mind of your target audience and think about THEIR needs - their requirements - their problems - and how YOUR company can communicate with them about what's important to THEM.

Create broad categories that will house ideas for future posts. For instance, if you're a company that provides industrial safety services to refineries, chemical plants, drilling companies and other industrial plants, your Content Categories may include:

Safety compliance
How proper safety management saves money
Safety regulatory issues
Legislation affecting your customers' industry
Current events and news that would be of interest to your audience
The latest safety equipment
Managing shutdowns and turnarounds

The list could go on and on! Think of it as a filing cabinet and each of your Content Categories is a file folder full of content "ideas." Since you've determined that all of these categories are of some interest to your target audience, you will want to intersperse posts related to all of them in your Content Calendar (more on that.)

Determine your social "persona"

If you're serious about a consistent brand image for your company, it's key to consider the "voice" and perspective that your social media posts will reflect. Even if you have multiple people handling several accounts, there has to be a written policy about the content of all your posts. In fact, if more than one person will be posting and writing blog content, this is critical.

Will you post and respond from the first person "I" or from a more collective business perspective, "We"?
What is the image (picture) that will be shown for your company on each site? The company logo or the individual's picture that is the "voice" of the company on that particular site?
Will your posts be strictly "on brand"? (Will they deal only with your own company?)This is difficult to pull off successfully unless you are a huge, world-wide organization.Typically, a combination of "on brand"; industry news; media that applies to your business (books, webinars, trade shows, etc.) and a broader perspective of how the world is effecting your business works best.
Will your posts' personality reflect a light and friendly, or serious and informative tone?

Answer all these questions, and then keep all posts and responses to posts consistent.

Develop a "Conversation Calendar"

Conversation calendars achieve several important objectives related to social media marketing.

They make your campaign pro-active instead of reactive.
They alleviate the stress that comes from the ongoing question, "what will we post about NOW?"
They ensure accountability for posting.
They ensure consistent posting.

There's no magic formula for how many times you should post something on any social media platform. On some - Facebook for instance - blasts of posts all throughout the day can become a little annoying since the quantity of YOUR posts limit what a person sees when they check their news feed.

Twitter, of course, allows for more frequent posting - but you also need to consider when your target audience is most likely to be checking Twitter. If your audience works 8-5, Mon-Fri, it doesn't make sense to post late at night or on the week-ends.

I've heard it all when it comes to blogs. Some say a minimum of 3 posts per week. Others say once every week is fine. Personally, I think if your content has value and is truly relevant, the more often you can post to your blog, the better. A blog almost needs its own, unique strategy. Unlike Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, on a blog you are writing more than a few sentences about your subject. A blog post takes more time and effort.Many companies are enlisting multiple individuals from different departments so that their blog covers topics from different perspectives (not just marketing!) and posts are more regular.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding resources outside of your company for your social media posts. Find websites and blogs that contain the same kind of content you want to deliver. Register to receive information through email or set up RSS feeds so you are regularly getting information pushed to your desktop that can be used for Twitter tweets, LinkedIn discussion topics, even blog posts.

Once you've done all of the above: it's time to create the Conversation Calendar.

Here's a basic way to do it:

Use Excel (or Word if you're Excel challenged) and set up a spreadsheet - one for every month.

Create columns for:

Date
Day of the week
Time
Content Category
Column for each social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, Blog, etc.)
If there is more than one person posting, a column that indicates the individual responsible

Remember to post items for all of your Content Categories over a month's time. Certain topics will appeal more to some than others. You can gauge which topics seem to be more "hot" by checking analytics through the month. For instance, if visitors to your website spike every time you post something about a certain topic, that's an indication you should post a little more on that topic. Give your audience what they seem to want to hear.

Measure your success

You've already determined what you hope to achieve with your social media campaign with your strategy. Did I mention that "gaining new customers" should probably fall somewhere near the bottom of the list in terms of priorities? This is perhaps the biggest misconception about social media marketing: that the number one goal is to get new business. Of course, any company that invests in a marketing initiative has the ultimate goal of growing their business. However, social media marketing is unlike any other type of marketing. It is SOCIAL - therefore, it is about RELATIONSHIPS. There are many positive things that can occur as a result of networking that do not necessarily end in a sale - so be open minded when you decide how you will gauge success.

If you build a social media network and the people in your network feel you are providing value to them personally, I guarantee that eventually you WILL get new business. How long that takes will be determined by many different factors. Initially, start gauging success with easily measurable goals. Here are some examples:

A percentage of new "likes" on your Facebook page.
A percentage of new QUALIFIED "followers" on your Twitter page. Only you can define "qualified." My definition is a company that is a potential customer, strategic partner, industry influencer, potential vendor, and sometimes - even a competitor. In this changing world of digital communication, the lines between competitors are blurring.Sometimes a competitor can become a strategic partner.
An increase in visitors to your website - and even deeper, visitors coming from specific social media accounts.
An increase in the number of people who register to receive your newsletter or RSS feeds of your Blog.
An increase in the number of comments you receive on your Blog.

All of the strategy and planning in the world can never generate the truly human moments when you or your social media ambassador is present, genuine, and delivers true value to someone. In the end, it may be the spontaneous moments that truly mark the success of your social media efforts. But - as I've said throughout my marketing career - if you don't have a plan to tell you where you're going, how will you know when you get there? It's no different with social media. Plan for success!

Kerry O'Malley is President and founder of Marketects, an industrial marketing communications agency based in Houston, TX. For over a decade Marketects has worked with numerous small to mid size manufacturing and industrial service companies and helped them increase brand recognition, move into new markets, and obtain new prospects through creative and targeted marketing communications. Prior to founding Marketects, Ms. O'Malley had a proven track record managing marketing communications in actual manufacturing and industrial service companies. Because of her work on "the other side of the desk" Ms. O'Malley has a no-nonsense approach to marketing and believes she can offer creative solutions to industrial companies, regardless of budget. Her specialties include industrial advertising and P/R campaign management; trade show strategies and display development; web site content development; brand identity consulting and development; and industrial social media marketing management. She is the author of "Industrial Marketing Muse," a blog that offers regular tips, techniques and ideas for industrial marketers:
http://marketectsinc.com/blog
To learn more about Marketects, go to:
http://marketectsinc.com

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