6 Digital Marketing Tips Every Interior Designer Should Read
Whether you live to share photos of your latest interior design project or view all things digital as a tedious-but-necessary part of running a business, one thing’s for sure: Crafting and managing your company’s online presence is a huge part of building a successful interior design firm in 2019. Here are six aspects to stay especially focused on, according digital-marketing strategist Mackenzie Maher of Power Digital Marketing, who’s done webinars with Ivy on the topic.
Develop a consistent look across all your digital content.
This might be even more important than you already know: Ensuring brand consistency across sites and platforms can increase your revenue by an average of 23 percent, according to Maher. Especially for a designer, sticking to a well-defined aesthetic is the best way to stand out in a world of nonstop digital distractions and be memorable to potential clients. You should write up brand guidelines that clearly outline each and describe how they should be applied across different online materials or platforms. “In a saturated market where users scroll at light speed, you want content to be easily identified as uniquely yours,” Maher says. There are four key visual components to focus on: your logo, your color palette, your typography and your brand imagery.
Photo courtesy of CAROLYNLEONA
Decide how and where to apply your logo.
When it comes to your logo, you want to be sure it becomes recognizable to clients, which means it shouldn’t change color or size each time it’s applied. ”Despite what some people may think, it’s about a lot more than just color—it’s about how you put it to use and where,” Maher says. In your brand guidelines, include visual examples covering logo size and location as well as color variations that may be used.
Define a color palette for your brand.
As when you’re designing interiors, sticking to a clearly defined palette goes a long way toward creating a consistent look and feel. “Most brands choose four or fewer main colors to stick to throughout their creative content and don’t really stray too far from the hues in their logo,” Maher notes.
Photography by Michael Vangraham, Design by CAROLYNLEONA
Think about typography, too.
You can stick to one main typeface to keep things simple or add supporting ones that can be used in specific ways. “One guideline is to use a font for written content that’s different from what you use in your logo,” Maher says. You’ll want to outline in your brand guidelines exactly what each font should be used for: headlines, body text, captions, etc.
Decide on a certain vibe for your imagery.
As a designer, you probably have a natural instinct for what type of images feel right for your brand, but include an image section in your brand guidelines in case you have anyone else doing your digital marketing for you—and to help you stay consistent about what you’re putting out there. Include examples of images that fit well with your brand aesthetics and/or use aspirational examples from other brands.
Photography by Catherine Nguyen, Design by CAROLYNLEONA
Fine-tune your brand’s voice and tone.
Whether you’re writing a blog post or putting together an email newsletter, you should narrow down what you want your brand’s tone to sound like. “This is an often-overlooked aspect of your online presence, but it’s really a core pillar of the customer experience,” Maher says. “Your goal is to create content that connects with people and that builds relationships, so you want to make sure your voice reflects that.” Authenticity is key—you want to avoid sounding like you’re trying to hard. So is understanding voice versus tone. “You really only have one brand voice. It should always be the same,” Maher says. Your tone, on the other hand, can change depending on what you’re saying and who your audience is. For example, you might get a bit more casual and conversational in a blog post vs. a newsletter, which veers more straightforward in order to generate clicks.
Some of Maher’s general guidelines around brand voice:
Avoid too much interior design jargon—your voice should appeal to those outside the industry as well as those within it.
Use “we” language, not “me” language. Your audience will lose interest if you’re not trying to connect with them. For example, when talking about your challenge incorporating mixed prints into a living room, ask your audience to share how they’ve managed to mix X print with Y print.
Avoid “trying too hard” terms (FTW, lit).
Let your personality shine through.
Create a guide to keep your voice and tone consistent on social.
Finally, here are some questions that can help you fine-tune your brand voice:
What adjectives personify your brand voice and tone? Pick up to 10, then narrow them down to the best four. Use those as the core of your brand voice. Examples: colorful, energetic, friendly, playful, trustworthy, inspiring, fresh, bold, professional, detailed.
What are your values as a brand?
What makes you different as a brand?
What do/don’t you want others to say you?
How are you improving people’s lives and adding value?
Who are you creating this content for and how will it benefit them?
Another expert tip sheet that’ll help your bottom line: 8 Pro Tips for Organizing Your Interior Design Studio—and Your Precious Time
Ivy is the leading business management platform and community helping home professionals streamline their businesses by providing the technology, resources, and support they need to thrive. To learn more about Ivy, schedule a demo with an Ivy Guru who can show you how designers use Ivy to streamline their workflow and make more time for what they love, design.