Guest Blogger #416, Entry #1030
So, you’ve got an interior design business that you just know people are going to love—once they know about it. The great thing is that thanks to social media, marketing a business is not (just) about a getting billboard, printing out flyers or running radio ads. If you have a laptop and an Internet connection, there is a world of people that you can connect with right at this very moment.

One day social media may replace business cards
Image via: Design Work Life
Here’s how.
Start a Facebook fan page
When it comes to marketing a business, one mistake that a lot of people make is mentioning it on their Facebook profile page rather than creating an actual fan page that’s devoted solely to their company. One huge plus in going this route is that people can follow you without having to put in a friend request. Another is that you can give it more of a business-like presence: a professional picture and bio, your company logo, updates on the happenings (and possibly even sales) within the company. And, by integrating the Facebook page with your own site, when people click “Like” and it shows up on the Newsfeed, it gives you the opportunity to potentially draw in more customers.
Learn all that you can about Twitter
Most people in cyberspace are aware that they can get people to follow them on a Twitter account that they set up. And yes, if you can say something about your business in about 140 characters on a regular basis, it is a great way to drum up prospective clients. But, there are also Twitter tools like Tweepi (Tweepi.com) that helps to you to target a certain niche of people. 100 people following you is one thing. 100 people following you that are interested in interior design is something else.

What social media will help you promote yourself?
Create a Pinterest page
Although it was initially considered to be the “online scrapbooking site” where women could share recipes and fashion tips with their friends, more and more businesses are finding creative ways to use Pinterest for growing their business by having people offer suggestions and tips of what they’d like on their page. So, for an interior designer, this could be a dream concept. Set up a page where home décor lovers can post ideas, pictures, favorite websites for home items and maybe have a prize given at the end of each month for the one that came up with the most innovative (and useable) idea. Not only does this attract more people to your company, but it also gives you some ideas on how to further develop it.
Shoot a video or two
For better or for worse, one thing that social media has done is further indulge people’s desire for instant gratification. Therefore, given the choice between sitting down to read 500 words about what your company does or watching a video tour of a couple of houses that you have done design work for, chances are, people are going to opt for the latter. The benefit in shooting video is that not only does it give a personalized touch by allowing people to see you beyond still pictures and word copy, but it’s also another way to expand your audience because you can post the videos on your website and on YouTube. Another bonus is that if people go to, say Google, for interior design referrals, if they click “video”, they may just happen upon one of yours.

Social media has changed interior design marketing
Image via: Melbourne SEO Services
Interact with people. Honestly, these days, people could use a company intern just for this recommendation alone because when it comes to social media monitoring, there’s no real point in getting involved in interactive media if you’re not going to be a constant participator. In other words, when you put up a Facebook or Twitter page, if set up a blog on Blogspot.com or WordPress.com, or even post a video on YouTube, if you enable the comment option, then people are going to want you to say something in response to what their posts. Some of the best commercials are memorable because they were relatable. In responding to people that reach out to you, you are marketing both yourself and your company as being personable, relatable and user-friendly. Both on and off line.
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