Why Your Firm Should Be More Social

You most likely view multiple websites and social media channels daily—some repeatedly—and you may even be reading this article online. But are design firms making the most of all of the available ways to be present online? For the design industry to remain relevant, communication through social media must be seriously considered in order to help the public understand the breadth of our service offerings and to establish a greater awareness of the value design brings to our clients.

A firm’s online presence must be authentic relative to its work, and cannot be automated or done without a plan. For firms to be successful with social media, they must adopt a conscientious effort in approach, understand the resulting data, and make necessary adjustments.

Cultivating an engaging web presence
To be clear, a firm’s online activity is not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, or other social media channels. It starts with a firm’s website, which should be regularly updated with content—including the latest projects and firm knowledge—and be easy to navigate. When developing a new or revised website, one suggestion is to have the draft design reviewed by a few people outside of the firm, such as clients, real estate developers, or even the press that you want to attract. An online navigation that may seem cool or logical internally amongst your peers may appear cumbersome or tedious to the very people you are trying to reach.

And it should go without saying, but all web content should be optimized to be viewed on any mobile device because many people primarily gain information through online sources this way. Once a great website is live, firms looking to be smart about engagement should integrate the online presence— with multiple social media channels—into overall business development and marketing goals.

One of the greatest advantages of regular social media posting is the ability to understand the impact of your firm’s outreach reflected in social data analysis in four ways: (1) sophisticated data analysis, (2) time consideration, (3) influence analysis, and (4) network analysis. An analysis measures hard quantitative numbers including likes, page views, and time spent on websites. But proper data analysis can also lead to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how a message is resonating, and the overall quality of its content. That means the data analysis can show the growth of a firm as knowledge leaders in different target market sectors.

Prioritizing social media channels
What channels should your firm be focusing on? In terms of overall number of users, Facebook continues to be the most popular site, used by nearly 80 percent of all online adults, followed by Instagram (32 percent), Pinterest (31 percent), LinkedIn (29 percent), and Twitter (24 percent), according to a Pew Research Center study released last November. The online presence of companies still varies, though. Of the Fortune 500 companies, 83 percent of them have a Twitter account, but less than five percent have a Facebook page, according to a 2016 study by Brandwatch. About 91 percent of retail brands use two or more social media channels.

Identifying the channels that are right for your firm will require additional research. Members of our visually savvy profession most often gravitate to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for images. Plenty of information is available about audience composition for each channel, and, depending on your target audience, it may be worth trying a variety of outlets before focusing on a few that are used consistently.

Unfortunately, the design profession is a bit behind the curve when it comes to social media. Of the firms that responded to DesignIntelligence’s 2016 technology and innovation survey, 88 percent stated that they use social media. But, of that 88 percent, 35 percent did not know if the effort leads to new business prospects, and 44 percent believed that it did nothing to build new business.

While design professionals are actively participating in social media, we are often not doing enough to analyze the data and adapt our messages advantageously. Social media is today’s voice box, and collectively we could do more to use it to help grow our profession’s value. Is your firm being social enough, and is it sending the right message?

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This article was originally published on Contract Magazine.