IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011 - 33

IF yoU’rE rEADy To EMBrACE SoCIAL MEDIA, WhErE Do yoU STArT?

1. Determine your objectives. “Do you want to generate sales leads, connect with other designers, or get published in the local press?” asks The kaleidoscope Partnership’s Leslie Carothers. For all of these aims, try LinkedIn, which also hosts forums for thousands of professional organizations, including IIDA. For media exposure, follow magazine editors on Twitter, as they often post calls for projects and competitions. 2. Consider ways to add to the conversation. “you can write as well as share photos, videos, and links to interesting information,” says gensler’s Carlos martinez. Think about your communication style. Twitter and status updates on Facebook and LinkedIn entail brief comments, photos, or links, while the loquacious will prefer a blog format. 3. Be consistent. “The worst thing is to begin [using social media] and then abandon it,” says Carothers. “What kind of message does that send to potential clients?” For Twitter and Facebook users, she feels two posts a day— one in the morning and one in the evening—is enough to demonstrate your commitment. 4. Connect to your Web site. “social media’s job is to bring people toward a company,” says Adroyt’s rich Holschuh. “but once they get there, they have to have something substantial to bite into.” A Web site with a cohesive brand presence and look is what ultimately sells your services.

from interior design’s geographic epicenters. John Cantrell, IIDA Associate and LEED AP bD+C certified designer in Hok’s Atlanta office, turns to everything from blogs to virtual pinboard site Pinterest to keep up with design culture and “put myself out there verbally and visually.” But what if you don’t have the time to tweet, blog, or post? you can hire a specialist to do it for you. “We can get you up and running on a full platform [of social-media options] in 30 days,” says saxon Henry, Adroyt’s cofounder. She estimates costs in the “$3,000 to $10,000” range to craft a marketing plan and get you online; the fee includes a stockpile of posts and tweets. monthly maintenance—a steady stream of content for your

channels, written in your voice—is also on offer for substantially less. Leslie Carothers, CEo of minneapolisbased social-media marketing firm The kaleidoscope Partnership, urges designers to keep several criteria in mind when selecting social-media gurus. “Do they have experience in the niche? Are they connected to the important people in the industry? Do they have any presence in socialmedia channels? How do they define successful results?” Carothers— whose accounts include furnishings line The new Traditionalists and contemporary-design trade show ICFF—adds that establishing and managing social-media campaigns full-time for a large firm can range from “$100,000 to $150,000 a year.” Working for a single designer is

“nowhere near that,” she says, although she declines to name specific figures. For the profession, social media can be a powerful marketing tool with the ability to level the playing field—that is, if designers leverage its interactive and knowledge-sharing capabilities. But there are dues—in the form of time, persistence, sweat equity, or money. If you’re ready to take the plunge, start with one platform. keep your voice authentic, contribute as well as take, and be consistent; do these and you will connect with others and build your online presence. After all, says Holschuh: “Social media is word-of-mouth. It’s people talking. If you’re not there, they’re not talking about you.”

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2011