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In professional services businesses relationships are of the utmost importance. A good marketing strategy for a professional services firm is one that makes the development of existing relationships and the establishment of new ones its key objectives. This absolutely applies to architecture firms; in today’s connected environment it is relatively easy to make changes to your marketing strategy and have a positive impact on your business.
Before exploring the necessary changes it is worthwhile to provide some context. Traditionally, architecture firms have derived a lot of new commissions and project work via referrals, networking and in some cases a competitive tender process. These are excellent sources of new business but there is another source of business that many architecture firms are neglecting. That other source is Content Marketing.
What is Content Marketing?
Content Marketing is the creation of value added information that is distributed to your target audience via Social Media. Content Marketing often comes in the form of educational blog posts, white papers, how-to guides, video posts, downloadable PDFs and podcasts. All of this value -added information builds up a rapport with prospects and begins to create a relationship with them; it also establishes your authority in their minds. If you are consistent in the execution of your Content Marketing Plan, the impact of it on your business will be clearly seen on the bottom line. Given the potential, it is surprising that some architecture firms are not taking the opportunity that Content Marketing offers them. If you follow the steps below you will soon become far more progressive in this area and will see business benefits.
Architecture Firms Use Content & Social Media
1. Mindset
There is a belief in some architecture firms that marketing is something to be avoided or is an activity to be engaged in only when the current order book is close to empty. Marketing should be an ongoing activity of course and Content Marketing will prove to be very effective for you. Remember that Sir Norman Foster’s company, Foster and Partners and Zaha Hadid’s Zaha Hadid Architects don’t have this reluctance to market themselves. These two demonstrate the potential when architecture firms use content effectively.
2. Create Value-Added Content
A blog is a great way of delivering value to your potential customers. By committing to a weekly blog you can help them as they consider architecture related questions. You can use it as vehicle to demonstrate your authority by giving advice, showcasing projects that you have completed and highlighting client testimonials. The blog will also give you an opportunity to create thought leadership articles and begin or contribute to public debates around commercial developments or housing depending on your focus as a firm. This blog content should be conceptualised as ‘evergreen’ content that will drive people to your website on an ongoing basis; create Content that underlines your specialism within architecture.
3. Optimising Your Website
If you have an impressive website with clear navigation and content that highlights the achievement of your firm, this is a great position to be in. However, it is not enough; people will need to find your company’s website before they can be impressed by it. Your website will need to be optimised from a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) point of view. To break that down further, your website will need to be ‘findable’ for the keywords that are most appropriate for the type of architecture that is your specialism.
4. Social Media
Make use of the appropriate Social Media platforms to connect with your existing audience and prospects. This is likely to be Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. What has proved successful with the Architecture and Construction clients that we have worked with has been tweets with links to time lapse videos from completed projects, blog posts, testimonials, interviews with founders and conference reviews. Do not make the mistake of thinking you have to be everywhere. You are unlikely to derive much return on your time invested on Facebook or Google+, for example; focusing on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube would be a good strategy.
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B2B Content Marketing Agency London
Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.
If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com
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Best regards,
Mike Pitt
Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd
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