Guide to Internet Marketing for Architects

The internet allows businesses to target clients across different stages of the buyer’s journey. In this article, we will discuss the mainstays of internet marketing for architects.

You can jump to viewing architectural projects posts by clients, if you are looking for leads.

Outline:

A. Marketing strategy for architects - Planning

A.1. The 4 P’s of marketing for architects

A.2. Inbound marketing for architects - Funnels

A.3. Marketing agency for architects

B. Internet marketing for architects - Tactics

B.1. Quality architect listings

B.2. Where to make online bids on architectural projects

B.3. Social media marketing for architects

B.4. Website retargeting

B.5. Email marketing for architects

B.6. Content marketing for architects

C. Download Internet Marketing Budget Template for Architects

A. Marketing strategy for architects - Planning

Before we discuss digital tactics for marketing for architects and designers, let’s talk about strategy.

A.1. The 4 P’s of marketing for architects

a. Product: 

Write a story, paint a picture. Architects take a client brief and create designs that match and transcend imagination. Define your niche and the kind of designs or buildings you create.

Create a portfolio that reflects your skills, specialization, experience, and design style. Put the portfolio out there for potential clients to discover and connect. Digital marketing makes it easy to create awareness for your architectural services.

b. Price:

Do market research to set the right pricing for your service in your area. You can refer to this guide on how much an architect costs to benchmark pricing.

c. Place:

Find the right marketing avenues--online and offline--to reach your customers. 

Create a website and social media pages, and share a physical or virtual meeting place where your customers can reach you.

d. Promotion:

Define your marketing message for your niche. There are a lot of options available for online marketing for architects and engineers that we’ll shortly discuss. 

A.2. Inbound marketing for architects - Funnels

Digital marketing helps create a funnel that can help get inbound architectural leads. Inbound leads are qualified through various vetting steps, ensuring that you deal with clients that are more likely to hire your services.

a. Awareness

This is the first step in the marketing funnel for architects. You can create awareness for your services through social media, customer reviews, PR articles in magazines and newspapers, etc.

b. Consideration

Once your customers are ready to consider your services, showcase your work portfolio or make soft bids to rope your customers in.

c. Engagement

In this stage of the buyer’s journey, clients ask you questions, check out your work, engage with your portfolio, sometimes even share their project brief to get bids.

d. Decision

This is where the clients evaluate your pricing, work style, and other important factors to make a decision to hire you.

A.3. Marketing agency for architects

You can hire a marketing agency that specializes in promoting architects. They have data-driven tactics to secure brand awareness, engagement, leads.

Look for a marketing agency, discuss your goals with them, study the tactics they plan to run for you, and set up well-planned campaigns.

Follow up on and study campaign results monthly, make changes in targeting or messaging, as required.

B. Internet marketing for architects - Tactics

Online marketing for architects helps get cheaper leads once you have strategized well. In this section we will talk about the tactics available for digital marketing for architects.

We assume that you have a website and social media pages with the right service information and calls-to-action (CTAs).

B.1. Quality architect listings

List your business and website or your individual professional profile on websites like Archicheq. This will help you rank among competitors and put you in front of clients that are searching for architects near them. Listings allow potential inbound leads to review your profile and make contact.

Here’s a video on how you can create your listing on Archicheq to attract qualified leads.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR ARCHITECT PROFILE

B.2. Where to make online bids on architectural projects

Various listing websites also allow clients to post their projects. You can browse through those job listings to find projects you may be interested in. Submit bids for thos qualified projects to get cheap leads.

Here’s a video on how to find clients on Archicheq:

VIEW ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS POSTED BY CLIENTS

B.3. Social media marketing for architects

Social media is a great way to create awareness for your architecture firm. Post pictures of your work, testimonials from your satisfied clients, and content that benefits users and shows your skills and expertise.

a. Instagram marketing for architects

Curate pictures of projects and post with a story about the pictures. Add popular hashtags to get in front of the right audience.

b. LinkedIn marketing for architects

Linkedin allows architects, especially commercial architects, to connect with potential clients. Paid LinkedIn Ads are also a great way to target and create awareness among decision makers.

c. Pinterest marketing for architects

Pinterest is where users come to take inspiration for home designs, office designs and more. It’s a great place to promote your designs and bring people to your website or landing pages, especially for residential and office architects. This helps in attracting people who are interested in or in-market your services.

B.4. Website retargeting

Once users are aware of your brand, and have come to the website, retarget them through display ads. This ensures that clients who are interested in your services and in-market come back to provide their information.

B.5. Email marketing for architects

Email marketing is a great way to engage leads that have shared contact information on your website or in person. Emails also help in getting review and referrals. This form of marketing can be automated and planned to keep clients connected with your brand for a long time, increasing customer lifetime value for your business.

B.6. Content marketing for architects

Content marketing for architects is important in all of the above marketing tactics. Share your design and solutions with your audience through suitable media modes. Here’re some media formats you can leverage:

a. Image & Video marketing for architects

Images and videos help you show your vision and design skills to potential clients. You can create videos that show your work. You can also create informative videos that offer solutions to clients on getting plan approvals, avoiding costly mistakes, etc. Engage users till they trust you to share their information with you.

b. Blogs & Infographics

Create informative blog posts and infographics that educate and entertain your potential clients. This will engage them and move them along their buyer’s journey to the decision stage. Show clients that you have the knowledge, vendors, and skills they need for their projects.

C. Download Internet Marketing Budget Template for Architects

Download excel template:

We hope this article helps you establish a sound online marketing plan for your architecture firm.

If you’d like to share your thoughts or ideas, or if you have any questions, please leave a comment below. We’d be happy to answer.

Stay tuned for more architecture service-related blog posts.