A strong social media presence is imperative to a successful home builder inbound marketing strategy. Houzz, a social network for home design, was established in 2009 to allow home builders, renovators, and designers to actively interact with people interested in improving the overall look of their home or business. With more than 25 million monthly users, Houzz is the popular hang out for your clients and your future clients and it’s where you should be too. Houzz is often the first step users make when considering updating their home, because it is an idea generator. Houzz users can create ideabooks for future remodels, search for design inpiration, and read articles on new products and current trends. Houzz also allows professionals to showcase their completed projects, which users can share with family and friends, and then contact the contractor directly for an estimate, with just a touch of a button.
We at Baker Labs believe Houzz is an important tool for home builders, renovators, and designers who are interested in enhancing their inbound marketing strategy, because Houzz helps professionals build better relationship with their customers in these three ways:
1. Interact with your audience on a regular basis.
The most important difference between an inbound marketing approach vs. a traditional marketing approach is the way in which you interact with your audience. Houzz provides a way for home builders, renovators, and designers to connect and communicate with prospective clients through a professional directory. Using the Houzz directory, referrals and other interested parties can search for your company and contact you directly. People are naturally wired for relationships; they need a living person (not an instruction manual!) to walk them through their home renovation. You can meet this need for human interaction by exposing the heartbeat of your company through quality conversation and positive personal touches.
Houzz also offers a built-in Questions section in the user forum that allows interested users to ask questions about your company and recent posts. For example: You just uploaded a picture showcasing a project you just finished: a beautiful custom kitchen, complete with solid quartz countertops. Using the Questions section, a user comments on the picture and says that she likes the benefits of quartz, but prefers the look of marble. She then asks what major drawbacks are associated with marble countertops. What a great opportunity to share your knowledge and promote your business! You tell her that she can have the benefits of quartz with the look of marble, because quartz is a man-made material and can be engineered with a marble-like appearance! Thrilled with this new information, she asks you for a quote and becomes a strong lead.
2. Build rapport by adding cross-links to your Houzz profile.
Be sure to reference your company’s blog and social media profiles by linking them to your Houzz profile. Doing so will allow users to check out your business, view completed building and design projects, and contact you for more information. As we mentioned in the second tip [link to first blog post if we decide to split this one into two], quality interaction between your company and your audience is fundamental to building good relationships and creating a strong clientele.
Cross-linking your company website to your Houzz profile will increase your company website traffic. Depending on your inbound marketing strategy, this traffic will flow smoothly into your sales funnel, where you will capture solid leads.
3. Keep your contact information updated to maintain customer relationships.
Always keep your contact information current. If you change your phone number, URL address, or if your staffing dynamics have changed, be sure to update your Houzz profile. This will help you stay connected with your audience and allow them to get in touch with you easily.
Social media platforms are a vital part of a successful inbound marketing strategy. Home builders utilize these outlets and make themselves known on the World Wide Web will reach more prospective clients and develop stronger leads. For more information on how you can implement social media into your home building, renovating, or design company, please contact us.
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