How Designers Can Create a Consistent (and Shoppable!) Social Media Strategy
How many clients found you on social media? They follow you for your eye for design and the gorgeous project shots you share. They may reach out as they contemplate hiring you –– but just as many prefer to follow quietly, saving images and dreaming of a home that someday looks like the ones you post.
Those followers are an opportunity for designers who use SideDoor. Design is one of the fastest growing verticals on social media, with interior designer influencers racking up thousands of followers eager for design inspiration. But those followers don’t always translate into revenue –– unless you have a way to share shoppable links with them.
SideDoor creates shoppable collections designers can share across social. When followers buy, you earn commission up to 30%. This is an opportunity to expand your reach and create revenue streams beyond in-person client hours.
How do you optimize a consistent and shoppable social media strategy while establishing yourself as an influencer in the design space? By utilizing the 4 ‘C’s. Let’s get into it.
CUSTOMERS: Focus on the Channels Where Your Customers Swipe
Even if you’re just starting to build your following, remember your content is only as good as the eyes on it, so focus on the channels where your potential customers are swiping.
- Instagram is where you’ll find people looking for visual inspiration, it’s also where you can forge a more personal connection through video and conversation. This is where followers can direct message you to form a relationship and ask for recommendations (read: SideDoor links!). Note: be careful not to allow conversations to creep into free design consults! Always focus on directing them towards your shoppable links.
- Pinterest is ideal for reaching new audiences through optimized and educational design content. Clickable images that are 735x1102px with text perform best. Create shoppable collections that users will save and share. Think “10 Items to Warm Up Your Living Room for Fall” or “6 of Our Favorite Blue and White Lamps.”
- Facebook can be beneficial for driving traffic to your shoppable pages, particularly if you run ads that will catch a user’s eye and show them something that’s seasonally relevant.
To sum it up: hyper-specific and helpful content performs best on Pinterest, while inspiration images do well on Instagram.
CONSISTENCY: Create a Consistent Feed...But Don’t Sacrifice Quality for Quantity
If you spend time on social media, you know a good feed when you see it. The images look consistent and well-planned, as if they were sorted out ahead of time. Spoiler: they probably were! A stunning social feed isn’t an accident, it’s an intentional marketing decision that can assist in your SideDoor strategy.
- Invest in Lightroom presets to ensure that your project images stay visually consistent. You can either design your own presets or purchase an interior design-specific set off Etsy for just a few dollars. Most will include specific instructions about how to use them –– they’re shockingly easy once you get the hang of it!
- Use planning tools like Planoly to plot out your photos ahead of time. Make sure the color palette stays consistent and that you vary the angles and level of cropping. Think of this as your editorial calendar for your Instagram. Rearrange as needed to see what looks best.
- Work with a pattern between inspiration images and shoppable content. Alternate portfolio images and shoppable collages, or use the same order in multi-image posts with an inspiration image in the first spot, followed by a shoppable collection including similar items to the ones in your image. This consistency helps your followers know what to expect.
- On Instagram, use a few well chosen hashtags to become part of a larger conversation. This is a great way for new accounts to find you. When you look at hashtags, you can see which of your followers follow each hashtag –– this is a good indicator of where you’ll find like minded design enthusiasts.
- Invest in a Pinterest scheduling tool like Tailwind to keep your content updated regularly and to schedule posts when your followers are most active.
To sum it up: visually consistent images create a professional, polished look that followers flock to. This establishes you as a design influencer and gives followers confidence in buying products you recommend.
CONVERSION: Make it Shoppable
Beautiful, curated images are great. They bring in followers and show that you’re a taste leader in the industry. But your goal is to drive revenue. You need to make it easy for followers to become customers by shopping your SideDoor links.
- Use Instagram’s link tool! Have users swipe up to single product links or shoppable collections. Walk them through inspiration on Instagram stories or in your feed, then direct them to the link in your stories.
- Pinterest is a great way to share shoppable collections and have new-to-you customers discover your work. Share curated collages created in SideDoor and link directly to your collection.
- Use Idea Pins to create a shoppable journey sharing multiple products to create a full room look or a specific vignette.
- Think about how you can position your shoppable collections as “how to” content. People want social content that’s teaches them something. Bonus: when they find content helpful, they share it with their followers, and you reach more people!
To sum it up: pretty images are critical, but there has to be a strategy in place to convert followers into customers. Leverage the tools within Instagram and Pinterest to lead followers directly from your feed to your SideDoor collections.
COMMUNITY: Engage in Community Over Competition
Followers and customers aren’t the only ones you should interact with on social media! Build relationships with other designers to help foster the design community and grow collaboration. A rising tide lifts all boats and when followers are trained on how to interact with and shop from designers regularly, that benefits everyone.
- Your account won’t grow from new fans alone. Engaging with similar accounts and building relationships is a surefire way to grow your reach. Share other designer’s content and cross-pollinate followers.
- Tag the vendors you feature! If they share your content, that’s a wider audience with eyes on your feed.
To sum it up: don’t worry about oversaturation, instead focus on growing relationships with other designers and working together to spread the word about each other’s accounts.
Remember, social media is not just for sharing baby photos or following celebrities. It’s a legitimate tool for your business that not only lets you grow your reach, but presents an opportunity to drive your revenue through SideDoor shoppable links.
Don’t treat social strategy as an afterthought. Focus on the four ‘C’s –– Customers, Consistency, Conversion, and Community –– and create a defined and intentional strategy that brings in new followers, delivers the content they want to see, offers a guided experience from browse to buy, and grows your account by growing community.
