Decorati hosted a panel with manufacturer partner Robert Allen at the Atlanta Design Center on online social networking. Over 120 designers attended. The panelists included left to right moderator Clinton Smith, Editorial Director, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, me, Shane Reilly, Decorati Founder, Jennifer Boles, author of The Peak of Chic blog, and Stephanie Frost, Director of Business Solutions at Zero-G Creative. Clinton probed us on the many ways social media has impacted designers and the design industry. Here are some takeaways:
These definitions emerged:
1.Web site = semi-static identity
2.Blog = journal (can link from web site, try Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr)
3.Twitter = short updates to everyone in your circle
4.Facebook = The world’s biggest cocktail party
5.LinkedIn = professional network
6.Decorati = relevant community (build a profile, contribute to Forums and our blog)
7.E-Blasts = email newsletters sent to customers/clients/readers for marketing or to drive readership to an online destination
Here are some of the reasons why designers should engage in social networks:
1.Interact with customers. It’s a way to remind your current and potential clients what your strengths are.
2.Build a brand. Blogs are a perfect way to establish your point of view and express it in your own way, on your own time.
3.Be where customers may be looking. It’s no secret that when clients are looking for a designer, most often they check the web at one point during the process. Ideally, you would not only have a web site, but you will be mentioned many times in search engines. Other than being published, social media are a convenient way to build online press. (Plug: upload pics to Decorati! It helps you get found online!).
4.Discover your passions and enrich your knowledge. There is a blog out there for every topic, and if not, then you can start one. Blogs enable designers to connect on the most eccentric of topics, in an informal, informative way.
Jennifer Boles (Peak of Chic) and Shane Reilly
Here were some of the tips:
1. Be professional. Your online brand is as important as your offline brand, and it can live forever.
2. Develop your voice. Whether setting up your blog or Facebook page, be consistent in your messaging so other viewers know what you stand for. Don’t mix pictures of your latest installation with “pictures of you with a cocktail and a lampshade on your head” (thanks for a poignant example, Jennifer!).
3. Be relevant. Clinton mentioned that he has taken up Twittering as a way to connect with friends and readers, but he limits it to material that matters, not insignificant announcements.
4. Don’t try to do everything. Stephanie pointed out that her clients often try to take on many social media outlets at one time, and then fail at getting comfortable at any one of them.
5. Be speedy. I mentioned how the design industry is changing to be much more fast paced. When there is a new product on the market it can get online and circulated very rapidly. For designers, recognize that if you are participating in the blogosphere, you are entering a world where news is from five minutes ago. We want to hear your thoughts on an article now, we want to know what you saw at the design center today, if you are reading our blogs post your comments now, not later, as the conversation may become less relevant.
6. Expand your network. Stephanie mentioned she was able to connect with someone because through Twitter they realized they were in the same place at the same time.
7. Just get started! Jennifer started her blog for a few readers and now it is one of the leading blogs in the shelter category with a strong following, and she is a guest editor for House Beautiful.
8. Participate. Comment on other blogs and typically you can link back to your own.
9. Be short. This post is way too long!
Clinton Smith answering questions after the panel
Thank you to Robert Allen for hosting the event!
Questions or comments? Post them here.
Other links:
Become a fan of Decorati on Facebook
Follow Decorati on Twitter
Contribute to Decorati Forums (just launched!)
Check out Jennifer’s blog: The Peak of Chic
See what Clinton’s magazine does online: Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
Become a fan of Robert Allen on Facebook
Decorati and Robert Allen Host Panel Discussion at ADAC: Online Social Networking
Decorati hosted a panel with manufacturer partner Robert Allen at the Atlanta Design Center on online social networking. Over 120 designers attended. The panelists included left to right moderator Clinton Smith, Editorial Director, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, me, Shane Reilly, Decorati Founder, Jennifer Boles, author of The Peak of Chic blog, and Stephanie Frost, Director of Business Solutions at Zero-G Creative. Clinton probed us on the many ways social media has impacted designers and the design industry. Here are some takeaways:
These definitions emerged:
1.Web site = semi-static identity
2.Blog = journal (can link from web site, try Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr)
3.Twitter = short updates to everyone in your circle
4.Facebook = The world’s biggest cocktail party
5.LinkedIn = professional network
6.Decorati = relevant community (build a profile, contribute to Forums and our blog)
7.E-Blasts = email newsletters sent to customers/clients/readers for marketing or to drive readership to an online destination
Here are some of the reasons why designers should engage in social networks:
1.Interact with customers. It’s a way to remind your current and potential clients what your strengths are.
2.Build a brand. Blogs are a perfect way to establish your point of view and express it in your own way, on your own time.
3.Be where customers may be looking. It’s no secret that when clients are looking for a designer, most often they check the web at one point during the process. Ideally, you would not only have a web site, but you will be mentioned many times in search engines. Other than being published, social media are a convenient way to build online press. (Plug: upload pics to Decorati! It helps you get found online!).
4.Discover your passions and enrich your knowledge. There is a blog out there for every topic, and if not, then you can start one. Blogs enable designers to connect on the most eccentric of topics, in an informal, informative way.
Jennifer Boles (Peak of Chic) and Shane Reilly
Here were some of the tips:
1. Be professional. Your online brand is as important as your offline brand, and it can live forever.
2. Develop your voice. Whether setting up your blog or Facebook page, be consistent in your messaging so other viewers know what you stand for. Don’t mix pictures of your latest installation with “pictures of you with a cocktail and a lampshade on your head” (thanks for a poignant example, Jennifer!).
3. Be relevant. Clinton mentioned that he has taken up Twittering as a way to connect with friends and readers, but he limits it to material that matters, not insignificant announcements.
4. Don’t try to do everything. Stephanie pointed out that her clients often try to take on many social media outlets at one time, and then fail at getting comfortable at any one of them.
5. Be speedy. I mentioned how the design industry is changing to be much more fast paced. When there is a new product on the market it can get online and circulated very rapidly. For designers, recognize that if you are participating in the blogosphere, you are entering a world where news is from five minutes ago. We want to hear your thoughts on an article now, we want to know what you saw at the design center today, if you are reading our blogs post your comments now, not later, as the conversation may become less relevant.
6. Expand your network. Stephanie mentioned she was able to connect with someone because through Twitter they realized they were in the same place at the same time.
7. Just get started! Jennifer started her blog for a few readers and now it is one of the leading blogs in the shelter category with a strong following, and she is a guest editor for House Beautiful.
8. Participate. Comment on other blogs and typically you can link back to your own.
9. Be short. This post is way too long!
Clinton Smith answering questions after the panel
Thank you to Robert Allen for hosting the event!
Questions or comments? Post them here.
Other links:
Become a fan of Decorati on Facebook
Follow Decorati on Twitter
Contribute to Decorati Forums (just launched!)
Check out Jennifer’s blog: The Peak of Chic
See what Clinton’s magazine does online: Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
Become a fan of Robert Allen on Facebook