Content Marketing for Architects Starts with Three Essential Topics

We've learned a lot from evaluating more than 550 architecture firm websites.

Marketing for architects is easier when you share relevant and interesting material with your audience.

In this article, we’re going to discuss three topics that you already know how to talk and write about, which will help you communicate to your target audience why you're the must-hire firm in your industry.

With these three topics, you'll be able to create articles and posts that not only promote your firm, but helps you to connect with your prospects on a more meaningful level.

Where do firms go wrong with content marketing?

For many firms, there is a fundamental problem with what they are sharing.

If you look at their blogs, news sections, and social media feeds, they are full of firm announcements and news, things like awards and recognitions they've received, projects they've won or completed, new hires to their team, and non-profit and/or volunteer activities.

And don't forget the white papers, 'thought leadership,' and similar articles directed at other architects and people in the design and building industry.

This type of content has its place, don't get us wrong, but there is an obvious problem: it has limited relevance and value for your prospective clients.

 
It does little to address the questions your prospects have when searching for an architecture firm.

Let’s take a look at what happens when you rely on these kinds of updates to your website and social media accounts:

1. You're not able to meaningfully engage with your audience to show them how qualified your firm is. 72% of marketers agree that content marketing increases engagement between you and your potential clients.
2. You fail to showcase your firm's expertise, experience and know-how to potential clients, contextually.
3. You miss out on the chance to get your firm found in search engines. 95% of people will only look at the first page of the search results. As the saying goes—the best place to hide a dead body is the second page of Google—nobody ever looks there.
4. Your prospects won’t get the information they need to know you’re the right firm for their project.

So what's the alternative?

A great place to start is by attracting and engaging with your target audience through in-depth, highly relevant content.



Three topics firms should include in their content marketing strategy

Working with a variety of architecture firms across the US, we've found there are three topics that help foster better engagement with prospects:

1.FAQ Answers

Provide answers to common questions that your potential clients might have in the early stages of the design/build process, especially those they would turn to Google to research.

2.Insider Insights

Show your website's visitors that you have special inside industry knowledge and advice to help guide them through their project journey.

3.Pain Points

Demonstrate your expertise and experience to your audience by highlighting potential problems that could come up during their project, and how you can help them avoid or fix them.

Let's take a deeper look into how these topics will improve your firm’s lead generation efforts and help you get more traffic to your website.

1. FAQ Answers

FAQ answer topics can include questions like:

• 'Do I need an architect for x/y/z?'
• 'What are the benefits of hiring an architect?'
• 'How much does an architect cost?'
• 'What does an architect do?'

An easy way to come up with ideas for your FAQ answers is to keep a record of what past clients have asked you in your initial meetings and phone conversations. Keep this list handy, and periodically write answers to these questions in the form of blog articles on your website.

Not only does this help you get found on the search engines, it’ll also shorten your sales cycle—you’ll have answered many of their initial questions before they’ve even spoken to you.

2. Insider Insights

3. Pain Points

Create an effective content marketing strategy to attract your ideal clients to your architecture firm

By using these three types of content in your firm's marketing plan, you’ll be able to express your expertise, your knowledge, and your experience without saying, ‘Hey, I’m an expert!” - and gain your audience's trust as a result.

Using these three topics, you’ll be able to:

• Get more visitors to your firm’s website
• Get more business opportunities from qualified prospects
• Become recognized for your expertise and problem solving abilities

Ultimately, you'll educate your audience about the real role of an architect—and when enough of us are adding to the information available online, the entire industry will benefit too.

At Archmark, we specialize in marketing for architects, helping firms differentiate themselves from their competitors, find their own voice, and implementing effective online marketing plans.

If you'd like to get more insight into promoting architecture firms online, you can follow Archmark on LinkedIn.

If you'd like to take the first step towards growing your presence online, attracting new prospects, and converting them to clients, click here to apply for your free 20-minute intro call to get to know each other and see if we're a good fit to work together.