There’s a new social media platform in town and it’s called Houzz. With 15 million users a month, the Pinterest-type network attracts people searching for home improvement ideas and those in the industry. If your brand falls into the home improvement, contracting or interior design industry, this tool is for you.
Why Houzz?
So why should you be using Houzz? How about this statistic. In the next two years, 84% of homeowners plan to decorate or redecorate their home and 48% plan to remodel, build-on or build a custom home. And If you have done and remodeling on your own, you know what people don’t take process too lightly. Homeowners spendlots of time online researching companies to help their dreams a reality. Whether it be searching for reviews of a company or perusing previous projects completed by a company, Houzz offers this service and more all in one place.
Getting Started
Setting up a Houzz account is simple for both homeowners and business owners. The first step is to create an official profile here on the Houzz website. You also download the extremely user-friendly app, which I find a lot easier to use than the desktop version. The more detail you put into your profile, the easier people will be able to find you. Here are some other helpful hints to getting your Houzz profile started:
- Use high resolution photos
- Add all contact information
- List services you provide
- Be strategic when creating keywords
- Share your Houzz profile on all other social networks
Keys to Successfully Marketing on Houzz
Just like other social media platforms, you want your Houzz profile to reflect the “best version” of your business. Here are a few ways you can create a successful marketing campaign using Houzz for your brand.
- Engage and Connect
Although Houzz is a sales-driven platform, there is also that opportunity to connect with users and engage in different activities throughout the network. Create Ideabooks and fill them with your own photos or even photos that aren’t necessarily yours, but they inspire you. Just lie Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, if you aren’t active outside of your own profile, you will fall to the wayside.
- Be Prompt
Because this is a sales-driven platform, users are constantly asking questions to gain more information about companies via Houzz. It’s very important to respond promptly and professional to questions you receive through your inbox or comments on photos. Houzz does a great job of making sure you receive notifications when someone makes a comment. You can also change your notification settings to best suit your business. And remember on social media, users expect an answer within 24 hours of sending their question.
- Be Visual
The industry of interior design and contracting is very visual. Make sure your Houzz profile reflects that. The more photos you can upload the better. If a user wants to hire you, that obviously will want more than three photos of your work. Be creative with the photos you upload by creating Before & After shots. But keep in mind, when creating Before & After include both images in the same photo. This way users won’t get confused. Houzz does allow you to put a Before & After watermark on photos. Last, but not least make sure your photos are professional. If photography isn’t a strong skill for you, it wouldn’t hurt to hire a professional to take pictures for you. Cellphone photos are a definite NO-NO on Houzz.
Now that you have all the tools you are ready to tackle Houzz! Remember to have fun with it and show off your creative skills. While still new to the game, Houzz is taking great strides and will be a top contender among other social media platforms in the near future.
Are you already on Houzz? What tips do you have for optimizing and utilizing Houzz for brands?
