There is something right about that sentence. Architects and designers will not impulse buy, say, a conference table for the corporate office they’re working on. But what the statement ignores is the fact that you can leverage their digital activity (such as Search Engine queries or the sites they navigate) to advertise to trade professionals, attract them to your site, entice them to get in touch, visit your showroom, request catalogs or samples…or simply keep your brand top of mind at all times.
Let’s dive into the specifics of how.
Paid Search (SEM) Campaigns
When an architect or designer searches for a product or a product category, it usually signals there is high intent on their part. Whether they are doing preliminary research or need product for a project right away, with SEM campaigns companies can show up precisely when the need arises. For example, a designer might be using Google to find marble-look tiles for a lobby. A tile manufacturer can leverage that search to target the user with an ad that specifically talks about their offering in marble looks.
Of course, Paid Search advertising must be backed by extensive keyword research, that is, understanding how architects and designers might be searching for your product. Also contributing to ad quality and, ultimately, conversion, is the website or landing page they see once the ad is clicked. Aside from all the user experience basic principles, the page should include information that specifically addresses the user’s initial query (marble-look tiles), with prominent call-to-action elements: contact form, request samples, schedule a showroom visit, etc.
Paid Social Media
Just because social media can be used for transaction-driven campaigns, it doesn’t mean that B2B companies cannot leverage these platforms to engage with architects and designers. Unsurprisingly, architects and designers are just regular people (who knew?) who spend quite a bit of time scrolling through social media like the rest of us. Because social media users are not actively searching for your product, unlike those captured from a paid search campaign, the role of social campaigns should be to intrigue and to inspire, drawing enough visual attention to make someone click. Show thumb-stopping imagery and projects to get them to visit your site or landing pages and become familiar with your brand.
As well as regular ads driving to landing pages, you can also run ads with the goal of getting architects and designers to download content, such as catalogs, lookbooks, etc.
One last note on social media: LinkedIn is part of it. Use it! Target specific firms, roles, or locations with professional segmentation that isn’t available with other platforms.
Display and Remarketing
Those banner ads to the right of the article you were trying to read? That’s how most publishers, bloggers, and magazines make their money, including those related to the furniture and design industry. Even though some sell that space directly to brands (very often, in our opinion, at an inflated price) you can also access the inventory through the Google Display Network (GDN), which covers over 90% of the internet. Through it, companies in the industry can advertise using:
- URL placements: place display ads on specific sites that have high user traffic from A&D (think Interior Design Magazine, Elle Decor, home renovation sites...etc).
- Retargeting: stay top of mind with those who have shown interest in us in the past (by clicking a Paid Search Ad, an email, etc). In this way, you can stay in front of them during the decision process and beyond.
Leverage existing contacts and new contacts created by marketing efforts to constantly stay in front of them and showcase projects, new products, events, etc. We recommend using automations to keep a constant cadence.
All of the campaigns above can be crafted to suit a company’s specific needs, whether that’s getting leads, increasing awareness, scheduling a call with a rep, etc. The campaign’s success ultimately depends on many factors, an extremely important one being sales teams acting on the engagement and leads generated, or funneling them to the appropriate distributor. Finally, the proper digital tracking must be put in place to make sure you are measuring the real economic impact of your campaigns.
Thanks to our deep industry experience, we know the keywords, messaging, and strategies to help you grow. At STAPHAUS, we serve as an extension of your organization, working with your team to research, develop, execute, and measure to the full extent of your marketing needs.
