Some small businesses have a marketing or advertising budget but more of them don't. Some simply don't want to pay for advertising because there is so much free press available, whether being published in one of the shelter magazines, using social media or being featured in a far reaching blog. A question I hear a lot is "should I upgrade to the paid premium/pro plus user profile on Houzz?".
Each time I create a profile for a client on Houzz that client will receive a call from a sales representative, recommending they upgrade to the Premium or Pro Plus user profile. There are some pushy representatives out there but there is one, that I have spoken with several times, who has provided me with a lot of useful information, I won't mention any names.
The next obvious question then is, how much does it cost and what does the paid Premium/Pro Plus profile include?
As you are searching Houzz, look for the word, "sponsored" in the bottom right corner of the profile listings. That indicates the architect or designer is paying for promotion. Houzz can position you on their site for better recognition in the regions where you want more opportunity. You will also notice that sponsored users are placed before and after every non-paying Houzz user. Houzz has some great success stories about some of their premium/pro plus users but it is unnecessary to pay for extra promotion and here is why.
Creating a strong profile is the most effective thing you can do. Make sure you have as many quality photographs of your work as possible. Also, engage your readers when they ask you questions or make comments, which leads me to my next recommendation. The more information you include about your images, the fewer irrelevant questions you will receive. And finally, review other professionals and ask others to review you. A good example is Kemp Hall Studios. He is an architect that always appears at the top of the search when you search for a local pro, architect in Atlanta.
For those who do have an advertising budget, why not look in to paying for the Premium Pro/Pro Plus profile? One big job should pay for the money spent. So I asked how much it would cost to become a Premium Pro/Pro Plus user and found out, first of all, that the prices vary among craftsmen, architects, interior designers and landscape architects/designers.
I was inquiring for a craftsman client of mine and the representative asked me to identify the regions where we wanted promotion. I said, "We definitely want to reach the southeast region, cities like Birmingham, Nashville, and Atlanta". Houzz has their regions set up differently than what I expected. Houzz's regions were North Atlanta (Alpharetta, etc), East Atlanta (Conyers), West Atlanta (Douglasville), South Atlanta (Peachtree City) and then metro Atlanta. I am assuming this is how they approach each major city. Each region cost $2000 for promotion, therefore, to target the 5 regions that make up the Atlanta market alone, you can do the math. I am sure you can imagine my reaction but I presented the information to my client any way.
I subscribe to a lot of social media blogs and have learned a lot over the past year about how to create a really strong profile on Houzz without paying for promotion. All of my research was reinforced at the Design Bloggers Conference this month. There were several sessions on how to maximize your profile on each social media platform and Houzz was included. Paying for promotion was not mentioned, in fact, throughout the conference the point was made numerous times that there is so much free press available right now in the form of blogs and social media.
I recommend that all of my clients create a user profile on Houzz. Not only is it a great way to share your portfolio with existing clients but a great way to attract new clients. Over 2,000,000 photos have been uploaded on to Houzz and there are over 14,000,000 users every month.
If you would like help with your Houzz profile I would love to assist. In the meantime, take a look at some of my clients profiles listed below. Some are newer than others to Houzz and have a lot more reviews, images and descriptions. Your social media profiles should always be a work in progress, I recommend updating on a regular basis to keep your content fresh and current.
Reu Architects - http://www.houzz.com/pro/crolader/reu-architects
ROMA - http://www.houzz.com/pro/romabio/roma-ecosustainable-building-technologies
J. Ryan Duffey Architect - http://www.houzz.com/pro/jryanduffeyarchitects/j-ryan-duffey-architect
Vintage Lumber - http://www.houzz.com/pro/vintagelumbersales/vintage-lumber-sales
Liza Bryan Interiors - http://www.houzz.com/pro/lizabryan/liza-bryan-interiors
Scout For The Home - http://www.houzz.com/pro/nancy-duffey/scout-for-the-home
Tish Mills Interiors - http://www.houzz.com/pro/tishmills/harmonious-living-by-tish-mills-llc
Floralis Landscape Architect - http://www.houzz.com/pro/floralis/floralis
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