In this article you will learn why it is important to implement effective marketing tools for your architecture firm website. Always with an aesthetic approach in mind of course…

The Typical Architecture Firm Website

What image do you have in mind when you think about the typical architecture website?

The common architecture websites we usually see are typically portfolio websites which are project- and image-focused. They are often certainly beautiful (if they are designed well) and have a minimal approach. Usually they are structured in a gallery style and do not have a lot of text descriptions.

Now this is definitely a bit of a stereotypical description. But it is very common that architecture firm websites use some kind of image grid or project overview directly on their homepage.

And do not get us wrong here. We love architecture firm websites in terms of the design and how they look. But the problem with these kinds of websites is that they are not very effective in terms of the user flow and lead generation.

To put is simply, architecture firm websites simply do not convert. Which means they are not leading the user to a clear next step.

The Typical Marketing Website

On the other extreme there are the websites from the world of digital marketing. And when we think of these websites you will probably picture the following characteristics.

In this industry you see a lot of very sales focused websites. They use bold and wordy marketing language, trying to sell products to the visitors. But let’s look at the positive side. What these websites usually do very well is that they guide the user to the next steps because they are well-structured and conversion optimized.

They might not be as aesthetic as architecture websites but what these “marketing websites” do really good is to craft a targeted website experience.

Craft a Targeted Website Experience

In today’s digital age you need to differentiate yourself from the competition. And your architecture firm website is your number one marketing tool. It is your 24/7 business card and usually the first touch point with your firm for prospective clients.

So that is why you should guide your visitors to discover your website the way you want them to. Because this enables you to design a very targeted website experience that works best for the specific client you want to attract.

Effective website design for architecture firms

When done correctly you can help visitors who land on your website to:

• Easily identify what your practice is about, what you do and
• How you can provide your visitors with solutions to their problems; and
• How they can engage with your business by figuring out where to take the next step,

…because if your visitors don’t know what the next step is, they’ll probably leave without taking any actions. And next action steps could be to visit a project case study, your service offering page, download a guide, watch an informational video, sign up to a newsletter series or submit their contact details.

This is why effective web design is all about making your website easy to use and navigate. It allows you to steer your visitors’ focus to things you want them to pay extra attention to.

Combining Aesthetics and Marketing

But as Archipreneur is created by architects for architects we know how our profession thinks and we also value the aesthetic approach we have towards websites. And we also understand how much we want to showcase our beautiful projects.

So the Archipreneur concept towards modern architecture firm websites really is to combine “Aesthetics” and “Marketing” and take the best from the both worlds:

We want to take the:

• Aesthetics and minimalism from architecture firm websites and
• Combine this with the tools, techniques and structure of marketing websites

So our outcome should be beautifully designed websites. Which also incorporate all effective marketing tools to improve the user experience and also to reach our goals, like:

Objectives of your architecture firm website

• Getting new clients
• Communicating our work (Also read: Content Marketing for Architects)
• Building a brand
• Creating a lead funnel
• Growing our practice
• Automising processes

Your website should really work hard for your firm and bring in new leads and connect with your prospective clients so that you can focus on the fun part: designing and planning buildings.

To help you with this we have created a new course on the building blocks of effective website design for architects…

The Building Blocks of an Effective Architecture Firm Website

The “Building Blocks of an Effective Website” course focuses on the crucial aspects and elements of modern, lead generating websites. You will learn how to structure your website that it guides your visitors to discover your website the way you want them to. And you will also learn all the elements that you should integrate in order to build an effective architecture firm website.

We’re going to be covering:

• Why the typical architecture portfolio website is losing business
• The fundamentals of an effective website
• How to combine aesthetics with marketing
• The 12 crucial elements every homepage should have
• The most important pages of your studio website
• How to create a lead generating structure
• In each lesson we go through a wireframe template and
• Real life case studies of well-structured and designed architecture websites.
• and a lot more…

The course is available inside the Archipreneur Academy.

Join here and start your digital marketing strategy today

The post Architecture Firm Website: Finding the Right Balance Between Aesthetics and Marketing appeared first on Archipreneur.

Well, let us summarize why content marketing for architects makes sense – why so many firms, startups and companies in other industries are doing it, and why it should become an essential part of your practice. 

Why every architecture firm should have a content marketing strategy

Architects usually sell a service which is largely based on their expertise. With you as the architect being the leader or authority in the designing, planning or building process, depending on the focus of your firm. 

But architects usually only use their finished built projects online as a communication tool, which is a shame as it means that so much potentially very valuable marketing material simply goes unused. 

Content marketing for architects is a great opportunity to show that you are an expert in your field and, as a result, also helps to develop trust. It is the best way to become the go-to expert in your particular area of architecture. 

The center of your content marketing and growth strategy is your website. Think of it as your digital studio space which represents your brand, shares your news, values, projects and insights, communicates with your clients, captures leads and so on.

But every website needs traffic, because without any traffic to your website, you cannot convert any leads. So you won’t get in touch with new potential clients. That is why traffic to your website plays a vital part in the success of your business and of the marketing and lead generating system of your practice. The best and most beautiful website is worth nothing without any visitors. 

Here are 5 content marketing types that will drive more traffic to your website and give you the opportunity to get in touch with more potential clients. 

5 Content Marketing Types that will increase traffic to your architecture website

There are several types of content which work well in digital marketing. Here, we summarize a few which we think are useful for architecture practices. This, of course, doesn’t mean that you have to do them all; these are just a few ideas to help you get started. We recommend that your content creation strategy includes at least one of the following:

Blog articles

Content marketing for architects should start by producing and providing high quality articles. This is one of the most effective ways to increase traffic to your website, communicate your work and build up a following online. It is also one of the easiest ways of implementing a content strategy. In other words, we would definitely recommend that you start with publishing articles on your blog. 

Video content

Video is a great and dynamic way to express our projects, thoughts, practice and ideas. You can distribute video through several platforms such as youtube, social media and your website. It’s a more advanced technique but there are also very simple ways of starting. Like producing a screencast from a project’s powerpoint presentation, for example, while explaining the project.

Podcast

Audio content in the form of podcasts has become extremely popular over the last few years. And is a great way to build up expert status and thought leadership. Producing your own podcast for your office could be an idea. But if you think this is too advanced for you, then think about leveraging other podcasts where you would speak as a guest expert. Let’s say that your architecture studio focuses on office design. It would then be very beneficial to speak on a podcast about “New Work”, for example, if the listeners also fit your ideal client profile.

Case studies

Another valuable type of content marketing for architects are case studies of your projects. These can be produced in several content forms. They could be articles, an ebook, a video case study. Here, you have the chance to illustrate how your office has helped a specific client with their project. By case study we do not mean only showing the glossy images of your finished project, but also your process. A great case study outlines the different steps of your process. It displays great results and emphasizes your focus on achieving your client’s goals in the course of the project.

Guides, reports or look books

Another idea is to produce shareable guides or reports with useful information and insights for your target audience relating to their needs and challenges. These could be used as a lead magnet on your website. But you could also share their covers or excerpts from them across your social media platforms.

If you focus more on the design side of things and have a lot of image material, you could also produce look books with material boards or product collection that you used in your project, and share them on image-focused platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. 

Conclusion

One of the key ways to successfully build up a following and increase traffic to your architecture website is to stay steady and consistent with your content marketing and content creation. You should be regularly updating your content and posting to your blog. If the most recent article on there is from 2017, this will give off the impression of being unengaged with your audience. Not only to your visitors, but also to the search engines. 

In order to keep on top of this, you should develop a content creation plan and schedule ahead. In the beginning, a good place to start would be with one blog post a week, or twice a month. Social media activities like Instagram can be on a daily basis, but you can also prepare and schedule them in advance, with tools like Later, for example. 

Remember that content marketing for architects should always be aligned with the ideal clients you have in mind. So that it contributes to building up your brand and audience. As well as driving your visitors into an effective sales funnel.

The post Content Marketing for Architects: How to Attract More Leads for Your Architecture Firm appeared first on Archipreneur.