I just got back from speaking at the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) conference in Hamilton. My session was called ‘Turning strangers into clients’, a social media roadmap for architects. I’ve already shared one takeaway after giving a webinar on this topic to the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) last November. But it’s a really deep subject, so here’s takeaway #2.
- Your time – how much time do you need to spend on something before it starts to be considered a real cost? Same goes for everyone else at your firm. Architects are busy people. Those minutes, hours and days could easily have been put to good use, should they have been available… even if it simply meant going home earlier.
- Opportunity cost – What’s the value of lost opportunity? If the social media marketing game had been ‘played right’, what would you have won? New clients? Talented employees? Media coverage? And since success breeds success, over the years how could you have built on those winnings and compounded them? If you had won one new client two years ago, what other opportunities might have followed? More projects from the same client? Referrals? A better portfolio? Media coverage?…
- Reputation – Everything you post is public. So, it becomes part of your firm’s way of greeting the world. And, in many instances, it’s your first impression, possibly with your bull’s eye market. Would you normally treat such opportunity lightly in the real world? Not likely. Just think about the focus and preparation that you put into meeting with a prospective client, presenting a proposal or attending a networking event.