Last week, designers and other professionals in the tangential fields met at the Avery Boardroom showroom at the D&D Building to participate in a discussion with panelists Glenn Gissler and Cj Dellatore, an interior designer and a design blogger, respectively. The topic revolved around the influence of social media for those in the design industry.
One of the main points of the discussion focused on the importance of exposure on Facebook.
According to Dellatorre, a Facebook profile by design professionals should be dedicated solely to business contacts rather than to showing works on a person’s personal Facebook page. “It’s okay to share your business content on your personal page, but its never okay to share your personal content on your business page. So do your best to keep them separate.”Gissler attested to it, saying that creating a Facebook profile for the business will help a designer create a brand. So when a designer posts content synonymous to their brand, it will help their clients understand the message that they want to put across. “Share high-end real estate stories and photos as well as new products that inspire you, and this will help create your message.”The panelists agreed that using Facebook is an effective tool in sharing content compared to a design website. This can be due to the fact that this social media platform is very dynamic and organic. Visibility on Facebook also helps a designer gain relevance. Dellatore said, “If a client is searching for you online and all they can find is your website, then you’re not relevant. You need to be on as many platforms as possible.”
In terms of relevance, the panelists also cited that publications such as magazines consider social media relevance as a criteria for whether or not to feature a designer. Gissler pointed out that interior designer Tobi Fairley’s 25,000 Facebook fans can be a good example of this.. “That’s a great way to pull in clients and also a great reason for a magazine to publish her. When they publish her story, she will share it on her Facebook page and that’s thousands more clicks for that magazine.”
