Is blogging dead? On the contrary – going into 2024, more and more brands are investing in blogging, or to be correct: content marketing. But, it can be difficult to find ideas for content. In this article, I’m sharing blog ideas for design brands and professionals.
We discuss:
- why content marketing should be one of your key marketing strategies
- what types of content work for designers
- how to ideate great topics to write about
- also: 20 content ideas for designers!
Let’s dive in!
What is A Blog in 2024?
A blog is a type of website or online platform where individuals or organizations share their thoughts, ideas, opinions, experiences, or expertise on a particular topic or niche. It is the key element in optimizing your website for search queries and positioning you as an industry leader. Naturally, content marketing and blogging go hand in hand.
What Is Content?
Content simply is any information or material that is created, published, and shared for a specific purpose or audience. It can take many different forms, such as text, images, videos, audio recordings, infographics, and more.
Content can be educational, informative, entertaining, or promotional, depending on the goals of the creator and the needs of the audience.
It can be delivered through various channels, including websites, social media platforms, email, print, and other media.
The key is to create content that is valuable and relevant to the target audience, and that helps achieve the desired objectives, whether that’s to educate, inform, entertain, or persuade.
Content – of course – is the key pillar of your complete interior design marketing strategy!
Why content marketing should be one of your key marketing strategies in 2024
Content marketing should be one of your key marketing strategies because it has several benefits that can help your business succeed in today’s digital world. Here are some of the reasons why:
- It helps you build trust and authority: By consistently creating valuable and informative content, you can position yourself as an expert in your industry, which helps build trust with potential customers.
- It increases your brand awareness: Creating high-quality content that is optimized for search engines can help your website rank higher in search results, increasing your brand’s visibility and driving more traffic to your website.
- It generates leads for your business: Content marketing can be a powerful tool for generating leads by providing valuable information to potential customers in exchange for their contact information.
- It is fairly cost-effective: Content marketing is often more cost-effective than traditional advertising, especially when considering the potential long-term benefits of high-quality content.
- It provides value to customers: Good content marketing provides value to your customers by helping them solve problems or answering questions they may have, which can lead to increased loyalty and repeat business.
- It is measurable: With the right tools, content marketing efforts can be tracked and measured to determine which types of content are most effective at driving traffic, generating leads, and increasing conversions.
But we all know time is limited, and that’s why, we need to be sure that the content we create actually helps the company to reach its goals.
Key Reasons For Investing In Content Marketing
The Content Marketing Institute lists these 4 key reasons for investing in content:
- Increased sales
- Cost savings
- Better customers who have more loyalty
- Content as a profit center
On the other hand, poor content can turn people off, damage a brand’s reputation, and even harm relationships with customers and prospects.
So, it’s important to invest time and resources in creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
Let’s talk about what kind of content is beneficial for growing your design brand.
What types of content work for designers
The best kind of content shares your expertise. Of course, you need to have inspirational content as well, because people respond to emotional messaging. However, you also need to back the emotional and inspirational content with expert content that speaks for the logical decision-making brain.
Depending on your target audience, your content also differs. And, depending on what you sell, you need to figure out different types of content. But here are 5 types of content that work for design businesses:
User-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, such as text, images, videos, reviews, and social media posts, that is created by users or customers rather than by your company. UGC is typically created and shared voluntarily by consumers who have had a positive experience with a product or service, and it can be a powerful tool for businesses to leverage in their marketing efforts.
TIPS: ask your customers to share how their homes or gardens look like using your products and tag your brand on Instagram or Facebook. If you are a service provider, you can do the same!
For example, if you have just completed a bedroom makeover, ask your super-happy customers to share some pictures online, and tag you. Unless you want to be featured in a premium magazine because then it’s better to keep the final designs a secret for a while…
One of the key benefits of UGC is that it is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy than branded content, as it comes directly from other customers who have first-hand experience with a product or service. UGC can also help to create a sense of community around a brand, as customers can share their experiences and engage with other like-minded individuals.
And, this is free content!
Your happy customers might even want to become brand ambassadors.
Some examples of UGC include
- Social media posts and comments featuring a brand or product
- Reviews and ratings on websites and social media platforms. Google Business (former Google My Business) reviews are great, and if you’re in B2B, you should focus on collecting reviews on LinkedIn
- User-submitted photos or videos showcasing a product or service
- Customer testimonials and success stories. A customer success story video is even better!
- User forums and discussion boards centered around a specific brand or product
UGC is a powerful tool to leverage in your marketing efforts, as it can help build brand awareness, drive engagement, and create a sense of community around your brand.
Educational content that showcases your expertise
This is huge! You need to showcase that you are an expert in your topic and surrounding topics. As discussed earlier, it helps you position your business, yourself, and your brand as an expert, and people tend to want to go to experts, particularly when large and expensive purchases are being made.
Some examples of educational content include
How-to guides: Create step-by-step guides that explain how to solve common problems or complete tasks related to your area of expertise.
Video tutorials: Create video tutorials that demonstrate how to use specific tools or techniques.
Explainer videos: Create animated or live-action videos that explain complex concepts or processes in an easy-to-understand way.
Infographics: Create visually appealing infographics that present complex information in a simple, easy-to-digest format.
E-books and whitepapers: Create longer-form content like e-books and whitepapers that dive deep into specific topics related to your area of expertise.
Webinars: Host live or recorded webinars that allow you to present information and answer questions in real time.
Podcasts: Host a podcast that features interviews with industry experts or covers topics related to your area of expertise.
Case studies: Create case studies that showcase how you have helped previous clients solve specific problems or achieve specific goals.
Research reports: Conduct research and create reports that present new findings related to your area of expertise.
Online courses: Develop online courses that allow people to learn new skills or gain knowledge related to your area of expertise.
Inspirational content is important to get them into the dream state
Inspirational content is important because that puts your future clients in the dream state; dreaming about the results that your brand and business can bring to them.
- Share examples of your design work, whether it’s through before-and-after photos, case studies, or detailed descriptions of your creative process. This can help inspire your audience and show them what’s possible with your brand.
- Design is a visual medium, so make sure to incorporate plenty of high-quality images, videos, and graphics in your content. This can help bring your designs to life and inspire your audience to take action.
- Keep an eye on design trends and share your thoughts and insights with your audience. This can position your brand as a thought leader and inspire your audience to try new design styles.
As we discussed earlier – inspirational content is very important, but it’s not enough. You also need to create educational and authority-building content.
Authority-building content is a type of content that positions you or your brand as an authority or expert in your industry. This type of content is designed to educate and inform your audience on topics related to your niche and to establish your brand as a trusted source of information.
In addition to the educational content, this content type uses other people and brand associations as the main ingredient. You could, for example:
- Share that you’ve been featured in a magazine
- Share your expert article that you wrote for an organization
- Share your education and certificates
- Share how your team is participating in career development activities
- Share your past big jobs…
You get the point: share that other people and organizations trust you, and how you always keep training and sharpening your skills.
Examples of Inspirational and authority-building content
- Room Makeovers: Document the process of transforming a room from start to finish. Show the before and after shots, explain your design choices, and provide tips for viewers to achieve a similar transformation.
- Style Spotlights: Dive deep into different interior design styles such as minimalism, farmhouse, industrial, bohemian, etc. Explain the key elements, color palettes, and how to incorporate them into various spaces.
- DIY Projects: Share step-by-step tutorials for DIY decor projects. This could include creating custom artwork, building furniture, or repurposing old items into something new and stylish.
- Color Psychology: Explore the psychological impact of colors in interior design. Discuss how different colors can influence mood and atmosphere in a space.
- Home Tours: Showcase real homes that are beautifully designed. You could collaborate with homeowners, architects, or other designers to offer a virtual tour of their spaces, highlighting unique features and design choices.
- Furniture Reviews: Review and discuss various furniture pieces, their functionality, aesthetics, and how they can fit into different design schemes.
- Budget-Friendly Design: Offer tips and ideas for creating stunning interiors on a budget. This could involve thrifting, upcycling, or finding affordable alternatives to expensive decor.
- Seasonal Decor: Create content centered around seasonal decorating ideas. Whether it’s spring, summer, fall, or winter, demonstrate how to update a space to reflect the current season’s vibes.
- Design Challenges: Engage with your audience by taking on design challenges. For example, redecorating a space using only items from a dollar store or redesigning a room using a specific color palette.
- Q&A Sessions: Host live or recorded Q&A sessions where you answer viewers’ interior design questions. This could cover topics like layout, color coordination, furniture arrangement, and more.
- Virtual Mood Boards: Show the process of creating virtual mood boards for different design concepts. Explain how to gather inspiration, select color schemes, and put together a cohesive design plan.
- Designing for Small Spaces: Offer practical solutions for designing and organizing small spaces, such as studio apartments or tiny houses.
- Cultural Influences: Explore how different cultures and traditions impact interior design. Highlight elements from around the world and show how they can be incorporated into modern spaces.
- Sustainability in Design: Discuss eco-friendly design practices, showcasing products and materials that are both stylish and sustainable.
- Kids’ and Teens’ Spaces: Provide ideas for designing playful and functional kids’ rooms or trendy and personalized teenage spaces.
But, if I teach everything I know, won’t they just go DIYing with the new skill sets?
Maybe.
But, when you create the content in the right way, you will also showcase how much you know about the topics, which they usually don’t. And, you also demonstrate how complex your work is, and why it’s better to leave it to the professionals.
The KEY: when you educate your audience on your expert topics, they will start seeing you as the expert… what happens when they are ready to invest in the services or products you provide? Well, they go to the best exåert they know. (that’s you!)
How to ideate great topics to write about?
First of all, you should be able to find tons of ideas just by talking with your customers.
- What are they asking?
- What kind of problems do they have?
- What are the biggest misconceptions in your industry?
- What do they need to know in advance before they hire a pro?
TIPS: Create an Excel sheet (or Notion, that’s our favorite) that lists all the questions you get from your current and future customers. Those make a perfect foundation for your educational content!
20 Blog Ideas For Design Brands And Professionals
Let’s walk through these great ideas you can swipe directly:
- Before and after transformations of interior design projects
- Design inspiration and mood boards
- Tips and tricks for decorating on a budget
- Room-by-room design guides
- Interviews with clients about their design experiences
- How-to guides for DIY home decor projects
- Collaboration with other designers on design challenges
- Design trends and how to incorporate them into your home
- Client testimonials and case studies
- Discussion of design styles and how to achieve them
- Expert advice on color palettes and textiles
- The psychology of design and how it impacts our moods
- The importance of lighting and how to use it effectively
- Seasonal decor and holiday design ideas
- Sustainable and eco-friendly design practices
- Incorporating technology and smart home features into your design
- Making the most out of small spaces
- Designing for multi-functional spaces, like home offices or playrooms
- Incorporating art and unique decor pieces into your design
- Designing with pets in mind, and how to keep your home pet-friendly.
If you create one thoughtful article per month, you will have content for many, many months ahead!
How To Create Content In A Simple Way
Creating content can seem overwhelming, but there are some simple steps you can follow to make it easier:
- Define your audience: Before creating any content, it’s important to know who you’re creating it for. Define your target audience and their needs, interests, and pain points.
- Choose your topic: Based on your audience’s needs and interests, choose a topic that will provide value and help solve their problems.
- Research and gather information: Conduct research to gather information and data that will support your content. This can include reading articles, watching videos, conducting surveys, and more.
- Create an outline: Organize your thoughts and information into an outline that will guide the creation of your content.
- Write or create your content: With your outline in hand, start writing your content. Keep it simple, clear, and focused on your audience’s needs.
- Edit and proofread: Once you’ve created your content, edit and proofread it to ensure it’s error-free and easy to read.
- Publish and promote: Finally, publish your content on your website or social media channels, and promote it to your audience to increase visibility and engagement.
In this article, I share how to create a CEO-friendly content system for your design business. What is CEO-friendly and why it matters? I will share that too!
Remember To Re-Use And Circulate Your Content
One major challenge designers have is that they think that once they have covered all the content ideas (which is not even possible, because there are literally an infinite number of ideas), they feel like they’re repeating the same things and that their audience would not find it interesting anymore.
That’s simply not true.
The most successful content creators, or companies that focus on content creation, know that they need to circulate their content. Here’s why:
- every day new people find out about your business. They haven’t seen your old content yet!
- brand recognition requires repetition, so you need to repeat your message over and over again.
- people forget what you posted. Can you remember what your favorite Instagram account posted 6 or 12 months ago? Probably not.
So, you should feel confident publishing your content over and over again.
Frequently Asked About Content Ideas For Design Brands And Professionals
What Are Some Creative Interior Design Content Ideas I Can Explore?
Explore room makeovers with before and after shots, delve into different design styles in style spotlights, provide DIY project tutorials, examine color psychology in interior design, showcase home tours with design insights, review and discuss furniture pieces, offer budget-friendly design tips, provide seasonal decor inspiration, engage your audience with design challenges, and create virtual mood boards for design concepts.
Begin with clear “before” photos, explain design choices and inspiration, document the entire process step by step, utilize time-lapse videos or photo collages, and share challenges faced and their solutions.
What Are Some Unique DIY Projects I Can Showcase?
Display custom artwork or wall hangings, demonstrate upcycling old furniture, design and build functional storage solutions, create personalized decor items with various materials, and repurpose household items for new design purposes.
What’s The Best Way To Review And Discuss Different Furniture Pieces?
Concentrate on functionality, aesthetics, and versatility, compare similar pieces from different brands or styles, explore how each piece fits into various design schemes, and address concerns like durability and sizing.
How Can I Engage My Audience Through Design Challenges?
Set design constraints, invite audience participation and solution sharing, demonstrate the design process and outcomes, and foster interaction by seeking feedback and suggestions.
How Can I Effectively Showcase Seasonal Decor Inspiration?
Create thematic displays for each season, use a mix of DIY and store-bought items, incorporate seasonal colors, textures, and natural elements, and offer advice on seamless decor transitions between seasons.
How Do I Balance Following Design Trends While Maintaining Timelessness?
Opt for timeless foundational elements like neutral furniture, integrate trendy accents such as cushions or small decor items, and discuss updating accents to stay current with trends.
