Digital marketing

The Future of Design is Digital: How Marketing Is Moving the Needle

Because of the rapid acceleration of information and communication, time has become our most precious commodity. And earning people’s attention—and keeping it— has never been harder, especially with the impact of COVID-19 on practically every part of our lives. Businesses all across the globe are learning how to operate in that dreaded “new normal”, which on top of being cliched, is constantly changing.

Back in March, when shelter in place orders first started, customers were really focused on safety and gathering the essentials for what felt like a temporary time.

All of that has dramatically changed: now their priorities are about adapting their homes to this new evolving lifestyle for the foreseeable future. While at the beginning of 2020, people viewed their homes as a place where they escaped at the end of the day, over the past few months homes have become so much more than that—a coworking space, a home school, a yoga studio, a doggie daycare.

As part of Business of Home’s Future of Home 2020 virtual conference, Tracy Cho and Megan West of Domino led a discussion on how COVID-19 has changed buying behavior, highlighting some of the most interesting takeaways from the magazine’s research of 6,000 engaged readers.

The numbers tell the story of a changing relationship with home in the coronavirus era. A startling 30 percent of respondents reported they plan to move in the next year: searching for larger bedrooms, more privacy, or that so-highly-coveted outdoor space.

Those that aren’t moving are committed to improving their homes, with 60 percent saying they’re undergoing renovation projects of some size. Domino’s research shows that winter’s biggest trend won’t be style-driven, but motivated by utility—25 percent of respondents said that functionality was their primary focus.

Clearly, the customers are there. But why are home brands and design professionals having trouble connecting with them?

HubSpot aggregated Marketing and Sales Benchmark data from their global customer base of 70,000+ companies to understand how metrics are shifting as the world grapples with the impact of COVID-19. More insights and data here.

For obvious reasons, when COVID-19 began shutting down economies, companies that already had a robust online presence were at a distinct advantage over ones that didn’t. Website traffic has been one of the strongest-performing marketing metrics throughout the pandemic. As buyers have moved their purchasing online out of necessity, businesses with an established digital presence have reaped the rewards. Global site traffic currently sits at 20% above the pre-COVID benchmark.

And it’s not just website traffic that has crazy post-COVID numbers: global sales email volume is at an astonishing 59% above the pre-COVID benchmark—but response rates have been bleak. While sales teams have increased their email send, their response rates have been about 25-30% below the benchmark. Meanwhile, marketing email open rates sit at 18% above pre-COVID levels.

Where sales teams haven’t been able to connect, marketing teams have, period. This offers a huge area of opportunity for companies as we continue to live in our COVID-19 reality. For companies to become the kind of industry leader that others will have to follow, marketing is essential. It brings new customers, more business, and—most importantly—it creates and strengthens customer loyalty.

*Christiane Lemieux and Dennis Scully* Business of Home

Providing a streamlined and customized online experience is also integral to your success, according to another Business of Home speaker, leading design entrepreneur and expert in home décor and furnishings Christiane Lemieux. In her new book “Frictionless,” she explains that modern consumers have no tolerance for anything they see as a waste of their time. She says that while good design will always move the world, making it easy for consumers to transact digitally—having a site optimized for devices and conversions—is just good business.

With ultraviolet and HubSpot, you can have a cohesive site that reflects your brand, offerings and aesthetic, and your customers get a personalized, secure experience. HubSpot’s Content Management System (CMS) makes it easy to grow better while their customer relationship management (CRM) system provides up-to-the-minute views of your entire sales pipeline on a clean, visual dashboard.

While nobody can predict what our post-coronavirus reality will look like, one thing is certain: digital marketing will be more important than ever. Our agency is staffed with HubSpot CMS-certified individuals who can help you design and create a professional website that will drive traffic and reflect your individual design services and aesthetic. And by leveraging the synergy between HubSpot’s CRM and CMS, we’ll deliver results by guiding your potential customers through a clearly defined sales funnel.

Contact the ultraviolet team for a consultation and quote today.

Publishers Predict A Holiday Express

If you groan when you see Halloween candy for sale before Labor Day, you won’t like what I have to say. To borrow a line from Game of Thrones, Winter is Coming. Quickly.

Meredith publishing, home to the venerable Better Homes & Gardens, recently released their predictions for the 2020 holiday season and here is the most important: Everything about the holiday season is going to start earlier this year, even as soon as right after Labor Day. There’s also going to be an emphasis on early deals, promotions, and providing value as one of the new drivers of early-on shopping.

But what’s also looming over everything is this–the holidays are going to be different this year. What remains to be seen is exactly how. It could mean large gatherings are pared down, and the day before Thanksgiving is no longer the busiest flying day of the year. It may give a boost to the newish Friendsgiving holiday celebration. It just might usher in tidings of joy because you no longer have to sit at the kids’ table at Aunt Marge’s. Lots of things can happen. The good news is you have the opportunity to shape those holiday celebrations. So hop out of the pool, towel off and get your mind in gear for this Hallo-Thanks-Mas season.

We can summarize what we’ve learned so far in three words: different, sooner, deals. That should be your mantra as you develop marketing plans for late Q3 and Q4. How do your products or services fit with an alternate holiday celebration? How soon can you get them to market after Labor Day? What value can you provide consumers looking to buy early?

“People are racing to get to peace and hope.”

I recently overheard a colleague discussing the flurry of online commentary about Christmas saying, “People are racing to get to peace and hope.” She’s right. Americans are looking to anything positive and hopeful. The pandemic may change the holiday setting and some of its rituals, but it can’t cancel them. And because some of the ritualistic events of the holiday season are canceled (sniff, sniff, Rose Bowl Parade), expect people to look for new and alternative ways to celebrate.

Build a new story and find a solution for customers

What new holiday celebrations can be built around your products? What new traditions can families create? How can your company’s products and services help consumers figure out this upcoming holiday season?

*SmithHönig’s* *Thread Bare patterned fabric stockings are festive without the traditional holiday colors, staying on the mantel long after the tree is taken down.*

According to trends research service WGSN, “decision exhaustion” is at an all-time high and the biggest driver of someone recommending or purchasing a product is decision simplicity. Let me say that again – DECISION SIMPLICITY. It’s not enough to have a great website. Yes, I know you have all your products on your website, all clearly labeled with great photography. Yes, I know you have an easy checkout process. But Ms. Consumer wants more. She wants you to figure it out for her. For heaven’s sake, she’s already holding down a full-time job while simultaneously teaching long division, metaphors and the U.S. Constitution to her 10-year-old twins. Give her a break.

How can you package your products or services to meet consumer needs in the ‘new normal’ holiday season?

Instead of marketing your products by category, why not promote them by solution?

“The Complete Thanksgiving Table,” “Activities that Engage Across the Miles” and “Holiday Gifts to Ship and Share” are topics that come to mind. Or if it fits your style, “Gifts Your Mother-in-law Won’t Hate.” You’ll get points for levity. Making someone smile goes a long way these days.

*Swenson Granite Works of New England sells a DIY granite firepit that is promoted all year long but especially during the fall gearing up for Thanksgiving gatherings.*

So, the business is out there. Consumers are ready and willing to buy. But they need your help to create a path and make sense of this unprecedented season. Teach them how to party. Because make no mistake, a celebration is what we all need.

Mary Leigh Howell is an independent PR consultant to the home, garden and interiors industry with more than 20 years of experience helping brands and designers tell their story. www.MaryLeighHowell.com.

Webinar Recap: Understanding The Mindshift in Media Relations + Expanding Your Virtual Community

Between the new work-from-home lifestyle and continuation of stay-at-home directives, businesses and brands are being challenged to execute a major pivot to stay in business. The pressure’s on. Those of us who are going to succeed are developing new ways to deliver products or services to clients and customers.

More than ever, how we tell our story and represent our brand is crucial to our success: It’s important to identify ways we can shift our approach – sooner rather than later.

That’s why, on May 13, ultraviolet’s founder and Creative Director Jennifer Smiga partnered with Mary Leigh Howell, PR consultant, to present the webinar, “Renovating The Design Industry: Media Relations + Digital Strategies In The New Normal,” Together, with an audience of designers, brands and manufacturers, we dug into 4 key topics:

Understanding the mind shift of the media to help you communicate with them
Creating relevant, helpful, and story-driven content that engages audiences
Building strategic partnerships between your brand, influencers, and the media
Leveraging smart social and digital strategies to make your business thrive

One point we made early on? Reaching people where they are right now and expanding your virtual community – this isn’t a dilemma, it’s an opportunity. The customer is online, and the way you behave now will have an enormous impact on your business’ future. It’s essential to consider how you can pivot and adjust now to provide solutions that meet your clients’ and customers’ changing needs.

Get the entire (free!) webinar

These are just a few of the topics and insights we covered in the session. Whether you were there and just want a quick review or you missed it (we missed you!) and need to see it all, view it here and start leveraging all the best-practices we shared to make sure you don’t lose your audience.

None of us wants to get left behind during this tumultuous time.

No time to watch the entire video right now? No problem. Here’s a recap of the key takeaways.

Understand the media’s mind shift

Even before the pandemic, media in the home space was in the grip of drastic change. Magazines folded, mastheads shrank and newspapers completely dropped Home sections. The bright spot, here, is that while there are fewer print publications and fewer editors, there are more digital outlets looking for more content than ever before.

Widen your “most wanted” list
Know their audience
Be proactive and patient

Create relevant content that engages audiences

By creating stories that work in our lives right now and into the future, whether they are pandemic-friendly or a welcome distraction, make it easy for editors to place you. If you have images or story ideas, now is the time to reach out to your favorite editors and media outlets to collaborate.

Build strategic partnerships

The right partnerships can turn your work-from-home life into an opportunity for your business to evolve and grow. If you have any of these three, you have a compelling reason to kick start a partnership now:

Stunning professional photography
A large network
New products to launch

The numbers tell the story: 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals while 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know.

Leverage smart social and digital strategies

By working with the right partner—someone authentic and with a relevant audience—interior designers, influencers and manufacturers have been able to shift their focuses, offers, content, and promotions to accommodate the current state of the world.

During the webinar, we presented case studies on how globally-inspired home décor brand SmithHönig, international tile leader Island Stone, and quarrier Polycor have all leveraged partnerships during this time to continue meaningful, online conversations with their customers and fans. With very different business models and partnerships, each of these brands leveraged fresh, authentic content to gain new sales opportunities and brand awareness within their ideal audiences.

It’s clear that in this new climate we need to adapt and evolve our digital strategies to stay visible and engaged. We also need to adapt and evolve our messaging to connect with the new perspectives and needs of our audience. That’s where we can help.

Schedule a 45-minute session with either Jennifer or Mary Leigh. We’ll discuss your goals, how to adjust your current strategy, and where we may be able to help with execution.

PR and Digital Marketing Partnerships in a Pandemic

It all happened so fast. Six-foot social distancing rules. More canceled events than we can count. Fashion brands selling face masks. Two months ago feels like another world and nothing about our “new normal” is, in fact, normal. Almost overnight, we’ve become a world relying heavily on virtual experiences and WiFi-based connections. Navigating this increasingly online and constantly evolving space can feel tricky at best, impossible at worst.

That’s why we’re teaming up with PR Consultant Mary Leigh Howell—to show how you can not only adjust to this new world, but also lead. The way you operate now will have an enormous impact on your future. More than ever, it’s important to the health of your business to not lose your audience and get left behind. Reach people where they are right now—at home and online—and expand your virtual community to take your business to the next level, both during and after this Coronavirus crisis.

Join Jennifer Smiga, ultraviolet’s founder and Creative Director, and Mary Leigh Howell, PR consultant, on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST for our FREE 45-minute webinar, “Renovating The Design Industry: Media Relations + Digital Strategies In The New Normal” where we’ll cover topics including:

The Media: Layoffs and furloughs, disrupted production cycles, print production ending; understanding the impact COVID-19 has had on digital and print publications around the world will help you better communicate with editors and reporters.
Content = Community: The digital experience you provide is more important than ever. Empathy, authenticity and relevance are just the beginning of your storytellers journey. Knowing what people are searching for will help you connect with them and see you as a trusted resource.
Strategic Partnerships: Influencers and the media are still on the lookout for meaningful content and collaboration. Discover how to package and present your brand to develop the connections you want to grow your business.

As markets and trade shows around the world—like High Point Market, Coverings, Legends and Salone del Mobile—have been canceled or postponed, interior designers, influencers and manufacturers are scrambling. Don’t be the last one to come up with—and carry out—a plan. More than ever, how you tell your story and represent your brand is crucial to your success.

In this new climate, you’ll need to adapt and evolve your digital strategies to stay visible and engaged. You also need to adapt and evolve your messaging to connect with the new perspectives and needs of your audience. That’s where we can help. Join us for this webinar and we’ll help you define and deliver your next best steps.

Register for “Renovating The Design Industry: Media Relations + Digital Strategies In The New Normal”, a Go-To-Webinar, Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST.

The Design Blogger’s Tips for Creating a Killer Personal Brand

Being a design influencer looks like so much fun. Being a photogenic person existing in a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind space, where the light hits you just so, and casually posting photos and blogs and watching the likes and fawning comments roll in. The reality is getting that perfect photo takes backbreaking work, more than simply standing in the perfect lighting. It involves sourcing, staging, writing, research and creativity. To get to the comfortable, profitable place you need to produce consistent, quality content. It may look effortless, but a lot of work goes into developing a killer personal brand.

Being a design influencer is part art, part science, and all hard work. Luckily for you, some of the design influencers we partner with have shared their tips for success.

True to you

Let’s talk about Joanna Hawley, the Seattle-based blogger behind Jojotastic. Hawley, a product designer and trend scout for companies like Anthropologie, was invited to join Pinterest before it was open to everyone. She started her blog to leverage the popularity of her Pinterest and to give companies interested in working with her a way to contact her. She landed her first sponsorship deal within three months of starting her blog.

And when Hawley began looking to buy a home, she let companies know that she was about to take on a home décor and renovation project—and that she had 3.7 million Pinterest followers. Companies including Decoist, Sherwin Williams, Rejuvenation, The Mine, CB2, All Modern, Pottery Barn, Parachute Home and Barn and Willow, happily jumped on the opportunity to partner with her, and ended up paying for a huge part of her remodel and helped furnish her tiny house.

And while you may think her giant audience is the moral of the story, there’s a lot more to her success than that. When Hawley was laid off, she got into the world of blogging by reaching out to Joy Cho from Oh Joy! on a whim. Cho brought her on to contribute to biweekly round-ups, giving Hawley the opportunity to learn from one of the best in the biz.

Hawley was at the forefront of the tiny house trend and has built her brand on providing small space tips, home tours, and inspiration for choosing to live small. She’s also been open about the less-then-photo-ready side of her life, sharing what her home looks like when it’s not staged to divine perfection.

So, the real takeaway is, as an aspiring influencer, you need to know your brand inside and out: Hawley utilized her education in industrial design and photography to define her visual brand, her honed job skills of cataloging and categorizing to curate her boards, built relationships with other bloggers and brands, and followed her heart and instinct to invest in a tiny house. What she had is the one thing you can’t fake as an influencer: authenticity.

If you want to be a successful influencer, you have to be real, honest, original and true to you. Being authentic will help you increase your engagement rate, generate organic traffic to your website, and increase visibility—and help you gain new followers. And it’s not just to gain followers: Brands prefer collaborating with an influencer who can generate authentic stories for their brand.

Authenticity is a word that gets thrown around a lot, when we say it we mean: No one likes being lied to or mislead. Can you clear the clutter before you take a photo? Yes, please do! But don’t be disingenuous or promote products you don’t love. Only partner with brands that fit with your personal brand, otherwise, the partnership could have a negative impact on the brand as well as on you. Followers can smell phoniness a mile away.

Read why partnering with the right influencer matters.

Get social with your audience

This sounds easy enough, and it will be at first, because you won’t have a big following. Like and respond to every comment, follow people back, make sure that you are making moves to form a much-needed connection with your followers.

One of the worst mistakes you can make on social media is having zero interaction and personality. No one likes someone who just talks about themselves. The same is true of influencers. This is the age of transparency and people want to get to know you and your brand on a more personal level. And that means they expect you to want to know them, too.

When you see something you like in other people’s content, don’t just like it or share it, also reply with a comment to start a conversation. Other tips include:

Always @mention people you reference in your posts
Reply when people @mention you or share your content
When someone asks a question, answer it

Kate Pearce of Kate Pearce Vintage has found a unique way to engage with her audience, while driving weekly traffic to her Instagram stories and blog. She turned her followers’ questions about how to grow an Instagram following into a series of blog posts. Every Sunday she posts a question box in her Instagram stories where readers can drop in questions for her, and then every Monday she shares her answers to her questions on the blog.

When it comes to numbers, it’s easy to obsess over your follower count, and while there is value in increasing the number of followers you have, other metrics are just as important. Basically, having fewer followers who regularly engage with you and your content is infinitely more valuable than having 100,000 followers that ignore you.

Ask yourself:

What percentage of your followers are active and engaged with your page and content?
What’s your average number of likes or shares?

Once you have a handle on what your statistics are, you can begin to analyze what content is resonating the most with your audience.

Ask yourself:

Do specific types of posts have more likes, comments and shares than others?
Do you see a lift in new followers when you share a specific kind of post or use a specific platform?

Pearce’s journey from vintage dealer to full-time Instagram/blogger was driven by focusing on what was working and adjusting her content to reflect that learning. Her first year was focused on selling vintage furniture and finds on Etsy and dabbling in Instagram. After being contacted by Apartment Therapy for a feature on her home, Pearce changed direction and focused on selling vintage and Instagram. And not long after, she refined her vision again and went full force into blogging and Instagram, leaving the world of vintage sales behind. Does Pearce still have a passion for vintage furniture? Of course, but that doesn’t mean focusing on it is the right fit for her brand right now.

Content is queen

Whether it’s videos or blogs or Instagram posts, the most important thing an influencer must do is to keep creating content. Create an editorial calendar, schedule posts, find a system that works for you and stick to it. Make sure what you are posting is useful, informative, engaging, and helpful to your followers. This will help you position yourself as an authority and reliable resource.

Creating content should be how you’re going to spend most of your time— your content is your brand, after all. Make sure you are investing your time and talent where it matters. And that includes promoting that amazing content.

Dare to be different

If every photo on your feed features versions of the same rattan bookcase, is your photo of yet another rattan bookcase going to stand out? Probably not. Home design trends are important to know about, but they aren’t as important to follow. Instead, get real with yourself. If the whole world is going gaga for glamour and your style is more simple and sleek, show that. Don’t be another voice in a chorus. Say what is true to you.

Time is on your side

Hawley started pinning years before she started her blog—which she launched in 2012., Kate Pearce launched what is now her blogging business in 2015. You’re not going to become an internet design sensation overnight. But follow the path of these successful design bloggers and you might be one someday.

Think you’ve got this personal branding under control? Now, let’s help you kickstart your partnerships with brands on a positive, professional note.

UV Keys to a Good Influencer Relationship

Pinterest is Her Jam: A Q&A with Kyla Herbes of House of Hipsters

The role of a digital marketing agency is to stay one step ahead—knowing and understanding new social trends and platforms. Although Pinterest was created nearly a decade ago, brands, bloggers and designers are still learning how they can benefit from using the platform in their marketing. And today, it’s more relevant than ever.

As a visual search engine, many qualities set Pinterest apart from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even the latest and greatest, TikTok. These same qualities can help grow website traffic through your Pinterest page. At the 2020 Design Influencers Conference, the ultraviolet team got to meet and speak with Kyla Herbes of House of Hipsters, a home decor and lifestyle blog, that has become a top interior design resource. There Kyla gave a super insightful presentation featuring her best practices for marketing on Pinterest. If you weren’t able to catch Kyla’s presentation, don’t worry—we have helpful hints and pointers straight from her on how you can tell your story on Pinterest today.

Let’s jump in!

uv: How has Pinterest impacted your brand?

kh: Pinterest has pretty much touched every part of my business. Not only is it one of my biggest traffic drivers, but Pinterest, the business itself, found me on Pinterest.

They reached out in an email asking if I was interested in doing some graphic design work. At first I thought I was being “punked” by a friend and deleted it. My husband said, “maybe you should take another look at that email”. I wound up working freelance for a few years, creating promoted pins for Pinterest’s brand partners. That experience really taught me how to market my own brand.

Pinterest also collaborated with me on their Pintervention with BravoTV. One lucky winner received a bedroom makeover designed by me. Also, I spoke about best practices at In The Making, Pinterest’s first conference for creators.

uv: How do you use Pinterest differently from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? How do your audiences differ on each?

kh: Unlike the other platforms, Pinterest is not used socially. When you think about it, how many times have you commented on a pin? In that rare occurrence you did comment, did you receive a response? Probably not. Pinterest is a place for discovery. A place to share and find inspiration for yourself. I pin and save content that is primarily not owned by me.

When it comes to Facebook, I’m sharing links I think my community will find interesting and content I’ve published on my blog. Instagram is primarily my interior design work or vintage pieces that were purchased from my brick and mortar in Barrington, IL. Every once in a while, I will feature or regram a space I love (with proper credit of course).

I love Facebook and Instagram because that is where I can converse with my little HOH community directly. That doesn’t happen on Pinterest.

I’m not very active on Twitter. I found it quite entertaining the night Sharknado first aired and I’ll check it during the MTV Awards for snarky tweets, but for the most part, Twitter is not my jam.

uv: Why is putting the content from your blogs on Pinterest important?

kh: If you don’t pin your content, who will? The first thing you should do after pressing publish on a blog post is pin it. Share it everywhere. I’ll admit, it took me a couple years to figure that concept out. I thought it was a bit narcissistic to pin my own work. But it’s really just another form of sharing, discovering and helping.

That concept is key. Channel the word helpfulness to create a soft sell on your brand. Add a little call to action in the description or text overlay to lead that user back to your blog. You’d be amazed what adding, “for more info click over to…” will do to add traffic to your site.

uv: Why do you think it’s necessary to share other people’s content on your Pinterest?

kh: You do not want to scream, “follow me” on Pinterest. Pinners are using the platform to discover ideas, not you. Again, channel helpfulness.

uv: Spill about Pinterest group boards. Are they effective for you?

kh: When you pin to a group board, you are sharing your content with the group board owner’s followers. It’s a whole new audience and reach.

Can’t find a group board? Create your own and invite other like-minded pinners to join. If you’re a brand and you know interior designers and content creators out there that use your products in their designs, invite them to your group board. If you’re a blogger, invite your blogger friends to share their content.

See how you’re channeling the word helpfulness without really trying to sell anything? It’s kinda magical.

See Kyla’s skills & style for yourself on her Pinterest.

uv: Why are keywords important when you are naming your account, boards, and pins?

kh: You really have to think of Pinterest as a search engine. By adding keywords your content is becoming searchable. Make it easy for pinners to find you.

uv: Why is resharing older pins no longer a best practice?

kh: Repinning is not necessarily bad practice, but pinning new content is highly encouraged. If you think of it from Pinterest’s perspective, they want to have the latest and greatest ideas and trends searchable on their platform. They don’t want the same pins from 2015 pinned and repinned again. Pinterest wants to stay current.

uv: What is your advice to a brand/designer who is not using Pinterest?

kh: What are you waiting for? Get on it now and start pinning for your business. It’s not too late. If you don’t have time, find someone like me who does social media consulting as a business. I do everything from setting up your account properly to keywording to creating pins and maintaining your Pinterest account. I’ll even sit down and just teach you the basics if you’re feeling overwhelmed but still want to do it yourself.

Pinterest is a powerful marketing platform that brands are just starting to figure out. Get on it and start pinning.

Pinterest allows brands to have fun and get creative. It can also help them elevate their brand visibility and bring traffic to their site.