Houzz is the world’s largest community for home design and renovation with 1.5 million subscribers in Australia alone. Its directory of professionals is an amazing tool to help you showcase your work and connect with potential clients and trades.
Watch the full replay of this tech talk below.
Building Your Business Using Houzz [0:07:49s]
Houzz is a marketing tool that helps businesses expand and generate leads by connecting homeowners with professionals in the design and build industry. Houzz is the world’s largest online community and platform for home design and renovation. Homeowners looking for inspiration or professionals to hire come onto the platform. Professionals can use it in different ways within the design and build industry.
Maximizing Exposure Using Effective Photography
Photography is important when building your brand on Houzz, high-quality photos showcase your work effectively.
Use natural lighting whenever possible and take photos from different angles to showcase your work.
Branding Tools like Pro Plus
Pro Plus is a branding tool that allows businesses to customise their profile and stand out on Houzz. It includes features such as a custom domain, priority placement in search results, and the ability to add a call-to-action button. It helps businesses maximise their exposure and generate leads.
What Is Houzz? [0:10:02s]
The idea for Houzz came from a husband and wife who struggled to find the right professionals and products during their own home renovation. They created a One-Stop shop with five different layers: service directory, photo stream, editorial (online magazine), products, and discussion forum. These layers are tied together with smart technology that allows for an end-to-end solution in the home design space.
The photo stream is where users tend to spend the most time. As a tradie, uploading photos to your profile can lead to additional exposure as people save those photos into their virtual scrapbooks. The service directory allows users to find tradie professionals in their area based on categories such as interior designer or kitchen renovator. Tradies can also upload their own projects to be featured in the editorial section of House’s online magazine. Finally, there is a discussion forum where users can ask questions and tradies can share advice related to home design.
Houzz Editorial and Advice Sections [0:16:59s]
The in-house editorial team creates lots of local content for inspiration on the editorial section of the Houzz website. Talented professionals can also contact editorial team to write for them or to suggest a feature on your latest work.
The community forum is where users can post discussions, polls, and events. The Houzz forum has 40 million global users with 1.5 million in Australia alone making it an excellent and relevant audience of renovators to showcase your work to. The audience on House audience is female-skewed and at the higher end of the market. The audience generally has a couple key factors they look for when hiring a tradie professional, these include good reviews, recommendations, experience, personality, communication skills, and organisation skills. Always think about these hiring factors when branding yourself online to optimise your success gaining new leads and projects.
We are such a digital society that it is so important that you are online basically and not just online as a business but also mobile friendly because we know that people are spending the most amount of time on their phones.
Mobile Optimisation for Websites [0:20:34s]
On average, people check their phones 85 times a day and most people will use their smartphones to research products and services. Focusing on mobile optimisation can help businesses reach their target audience more effectively. Make sure your tradie businesses to have a mobile-friendly website and social media presence to stay relevant.
Tips to Create a standout Houzz Profile [0:24:28s]
Signing up for a profile on Houzz is free and easy but it is important to create a standout profile and dedicating time to do it properly.
A good profile should showcase skills and expertise and contain contact details, reviews, projects, awards, and photos to stand out against incomplete profiles. Storytelling is important when creating a standout profile, use high-quality photos to showcase your work and include detailed descriptions of your services and projects. The first line of a profile can be used to show that you are an expert in your field. Good reviews and recommendations are important, but showcasing expertise is crucial in making hiring decisions.
It’s important to capture someone’s attention quickly by having an impactful profile since people have only a short period of time to make hiring decisions. Respond promptly to any messages from potential clients and engage with other professionals in your industry through comments and discussions.
Setting aside time to create or refresh profiles properly is worth doing since it showcases your skills and expertise. People often neglect their profiles due to being busy running their business, if this is the case for you Houzz can offer support for setting up or refreshing profiles if you need it.
Storytelling Tips for Tradies [0:30:58s]
Revealing passion and personality can make a difference in attracting clients and convincing them to hire you. The categories on the House platform are split 50/50 between design style businesses and online tradies. Specific services can be added to the system, while other sections like business description can be used to showcase your personality to the audience. Good photos that showcase your work can lead to more work opportunities, Houzz allows you to tag images with appropriate styles or fittings that allows potential clients to find you when they are searching for something in particular. Collaborating with other professionals involved in a project can also lead to more work opportunities.
People connect more with a face so Olivia recommends that you upload a photo of yourself instead on your profile instead of just using your logo. This applies not just on Houzz but on any social platform. Another tip is to stay in touch with other professionals that have worked on the same job as you, Design professionals tend to get professional photos done at the end of each job and you may be able to use these also to showcase the finished product of the work you have done.
Remember that this may be your client’s first time doing a project. Putting yourself in their shoes is important for online marketing and branding as well as in-person interactions. Make your client feel comfortable and confident that they have hired the right tradie by communicating well and often.
Our users absolutely love before and after shots or a before, progress and after shot as well, so if you have those I would definitely recommend uploading as well upload things like concept sketches.
Updating your houzz profile [0:37:44s]
Once you initially set up your profile it takes minimal maintenance. You don’t need to spend half an hour every day on your profile! Update it when you have something to update with, add recent photos as soon as you get them. Adding specific services into your text will make it easier for people find you when they search for those services.
Adding detailed captions and putting your photos in the correct category can also help the right people find you. It’s not just about having the newest content, but also about having the most relevant and detailed content. Before and after shots are really popular on Houzz and adding progress photos can be helpful as well.
Importance of Photos on Houzz [0:41:08s]
High-quality photos can be a turning point for someone hiring you. Before and after photos are highly recommended as they resonate with users and make projects seem more achievable. New photos are automatically added to a user’s profile and photo stream when uploaded. By adding details such as descriptions, products used, budget, room size/type, etc. can help photos appear in more relevant search results. You can post videos in the discussion section of your profile, but you cannot view the video within your House profile. If you need some photos but are no good at taking them yourself, Houzz has a network of photographers that offer affordable photography services for professionals that you can reach out to.
Community Engagement [0:46:15s]
People love reading reviews on any profile and they are a great way to attract new clients. You can ask a client to post a review straight from your Houzz profile using the email button. Before a bad review goes on your profile, it will be flagged with you, giving you the opportunity to mediate between you and the reviewer before it’s posted. Responding to any negative reviews is important. It’s an opportunity to explain your company and its process in a way that you can’t via your business description or website.
As a business it's obviously vital to stand out from the competition, stand out from the crowd. Your business is unique but really it's about how you can persuade a client to choose you over someone else.
Houzz Community Forum [0:51:49s]
The discussion forum allows users to get in contact with you and see your expertise. Users can use the advice section to ask for help on their own current or upcoming projects. The number of live discussions at any point can be seen, along with answered and unanswered questions. Leaving comments on others’ posts shows your expertise and helps others learn from you. You can add photos of recent projects that are similar to the trend or article being discussed. This helps homeowners visualise what you’re talking about and see your work in action. Any comment that you leave in this discussion section goes on your profile as well. You can post discussions in this section too which is a great way to gain market insight or do a quick poll on a topic.
Writing stories about experiences with clients or renovation processes can be educational for homeowners. If you’re not a writer but have something to say, you can contact the Houzz editorial team who are always looking for experts to contribute quotes or angles for articles they are writing.
Houzz Free and Paid Options [0:56:51s]
Houzz Free Option
The free option allows users to build their brand and profile organically. The Houzz platform offers a range of features such as photo sections, directory placement, locally targeted ads, newsletters, project match, analytics, and account management. Users can get an account manager who will review their personal program and analytics and provide expert advice on digital marketing and branding.
Houzz Paid Option – Pro Plus
The Houzz paid option is called Pro Plus. It offers advanced features such as enhanced directory placement, locally targeted ads in the story section and newsletter, a link out to a video, byline with call-to-action button, click-through photos from one image. Account managers are also available for users who opt for the paid version.
The cost of a Pro Plus profile starts at around $200 per month but varies depending on categories and areas targeted. A discussion is needed to determine business goals before deciding which options are best suited for you.
Highlight your passion because people love to work with people that have a personality that you like and you can get along with but also someone who is passionate.
Houzz Free resources for Tradies [1:02:13s]
There are various resources available to professionals on Houzz such as workshops, tutorials, webinars, FAQs, support articles and tips for professionals written by the editorial team. The Houzz newsletter goes out twice a week with cool content about trends or house tours
Best of Houzz Awards [1:07:16s]
The Best of House Awards take place every January and are divided into design and service categories. The awards are given based on participation in the Houzz community, and there is no need for nomination.
To increase your chances of winning a Best of House Award make sure that you have a house profile on the platform. Participate actively in the community by posting content and engaging with others and provide excellent service or showcase exceptional design work to stand out from others. Look out for more communication about the awards in November or December!
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Olivia is the partnerships manager at Houzz. She is passionate about helping others to reach their potential and find success using the Houzz platform to promote their services.
Clinton is driven by a passion to help the construction and field services industries evolve through the use of technology and education.
