What to share on Instagram if you haven't had any clients
One of the questions designers regularly ask me in my DMs is what they should be posting on Instagram if they haven’t had any design projects yet and they shouldn’t be posting other designers’ work.
So today I’m sharing my thoughts and ideas on that for you - including what is working the best on Instagram at the time of writing this blog post :)
Original content ideas
If you don’t have any design projects yet then here’s some ideas of what you can be posting.
This is actually what you should be posting even if you do have design clients!
Single image posts - even of your own original work are no longer the best way to grow on Instagram and reach a bigger audience. The Instagram CEO came out and told us that last year.
So here’s what you should be doing instead:
REELS:
The first and most important thing you should be posting are reels with you talking to the camera and sharing your knowledge, tips and experience.
Reels are the Number 1 way to grow on Instagram as of the time of writing this blog post and creating your own original reels gets around the problem of having no images of completed projects yet.
If you need help coming up with ideas for your reels then download my social media post prompts template (see below - it’s completely free) - there’s so many ideas for you in that PDF.
Almost all of your posts should be reels and I would recommend at least one per day.
CAROUSEL POSTS:
The next thing to mix in are carousel posts.
My post yesterday is an example of a carousel and I’ve got hundreds of others on my Instagram page that you can use to get an idea of what I mean here.
Carousels are great for your engagement. Lots of people will save valuable carousel posts that have good information and content in them - which will signal to the algorithm that your page is worth following
To come up with ideas for your carousels you can again use the social media post prompts template below.
IMAGES POSTS:
You should be sharing only a handful of images here and there. Instagram have told us over and over that it is no longer a photo sharing platform - so sharing photos is how you will get the least engagement and the algorithm isn’t favouring this at all.
But if you do want to mix in a few photos here and there that’s fine - and here’s some ideas of what to post if you haven’t got any completed design project images to use yet:
images of your house
document a renovation/remodel you (or a friend/family member) is going through
images of friends/family who have nicely designed houses - ask them if you can come and take some photos and share what you love or use these photos to share your tips and tricks posts
SketchUp floor plans or 3D models - show examples of what your work looks like in SketchUp
CAD drawings/Revit drawings
Mood boards/Concept boards
Flat lays
Supplier store showrooms you love
Cafes, hotels, stores you love (that have design) - i.e. take your own photos of these spaces to share (you may need permission so just check that!!)
Other ideas
Finally, here’s even more ideas to get you thinking about things you can share.
Remember – nobody sees things the way that you see them so there’s always a new way to share ideas that have already been done before.
Teach what you know and provide value freely to your audience.
Here's some ideas:
Mark ups on design drawings
Stories
Videos
Audio
Plans
Drawings
Research
Journal entries
Notebook entries
Diagrams
Things that inspire you
Sketches
Photos
Demonstrations
Scrapbooks
Work in progress
Your day-to-day process
Collections
Trade/insider secrets
Processes
Techniques
Tools/materials that you use
This final list above has been largely taken from ‘Show your work’ by Austin Kleon, which is great book on the topic of sharing your creative process with the world.
I would highly recommend you read this book (and the others he has in this series)!!!
Free Social Media Post Prompts
To find ideas for your reels and carousel posts download my completely free PDF - Social Media Post Prompts for Interior Designers + Architects. It’s completely free and there’s hundreds of ideas in there for you - so no more excuses!
Business Short Courses for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy