Ten Ways to Strengthen Relationships and Elevate Your Brand on Social Media

Social Media gets a bad rap for good reason. It can be full of puffery, truthiness and frighteningly well-targeted ads. But that doesn’t mean it’s not useful; it means that you need to be smart about how you use it.

Social media is a powerful tool to learn about people and strengthen relationships. Here’s how architects and contractors can do it well.

1. Listen. The greatest power of social media is its ability to target an audience—or a person—and listen to them. What matters to your clients? What matters to your prospective clients? If you follow them and their companies on social media, they will tell you. When Twitter launched in 2006, the common advice was: listen 80% of the time you’re on the platform; speak no more than 20% of the time. That’s still good advice, and I might further inflate that percentage to 90/10. Regardless of the numbers, listen first.

2. Focus. Pick a platform and cultivate your following. Social media takes more time than you likely think that it does. To build trust—and relationships—you will have to hone your voice. Think about what you want to be known for, listen to what others in your space are saying, and then start to post yourself. It’s time consuming. So: decide which platform—or platforms—matter most to you and start there.

3. Decide where to post. Instagram and X have very different audiences, as do Threads and Facebook. Think about why you are on social media, and who you hope to connect with. For example, if you’re a builder trying to connect with architects, I recommend that you target Instagram and LinkedIn. Instagram is all about visuals, LinkedIn is closer to an online version of a professional conference. Curate your content accordingly.

4. Introduce yourself. In many ways, social media for business is the digital equivalent of attending a networking happy hour. It’s social, yes, but it’s also professional. As you enter a professional networking event, you’re likely thinking about how you will introduce yourself. What do you want to be known for? What do you hope to learn from the people you meet? Think about social media the same way. Decide what you want your followers to know about you and focus on that. Don’t just start talking about yourself; that will make people un-follow you, just as they would politely step away from you if you yammer on and on about yourself at a party. Talk about ideas, current events, industry trends. As you do, begin by asking yourself….

5. How can you help? This is the most important question to ask yourself in building a social media audience. To cultivate a following, think about how your posts will benefit your audience. What can you do for them? Can you offer ideas, inspiration, or knowledge about emerging technologies? Research is fantastic—so are breakthroughs in new materials or construction methodologies. If you can share something that will help your audience improve their business, that’s a great share.

6. Stand apart. What makes your firm unique? What are you doing that nobody else is doing? What’s your point-of-view on the topics that matter to your clients? Social media can be used as a blog (see the long-form LinkedIn posts like this) or it can be used to point followers to your website, where you feature stories or research or ideas, like this.

7. Build your brand. Ultimately, this is the baseline of what you can do to build business with social media. To do this, you can post content that matters to your audience, and then point them to related content on your website. This is critical: driving your followers to your website expands your ability to connect with people. It offers a full array of your ideas, expertise and people. Whether you are inspiring your audience with beautiful images, sharing new research or explaining a new AI tool, you can use social media to hook your audience to visit your website to learn more about you.

8. Trust the data. Watch your social metrics to learn which of your posts garner the best engagement and interactions. Social platforms like LinkedIn and Google Analytics have free tools that help you assess if your social media efforts are working. For companies willing to invest in data and analytics, tools such as Sprout, Hootsuite, Google Analytics and Hotjar offer meaningful insights. Watch your stats and learn from them.

9. Be approachable. Be sure to interact with followers, thank them, react to their comments in a friendly way. This helps to build trust and connections. While clients are key, so are potential collaborators and employees. Social media can help you build connections far beyond your next project win. Building trust and relationships will position you—and your company—for long-term success.

10. Share great news and keep it humble. This one is all about transparency and nuance. For an easy example, compare the following two LinkedIn posts from an architect who was quoted in the New York Times:

• Post one: So excited to be quoted in today’s New York Times! Click to read more about my latest project, the award-winning master plan for lower Manhattan. (insert link to story)

• Post two: Thank you, @MichaelKimmelman, for including me in your @newyorktimes story about how redesigning New York’s streets could help alleviate flooding in Manhattan. To learn more about how to improve NYC’s streetscapes, click here. (insert link to story)

What’s different here is that the first post is all about getting attention (Me! Me! Me!), and the second post is a thank-you and quick intro to why someone might want to read the article to learn more. While it conveys the same point—that the New York Times considers you an expert worth quoting (exciting!)—it is cognizant of the fact that the issues are what’s most important. It’s easy to see which post would be more likely to build trust with people who don’t yet know you well.

But that first post isn’t all bad. It would work well on Facebook, where your family and friends would love it. Remember that each platform has a unique audience. Post thoughtfully, with intent, and you will increase your online influence and build relationships, too.

The Raygency Unveils: New Agency Promotes Architecture and Design

Chicago, IL – September 17, 2024 – The Raygency proudly announces its official launch, setting a new standard in public relations and content marketing tailored specifically for the architecture and design sectors. Founded by Leah Ray, a renowned design communicator with a rich architectural background, The Raygency is dedicated to showcasing how architecture transforms lives and shapes our collective future.

Ray merges architectural insight with award-winning creative storytelling. Her journey spans esteemed degrees in architectural theory from Harvard Graduate School of Design (M Des) and the University of Kentucky (B Arch), alongside influential roles at iconic Chicago firms such as Harry Weese Associates and Tigerman McCurry. This experience laid the foundation for her transition into architectural education, lecturing as an adjunct faculty member at universities including Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

At the intersection of architectural theory and practice, Ray’s career evolved into a dynamic role in architectural communications at leading firms Gensler and HKS. Through this experience, she identified a critical gap: traditional communications agencies often struggled to capture the essence of architecture and design. This realization drove her to establish The Raygency—a firm uniquely equipped to articulate the transformative power of design.

“The Raygency is where architectural insight meets cutting-edge communication,” Ray said. “We understand that architecture is more than buildings; it’s about shaping lives and communities. Our goal is to tell this story with precision and creativity, using every possible channel to illuminate the profound impact of great design.”

The Raygency’s purpose is clear: the agency views architecture is a way of life, and the new agency’s role is to reveal how design enriches and transforms that life. By blending intelligent, clear, and engaging communication with a deep appreciation for design’s potential, The Raygency helps architects and designers articulate their vision and elevate their brands. The agency believes that great design fosters more joyous, inclusive, and resilient futures for all.

With a focus on combining visual and verbal storytelling, The Raygency offers specialized services in public relations, content marketing, and digital strategy. The agency’s approach is rooted in a curiosity about emerging media and a commitment to participatory and inclusive dialogue that drives design forward.

To explore how The Raygency can amplify your narrative and grow your enterprise, visit www.theraygency.com.

Media Contact:

Leah Ray
CEO, The Raygency
leah@theraygency.com

About The Raygency:

The Raygency is a pioneering public relations and content marketing agency founded by Leah Ray in 2024. Dedicated exclusively to architecture and design, The Raygency merges architectural expertise with innovative communication strategies to illuminate how design impacts lives and drives change. Our work empowers architects and designers to communicate their value, grow their enterprises, and shape a joyous, inclusive, and resilient future for all.

On What I Do: An Architectural Life

I encountered what I view as one of the most influential concepts of architecture when I was a first-year architecture student in Mark Clary’s studio at the University of Kentucky College of Architecture. Mark assigned each student in my studio our first project: the analysis of a house done by a noted architect. I was assigned the ¾ House by John Hejduk. Driven by curiosity, I dove into Hejduk’s Mask of Medusa, and that’s where I found it.

Hejduk viewed writing and design both, equally, as forms of architecture. A poem, a photograph, a film — all could be architecture to him.

So much debate around his work and his practice centered on the fact that most of his designs were never constructed into buildings. That argument missed the point. He viewed architecture as a way of thinking, of framing the world, of experiencing it. Architecture is a way of bringing ideas to life, of creating realities that could yet be. As he neared the end of his life, he came to say that architecture was a way of being alive. This concept underpins my career.

In recent years, much has been made of “digital architecture” and “design thinking.” These concepts have been at the forefront of the culture of innovation that has dominated the past few decades of American business. Why have Silicon Valley developers so easily come to own the term “architecture”? Why is it “design thinking” and not “architectural thinking” that has subsumed our cultural curiosity? This all goes back to the limiting notion that architecture is confined to buildings. Hejduk knew that it was not; he saw it as something more.

Architecture is a way of thinking and making. Architecture is a way of life.

My career within the field of architecture began traditionally. I earned a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Design in Architecture Theory. I practiced in award-winning offices; I taught at respected schools of architecture. I came to my current profession as an architectural thinker who expresses vision through language, through the design of communications. Today, that takes the form of writing, designing websites, creating social media campaigns, and through the way I approach photography and videography. I look forward to what form my practice will take next, as it evolves and grows over time.

Over the years, when I’m asked why I stopped practicing architecture, I’ve given different answers, feeling compelled to offer an explanation. The truth is: I never stopped. I simply practice differently, through different media. My path is unconventional; I have colleagues and friends who confess in weak moments that they don’t understand what I do. This is how I see it: I practice by exposing the meaning of architecture. I collaborate with designers, photographers, writers, filmmakers, photographers and web developers to change the ways that people see and experience the world through architecture. Together we change people’s minds — we open people’s minds — to what architecture can do, and what it could yet do. We change life, we live through architecture, together.

For Mark Clary