Last week Gail Doby revealed her 2011 Interior Design Business Predictions. Now she is providing us with insight on what your competitors are earning! Design Success University just published the NEW 2010-2011 Interior Design Fee and Salary eBook, and you can download your complimentary copy today ($79 Value – Complimentary!).

Clients and consumers in general are more demanding and less patient than ever
about fees. They want value, and they want to know what to expect.

After you download the complimentary eBook, you’ll get access to a prerecorded
webinar, How to Avoid Fee Fiascos…And Attract Your Ideal Client by Gail Doby,
ASID. It’s full of strategies and solutions to help you make more money and keep your
competitive edge in today’s market.

Click below to download your eBook now!

As the second of three parts on managing and monitoring your online reputation, we’ll take a look at the tools you will need to monitor a small business’s online mentions. Larger businesses may want to invest in more robust dashboards and tools, like Radian6, but smaller businesses can get most of what they need from these free tools.

What should you be monitoring?

• Your business name (and any misspellings and iterations)
• Your name and all of your key employees’ names
• Names of any of your products

What tools can you use to monitor these?

Twitter Search. Enter the list above in the keywords. For each keyword, create an RSS feed that either feeds daily to your Google Reader (or similar) or to your email.

Google Alerts. Just like Twitter search, enter your keywords and create an RSS feed for each word or phrase.

Icerocket.com. Monitor keywords and information per the type of social site or online tool.

Socialmention.com. This is much like Google Alerts but it tends to pick up more that is posted in forums, as comments on blogs, etc.

You can also create a reputation management dashboard using Netvibes.com.

While many of these tools will yield the same results, there is no “perfect” tool yet. We recommend having RSS feeds from all of them to ensure that you’re not missing anything. If you’re a relatively small business, chances are there will be few people talking about you online. In fact, chances are there will probably be more people talking about you positively and then you want to thank them for their praise. If you’re someone like Delta or another airline, you will need a lot more than this blog post to help you.

Our next post in the three part series will be about what to do if you find a bad review online.

Who says that a boutique should be reserved for gorgeous clothing, shoes or the latest in millinery? Don’t our homes deserve the same one of kind look? Of course, there are fabric and furnishing lines that are too numerous to count, but some stand out, albeit quietly, from the crowd, a few gems from favorite lines.

Remember adorning an orange juice can with yarn, string or rope, wrapping it in pretty paper with a Mother’s Day card, and calling it good? Christian Astuguevielle truly elevates it to an art form. The Mile Card Table available through Holly Hunt.

The desk of dreams, from the Jean-Pierre collection by Helene Aumont in walnut with calf leather inserts, adjustable top position and hand-crafted joinery.  Each piece is numbered and stamped.

One of the newest pieces in the Jiun Ho Collection, the Cheverny Sofa.  Beautiful, architectectural, exquisitely detailed and designed.

Uber-sophisticated, elegantly cool and unabashedly sexy, Jean de Merry exemplifies fine quality.  Their Diana Console with reverse painting and foxed mirror finish is extraordinary.

Which is your favorite?

As a designer, do you find yourself asking “what do they have, that I don’t?”  What makes a well-known, or celebrity designer, stand out from the crowd, receive accolades, book contracts, and the like?  You work your fingers to the bone, burn the candle at both ends to visualize and design thoughtful, beautiful, sophisticated spaces, just as they do.

The difference just might be their mastery of the social media whirl, their presence on the major Social Media platforms; Twitter, Facebook, Ava Living, LinkedIn, or their focus on up-to-this-very-minute trends showcased in twice-weekly blog posts.

Case in point, Tobi Fairley, known for her signature look of fresh simplicity that is both beautiful and functional, launched her blog in September 2008.  Today, it is read in 95 countries!  She is dedicated to timely updates of her business Facebook page, which has just about 3,200 fans, and at least 3-4 tweets per day.  All of which allow her to remain engaged and committed to her base, potential clients, and any publications looking for content.  She has been showcased in House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Better Homes & Gardens, along with other local and national shelter publications.  She is seen as a taste-maker and a trend-setter.

But all of this takes time, energy and the search for trends and topics that are interesting, and if that candle is burning while you are hard at work on a project, how do you do it all?  Gibson Design Management, and our sister company, OttoPilot Media, are experts in Social Media.  We know how to move the pieces around the gameboard to maximize your visibility and your fan base.  We would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions, and help you through the Social Media maze!  Please contact Martha for details.

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Link to earlier posts: Introduction/first set, numbers 6-10, numbers 11-15, numbers 16-20, numbers 21-25, and numbers 26-30]

1. Promoting a post that you liked on another blog.  If a fellow design blogger posts a great post on her blog, show her some love.  You’ll get reciprocity and build goodwill.
2. Great finds from High Point or NeoCon. Talk about trends.  Show your favorite pieces.  Show what’s new.
3. Canopy beds.  Talk about the history of the canopy bed and how it translates into today’s interior.
   

   A dreamy canopy bed. Photo: Elle Decor

4. Green upholstery options.  Vendors that are now offering green upholstery.  What to consider and how to know if something is truly green.
5. Considering Living in Place when building your home.  Design of passageways, thresholds, roughing in an elevator, and more.

Plus two extra for the end…

• Historical uses of crown moldings.

Crown molding frames a pretty window seat. Photo: Traditional Home

• Splurges + steals- mirrors, cocktail tables, beds, etc.  This is your typical magazine article showing the Versace dress with its hefty price tag (that is absolutely to die for) and a BCBG dress that achieves the same “look” at a more affordable price.

We hope you enjoyed the series and found a few points of inspiration for your interior design firm’s blog.  If you found any of these suggestions particularly helpful, or if you’ve created any innovative posts for your blog,  please share your ideas with us! We’d love to see what you’ve come up with.

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Link to earlier posts: Introduction/first set, numbers 6-10, numbers 11-15, numbers 16-20, and numbers 21-25]

1. A front door wreath for each season.
2. Using a stair runner. Using patterns or solids. Why you might want a runner.
3. Review of a recent hotel/resort you visited (from a design perspective).  What you liked and/or didn’t like. Interesting pieces or uses that your readers could translate into their lives.
   

   Tempo Miami. (Photo: Elle Decor)

4. A plug for your favorite charity and why you support it.  Show your readers what you care about.
5. Pictures of your holiday table.  Show them your personality and a glimpse into your life.

Check back next Monday for the remaining ideas in the series! (Are we saving best for last?)

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Click to see the introduction and first set of ideas, ideas #6-#10, ideas #11-#15, or #16-#20!]

1. A definition of trims.  Educate your readers and expand their vocabularies (tape, braid, lipcord, etc.).
2. Your latest project and an interview with the client.  This could even be a video.
3. Multiple arrangements for the same living room furniture.  Show 5 or 6 basic pieces and how they can be arranged in a basic room to show a very different look.
   

   Interesting furniture arrangements create new life in a living room. (Photo: Elle Decor)

4. Appropriate height to hang art.
5. How to choose a tile grout color.  When to use contrasting grout.  What to think about regarding maintenance.

Stay tuned for five more blog post ideas, coming next week!

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Click to see the introduction and first set of ideas, ideas #6-#10 or ideas #11-#15.]

1. Complimentary colors you might not think of.  Stretch your readers’ minds.
2. A day in the life of an interior designer.  Let them know what designers (especially you) really do.
3. Flooring for the bath.  Options and maintenance issues to consider.
4. To hide or not to hide the TV.  State your opinion.
   

   The TV: to hide, or not to hide? (Photo: House Beautiful)

5. 10 favorite settees.  Settees could also be cabinet pulls, shutter colors, countertops, or desk accessories.  10 could be 6, 7, 13, or 20.  You get the point.

Check back next week for five more blog post ideas!

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  Read the introduction here.

1. Choosing towel colors.  How to use a spa-like approach or to accent with your bath towels.
2. 5 favorite pedestal sinks.
   

   Photo: Better Homes & Gardens

3. How to tell good upholstery from bad.  Possibly show pictures that will educate your reader on what they can look for when selecting a piece of upholstery.
4. Effects of glazing cabinetry.  How different glazes change the natural colors of woods.
5. Choosing the right area rug.  Size, style, and more.  Do you put the sofa legs on it?

Photo: Apartment Therapy

Be sure to check back next Monday for five more blog post ideas!

Whenever I ask people what their main concern and block is for social media, a majority of them say producing content.  This is true.  All of a sudden, businesses that never had to write before are now tasked with being editors and journalists for their online diaries.  Blogging offers great opportunities to establish yourself as an expert, show your company’s personality, and be more searchable, but it can be overwhelming to think about coming up with a new idea 2-5 times per week.

In 30 minutes, I developed 35 ideas for blog posts for your interior design firm.  I realize I am leaving this to you to do the hard part—the writing!  Most of them are residentially-inclined, but I know that they will spur ideas for the commercial folks too.  You are more than welcome to use these blog post ideas verbatim.  However, you will also be thinking about your own spin so don’t let these limit your creativity.  Hopefully this list will help you think of even another 35 things that you want to write about.  If it does make you think of some posts, will you share them in the comments?  Remember that posts don’t have to be long, but they have to be interesting.  What is interesting to your reader?  They’ll tell you by what they retweet on Twitter, link to from their own blog, or comment on your blog.  It’s a learning experience and you’ll probably end up being surprised at what they most want to hear about.

I’ve divided this list into groups of 5.  It will give you enough to think about for the week and we will post them every Monday for the next 7 weeks.

1. Pantone color of the year and its uses.  Show ways that it can be used as a base color or as a subtle accent.

2.  Outdoor living rooms.  The change in fabric technology and options are amazing.  Highlight this or something similar for your reader.

Photo: Martha Stewart

3.  Window treatments and appropriate uses.  Educate your reader on the different window treatment designs and when each might be used.

4.  Ceiling fans– not from your first apartment.  Choosing a fan with style.

5.  Painting floors.  What to consider with color and sheen.

Photo: Design Sponge

Stay tuned for five more blog post ideas for interior designers, every Monday!