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  • Writer's picturePedro J. López

Facebook and Instagram Ads for Architects: A Step-by-Step Guide

As an architect, you understand the importance of a strong digital presence. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can help you showcase your portfolio, connect with potentialclients, and generate leads. With the help of targeted ads, you can increase brand awareness and generate leads. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of creating effective Facebook and Instagram ads for architects.


Instagram and facebook ads for architects

Table of Contents

1. Introduction


Social media advertising has become an essential tool for businesses of all sizes, including architecture firms.


By using social media ads, architects can reach a highly targeted audience and generate leads.


In this guide, we will provide you with a step-by-step approach to set up your first ad campaign.


2. Understanding Social Media Advertising


Social media advertising involves placing paid content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin to reach a specific target audience.


These platforms have sophisticated targeting capabilities that allow you to reach users based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.


By using social media ads, you can ensure that you’re pitching the right people at the right time.


exterior rendering house snow
Exterior rendering by Render4tomorrow | Client: HF Archiektur


3. Defining Your Target Audience


The first step in creating effective social media ads for architects is to define your target audience. Start by asking yourself:

  • Who are your ideal clients?

  • What are their demographics?

  • What are their interests?

  • What are their pain points?

A key concept to understand is that you need to get your ad in front of people who could potentially become your clients. Otherwise, you'd be wasting your budget.


By creating ads for Instagram and Facebook, you can segment your audience so that your ads only reach people who could potentially become your customers.


Here’s an example.


Imagine you are an architect in London.


First, let's tell Facebook that the age range of your target audience is 30-55 years old. This will exclude architecture students who visit your website, as they are outside your target audience.


Let's also tell them that we want our audience to be interested in architecture. If your business also focuses on aspects such as sustainability, you can add this additional interest to further segment your audience.


Ideally, we will aim to get a first potential audience of about 100,000 people, so that Facebook can learn over time and show your ads only to those people who show interest.



exterior rendering gold metal building
Exterior rendering by Rendertomorrow | Client: Jairo Pinedo Architectes


4. Creating your First Ad Campaign


Now that you have defined your target audience, you can start creating your Instagram ad campaign. To create a campaign, follow these steps:


Choosing your Ad objective


The first step in creating your Instagram ad campaign is to choose your ad objective. Instagram offers several different objectives, including:

  • Brand Awareness: to increase brand recognition and reach.

  • Reach: to show your ad to as many people as possible.

  • Traffic: to drive traffic to your website.

  • App installs: to encourage users to download your app.

  • Lead Generation: to collect user information such as email addresses or phone numbers.

  • Conversions: to encourage users to take a specific action, such as filling out a contact form or making a purchase.

To start with, my recommendation is to choose the “Traffic” objective.

This way, you will be able to drive your potential clients to your website, so that they can get to know your work and get in touch with you.


5. Selecting your Target Audience


The next step is to select your target audience. As we mentioned earlier, you can use Instagram's targeting options to ensure that your ads are seen by the right people.


Here goes mi recommendation:


Choose the age range between 30 and 55. Remember that every time your ad is shown, it costs you money, so you need to target very well who you target so you don't waste your budget.


By segmenting your audience, you can choose the city where you want to show your ads.


Architecture is a local business that requires your physical presence to develop the work, so I recommend positioning yourself locally first. Over time, you can extend your area of operation when you have more reputation.


If your city is very large, you can even target by postcode to ensure that everyone in your neighbourhood has seen your ad.


raumbureau architekten park architekten
Exterior rendering by Render4tomorrow | Client: Raumbureau Architekten


6. Set up Retargeting


Surely this has happened to you: you go to a website to buy a pair of shoes, and for the next few days you don't stop seeing their ads until you end up buying them.


This is called retargeting.


It’s very easy to set up, so you can go after your website visitors until they become interested in your services.


To do this, you will need to set up the Facebook Pixel. It's a piece of code that you add to your website that will allow you to track your users' activity.


Then, you can show them your ads, and even create audiences similar to the audience that visits your website. This will help Facebook to better understand your target audience and optimize your budget.


7. Setting your Ad Budget


You can set your ad budget and schedule based on your advertising goals and budget. Instagram offers a range of bidding options, including cost per click (CPC) and cost per impression (CPM).


Leave everything as default and you’re good to go.


Tip: Create different ad sets, and set a low initial budget. Let the ads run for a few days, and optimise afterwards, leaving the ones that perform best.


exterior rendering itten brechbühl
Interior rendering by Render4tomorrow | Client: Itten Brechbühl Architekten


8. Creating your Ads


Once you have defined your target audience, the next step is to create engaging ad content.


Your ad content should be visually appealing, informative, and relevant to your target audience. It should also include a clear call-to-action that encourages users to take the next step, whether that is visiting your website, filling out a contact form, or scheduling a consultation.


My biggest advice here is to give value to the user in order to get their contact information in return.


For example, if your architectural firm excels at building sustainably, you can create a downloadable freebie such as "Your home design can save you up to 50% on your energy bill. Here's how".


To download it, the user must leave their email address. Now you will be able to create an automated sequence of emails that will help the potential client to see that you are an expert in the field and the best option for the design of their home.


Remember, a buyer needs an average of 6-7 impacts before hiring your services. That is why you must create an effective sales funnel, keeping in mind that your message must be different on the first impression than after some time has passed.


9. Measuring and Analyzing Your Results


After running your Facebook and Instagram ads, it is important to measure and analyze your results.


Social media platforms offer useful analytics tools that allow you to track metrics such as reach, engagement, clicks, and conversions. By analyzing this data, you can identify which ads are performing well and which ones need improvement. This will help you optimize your ads for better performance and maximize your return on investment.


Optimizing your social media ads is an ongoing process. By continually testing and refining your ad content, targeting, and budget, you can improve your ad performance and generate better results. Some tips for optimizing your ads include:

  • Testing different ad formats and visuals

  • Refining your targeting based on audience engagement

  • Adjusting your ad budget based on performance -

  • Incorporating user-generated content into your ads - Include client testimonials from clients you have worked with.

  • Creating ad variations to test different messaging and visuals - Be sure to mark dynamic ads when setting up your campaign. This way, Facebook will automatically show the ads that are performing the best.


jan kinsbergen architekten interior rendering
Interior rendering by Render4tomorrow | Client: Jan Kinsbergen Architekten

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid


When it comes to social media advertising, there are some common mistakes that architects should avoid. These include:

  • Not defining your target audience clearly enough

  • Using low-quality visuals or ad content

  • Setting unrealistic ad budgets

  • Targeting too broadly or too narrowly

  • Neglecting to monitor and analyze your ad performance

By avoiding these mistakes and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create effective social media ads that drive real results for your architecture firm.


11. Conclusion


Facebook and Instagram advertising is a powerful tool for architects looking to increase their digital presence and generate leads. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create effective social media ads that resonate with your target audience and drive real results for your business.


Remember to define your target audience, create engaging ad content, set a realistic ad budget, and continually measure and optimize your ads for better performance.


In Render4tomorrow, we create 3D images of architecture to bring your project to life. Contact us today for a quote and take the first step towards transforming your ideas into stunning, photorealistic visuals. If you can dream it, we can build it.


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