LOUD Architects is a creative, architecture and interior design studio based in East London. Established in 2017 by Kate Clare, the portfolio of LOUD Architects is mainly residential, from large country houses to compact London corners.
They believe Architecture & Interior design should be accessible to all. They create happy one-of-a-kind home extensions and interior spaces with the use of creative building materials, shapes and colour - 'We don't do 'Box on the back of a house' designs'.
Having fun with their clients is what drives them. They make the impossible affordable.
They use social media to document a building process from start to finish, making it accessible to a range of audiences. They are known for their transparency online, cost-saving tips and bespoke details.
RIBA London asked them a few questions about marketing and social media presence, brand awareness, how to market your practice to different clients and their upcoming projects.
Have you found that your social media presence has helped you increase your work and find new clients? If so, how?
We find social media to be an effective lead-generating tool. We measure this by asking new business leads where they heard of us and 6/10 it is through social media. The remaining 4/10 is from word of mouth and advertising.
Most of our new work comes to us through our social media platform’s inboxes directly. If they are a home renovator account, we can instantly see their pictures of the site too which can be very helpful.
Social media allows us to convey all aspects of our role as an architect. We show the many hats we wear as Chartered Architects.
Our straightforward, approachable attitude to social media conveys our personality as a practice which I think is important for new clients. Our playful, colourful and bespoke way of design may not be suitable for a client who needs a ‘quick fix, purpose-built box’. Clients like these can advise them of an architect who would be more suitable.
As a practice use a multitude of platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube. We can show clients in real time the progression of a project from concept through to completion and styling. Future clients see what we can do. We offer free, no-obligation advice to clients who may not be taking on an architect but who are looking for practical free advice for their home.
What was the most important aspect to consider when it came to creating brand awareness?
When creating LOUD in 2017, it was important to me to be authentic. A core value I have carried through the practice as it has grown. Our slogan is, ‘playful, bespoke and designed’ which we also convey through social media.
Our brand is playful as we celebrate colour, each home is individually designed for the user. We feel being authentic and consistent are key.
Social media allows us to be both. We have been posting consistently for the last 4 years whilst offering free advice for existing and potential future customers. The feedback we receive online is that our free advice and tips are most valuable.
When it comes to marketing architecture, do you think photos or videos work better? Why?
I believe both photos and videos play an important role in marketing. We create short ‘stories’ or ‘series’ which show the real-time progress of a clients project. We write in our engagement letter to our clients that we will be showing this progress.
We create longer videos for IGTV. This allows us to answer questions sent to us, do Q&A's with brands, clients or contractors we trust or live videos when something exciting is happening on site such as the UK’s widest Pivot door being installed, a crane down a small London street or simply behind the scenes at our desks. Our clients experience the joy and excitement we do and the design comes alive!
We document the building process through photos but see the value in commissioning professional photographs at the end of the project. Wide-angle shots are the most well-received so we try to get many of those. Our social media followers often ‘save’ these for when they are planning an extension/home renovation or shop/restaurant design. They may not need an architect now but will need one in the future. Although expensive to commission, we see the real value a few months later once commissioned for a new exciting project.
How do you ensure you market yourself successfully to different types of clients?
We market ourselves to a range of clients, from inexperienced room renovators to experienced multi-unit developers and contractors. The success comes from marketing ourselves through social media, and then turning into an initial conversation online, a follow-up phone call, and finally into a paid commission or recommendation.
As we mentioned, being authentic is key to us. We do a job well, we celebrate shape, form and colour by not taking on ‘bread and butter’ jobs. We accept jobs from clients who understand our vision, who are open to new ideas.
At the end of the day, as architects, we enter into a close relationship with our clients. We can market to them, but they have to then trust us enough to let us into their space to design and do what we love.
What is your preferred platform to promote your work on and why?
We prefer Instagram as a platform. Instagram is a visual tool with both video, imagery and hashtags which are all great tools themselves for media reach. We hold a public business account with around 9300 followers on Instagram and a further 10,000 followers across our other platforms.
We change our hashtags on Instagram every time we post to appeal to a range of audiences. We also use a business buffer tool to schedule our posts meaning we can organise how our social media page looks in advance of posting.
We find Instagram accessible as many businesses’, clients have it. We work with brands and can easily show our business trade relationship clearly and transparently too with the ‘business partner’ tag. Instagram allows us to monitor our engagement rate which shows us what our followers ‘like’ but this feeds back into our business - it helps us stay relevant with what our customers needs.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve got coming up and why?
It is hard to pick just one. We truly do enjoy each project we work on - otherwise, why take it on!
Currently, we have a 3600sqft apartment in a historic block in Holland Park, an Art Deco style double fronted home in Esher and I am also working on my own house extension and renovation in London. Each project has its own uniqueness, era, procurement and style of client, making each exciting for different reasons.
In 2019 - LOUD designed the UK first, bespoke cladding system for our client blogger and Author @Pinkhouseliving
In 2020 – LOUD published on the front cover of the TIMES home section
In 2020 - 2021 – LOUD published in; Homes and Gardens, GoodHomes, Daily Mail’s YOU Magazine, Build IT, Grand Design’s Live amongst others.
To find out more about LOUD Architects, visit their website or follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
