Build Online Visibility (Without The Burnout) with Heidi Suutari | 086

Jon and special guest Heidi Suter, co-founder and CEO of Arkiste, discuss effective ways to build and maintain an online presence for architects and designers. They explore SEO tactics, the importance of having a detailed and updated portfolio, and using platforms like Pinterest for increased visibility. Heidi shares her journey into the architecture space and offers valuable tips for repurposing content and optimising your website. Jon provides insights into leveraging digital tools to avoid burnout while maintaining a strong online presence.
Today's Guest...
Heidi Suutari is the co-founder and CEO of Arkiste—a digital playground made just for design professionals, where architects and designers can show off their best work and get found by dream clients.Based in Helsinki but running an international crew, she’s a tech and marketing pro who’s obsessed with helping creative people win online. Heidi once got rejected from architecture school, but now she’s building Arkiste, so what goes around comes around. Always learning, and passionate about helping others succeed, Heidi’s here to make sure your work gets noticed online
Episode Highlights...
00:00 Introduction
01:18 Meet Heidi Suter: Co-founder and CEO of Arkiste
02:25 Heidi's Personal Interests and Background
04:07 Long-term Online Strategies for Architects
07:31 SEO Tips for Architects
17:10 Using Pinterest to Boost Visibility
22:29 Importance of a Well-Designed Website
27:22 Effective Social Media Strategies
30:34 About Arkiste: A Digital Playground for Designers
38:26 Final Thoughts and Favourite Places
40:00 Conclusion and Farewell
Key Takeaways...
Use SEO to Stand Out: You need to use the right words on your website to help people find you. Make sure to describe your work well and use the words that your clients might use to search for services like yours.
Share Your Work Online: Don't keep your amazing projects hidden on your computer. Share them online on platforms like Pinterest and your website. This way, more people can see your work and you can get more clients.
Keep Your Website User-Friendly: Your website is the first thing many people will see about you. Make sure it is easy to use, loads quickly, and has all the important information about your projects and how people can contact you.
Links Mentioned In The Episode...
To start showcasing your work online head to arkiste.com & sign up (for free).
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00:00 - Introduction
01:18 - Meet Heidi Suter: Co-founder and CEO of Arkiste
02:25 - Heidi's Personal Interests and Background
04:07 - Long-term Online Strategies for Architects
07:31 - SEO Tips for Architects
17:10 - Using Pinterest to Boost Visibility
22:29 - Importance of a Well-Designed Website
27:22 - Effective Social Media Strategies
30:34 - About Arkiste: A Digital Playground for Designers
38:26 - Final Thoughts and Favourite Places
40:00 - Conclusion and Farewell
What's the first step you should take to make your
Jon Clayton:portfolio more discoverable online?
Jon Clayton:And how can you build your visibility online without the burnout?
Jon Clayton:I'm joined by Heidi Suter to help you with exactly that in this episode
Jon Clayton:of Architecture Business Club.
Jon Clayton:The weekly podcast for small firm founders who want to build their
Jon Clayton:dream business in architecture and enjoy more freedom, flexibility,
Jon Clayton:and fulfillment in what they do.
Jon Clayton:I'm John Clayton, your host.
Jon Clayton:Having spent over 20 years working in architecture, I know how hard it can
Jon Clayton:be to explain your services so people truly understand and value what you do.
Jon Clayton:Many firms struggle with this, but by sharing your stories on podcasts,
Jon Clayton:you can become the trusted voice in your market, grow your brand,
Jon Clayton:and attract much better clients.
Jon Clayton:We can help you with everything from podcast strategy and launch
Jon Clayton:production and management, podcast hosting and guesting through to
Jon Clayton:promoting and growing your show.
Jon Clayton:If you'd like to discover how podcasting could benefit your business, click the
Jon Clayton:link in the show notes to book a noob obligation chat about working with me.
Jon Clayton:Or if you're interested in being a guest on this show, email, John.
Jon Clayton:That's JO n@architecturebusinessclub.com.
Jon Clayton:Now let's meet Heidi.
Jon Clayton:Heidi Suta is the co-founder and CEO of Astate, a digital playground made just
Jon Clayton:for design professionals where architects and designers can show off their best
Jon Clayton:work and get found by dream clients.
Jon Clayton:Based in Helsinki, but running an international crew.
Jon Clayton:She's a tech and marketing pro who's obsessed with helping
Jon Clayton:creative people win online.
Jon Clayton:Heidi once got rejected from architecture school, but now she's building Archis Day.
Jon Clayton:So what goes around comes around, right?
Jon Clayton:Always learning and passionate about helping others to succeed.
Jon Clayton:Heidi's here to make sure your work gets noticed online.
Jon Clayton:And if you'd like to start showcasing your work online, head to archis
Jon Clayton:day.com and sign up, or just click the link in the show notes.
Jon Clayton:Heidi, welcome to Architecture Business Club.
Heidi Suutari:Thank you.
Heidi Suutari:I, it's, I'm happy to be here and it's good to.
Heidi Suutari:chat with you.
Jon Clayton:Oh, it's great to have you here.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, really happy to be having a conversation with you today, Heidi.
Jon Clayton:Before we, we dig into the topic that we're gonna talk about I'd
Jon Clayton:like to know a little bit about you outside of the work that you do.
Jon Clayton:Can you tell me a little bit about what you enjoy doing outside of work?
Heidi Suutari:Well, outside of work, I, I love gardening.
Heidi Suutari:So that, that is what I do, at least in the summertime over here.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, I actually have a, like little lot of land just outside the
Heidi Suutari:city of Helsinki where I crow my.
Heidi Suutari:Tomatoes and squashes and uh, whatever, uh, plants and, uh, veggies.
Heidi Suutari:So that, that is actually one thing I enjoy quite a lot.
Heidi Suutari:So actually I'm planning to go there, go there to some, what are the
Heidi Suutari:tomatoes after this podcast as well?
Heidi Suutari:So.
Jon Clayton:So I, um, I, I will say this now, I, I'm not green fingered at all.
Jon Clayton:Like my wife, she's the one that enjoys the gardening.
Jon Clayton:I love sit.
Jon Clayton:It's sitting in the garden and walking amongst.
Jon Clayton:The nature and gardens, but I'm, I'm terrible when it comes
Jon Clayton:to anything gardening related.
Jon Clayton:Having said that, many, many years ago when I was a teenager, I, I did
Jon Clayton:some summer work on a tomato farm.
Jon Clayton:So that was my kind of like farm, um, agricultural experience.
Jon Clayton:So yeah, and it used to take ages once I got back home, like
Jon Clayton:cleaning the green off my hands.
Jon Clayton:But I've never, I've never gone back to it since.
Jon Clayton:So that was quite a long time ago when I did
Jon Clayton:that.
Heidi Suutari:well, I, I can tell you that my, my plant or plant plantation
Heidi Suutari:is way more smaller, smaller scale.
Heidi Suutari:So, uh, there's only like three tomato plants over there, so,
Jon Clayton:Yeah,
Jon Clayton:yeah, we were dealing with, uh, with hundreds, so yeah, probably
Jon Clayton:slightly different scale, but yeah.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:Great to be doing something like that though.
Jon Clayton:So Heidi, we are gonna talk about long-term online strategies so that.
Jon Clayton:You can build visibility online without the burnout.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, I think it's gonna be a great topic to talk about, are really useful
Jon Clayton:for everybody 'cause um, it is really easy to get overwhelmed with all the
Jon Clayton:different options we have online.
Jon Clayton:So having some long-term strategies we can use, that's
Jon Clayton:gonna be for great for everyone.
Jon Clayton:So just before we dig into that, could you tell me a little bit about how you ended
Jon Clayton:up here in this world of, of architecture?
Jon Clayton:How did that happen?
Heidi Suutari:Well, as you said in the intro, I, I did apply to
Heidi Suutari:architecture school in like 20 years ago.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, didn't get in, but yeah, I started doing other things, but design
Heidi Suutari:has been like always like very, I. Core and close, close thing to me.
Heidi Suutari:So I have studied, um, graphic design for example, but then I have
Heidi Suutari:graduated or started to do, uh, digital marketing and working with technology
Heidi Suutari:and, uh, things online basically.
Heidi Suutari:But I started like while ago thinking like, I want to do something else,
Heidi Suutari:something else that it's like more.
Heidi Suutari:More interesting that than just, uh, helping B2B companies,
Heidi Suutari:uh, tech companies and create something on our own, on my own.
Heidi Suutari:And, uh, I met my co-founder who is actually, he has a
Heidi Suutari:background in architecture.
Heidi Suutari:I. But he is currently, uh, working as that US designer.
Heidi Suutari:And we came up, came together and we were starting to brainstorm different
Heidi Suutari:ideas like what we should do and what's kind of things are exciting us.
Heidi Suutari:That's basically how architect came through or came about.
Heidi Suutari:We started to think like, okay, is there are like platforms for those
Heidi Suutari:people who create, uh, digital.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, stuff, digital pixels, uh, graphic designers and so on, on the internet.
Heidi Suutari:There are platforms, but that for them, but they are not platforms for people
Heidi Suutari:who create actual physical places.
Heidi Suutari:I mean, of course there's like, arc dailies and such, uh, places,
Heidi Suutari:but they are more curated ones.
Heidi Suutari:And of course, they're Instagram or.
Heidi Suutari:Um, bee hands, but they are not like, specifically made for
Heidi Suutari:this industry or this field.
Heidi Suutari:So what we were deciding that, yeah, let's, let's do a place where people
Heidi Suutari:who design places, architects, interior designers, they can share their work.
Heidi Suutari:They, it can be professional.
Heidi Suutari:Community, so to speak.
Heidi Suutari:So where you can connect with your colleagues and, um, potential employers
Heidi Suutari:and also a place where potential clients can find, can find you.
Heidi Suutari:So that's basically like a short background, how artists that came about.
Jon Clayton:Cool.
Jon Clayton:Well, we'll, we'll touch upon that again before we, before we wrap things up.
Jon Clayton:So.
Jon Clayton:It's interesting.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:Both you and your co-founder, there was that interest still or background
Jon Clayton:in architecture that's kind of led you to, to where you are now.
Jon Clayton:Let's dig into then some of the strategies then these long term
Jon Clayton:online strategies that we, we can use to build our, our visibility.
Jon Clayton:Could we start with SEO how do people.
Jon Clayton:Actually search for architects online when they're looking for a practice
Jon Clayton:to work with.
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, I think that it can actually start way before
Heidi Suutari:they are ready to actually buy.
Heidi Suutari:So people can dream or think about their like dream houses or dream
Heidi Suutari:things and save your work to their own inspiration boards or wherever.
Heidi Suutari:So I think that is a very good reason to.
Heidi Suutari:Put your work out there to these platforms before your potential client even knows
Heidi Suutari:that they are looking for your services.
Heidi Suutari:So, uh, expose people beforehand.
Heidi Suutari:But also, uh, I think like when they are starting to get ready
Heidi Suutari:to buy and ready to look for.
Heidi Suutari:Look for the professionals they're looking for.
Heidi Suutari:They are using, uh, probably like, architects in your city or interior
Heidi Suutari:architect, or interior designer in your city, or there are looking for certain
Heidi Suutari:styles or certain types of designs.
Heidi Suutari:So I think it's like super.
Heidi Suutari:Important that your website's language or the language that you're speaking with
Heidi Suutari:is actually matching these keywords that they are showing up in Google search.
Heidi Suutari:And I think like in the future, maybe even Chachi P Search.
Heidi Suutari:So it's like the similar thing actually to optimize your, uh, websites.
Heidi Suutari:To those, uh, both search places basically.
Heidi Suutari:So you need to talk about what you do and be very clear what
Heidi Suutari:kind of, uh, services you provide.
Heidi Suutari:And try to think a bit like a client that is looking for the
Heidi Suutari:type of services that you provide.
Heidi Suutari:And try to think like what kind of keywords I should put my website.
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:So, one of the things there that I'm picking up on is that, that people
Jon Clayton:could be thinking about a project way before they're ready to hire.
Jon Clayton:I.
Heidi Suutari:Yes,
Jon Clayton:They could be exploring and, and looking for ideas online
Jon Clayton:and, and sort of doing that sort of research to kind of get ideas
Jon Clayton:and learn about what they could do.
Jon Clayton:So there's an opportunity for us to be found far earlier.
Jon Clayton:I. In that journey from them having that initial idea to them actually
Jon Clayton:getting to the point which could be way down the line when they're actually
Jon Clayton:ready to invest in working with an architect or a design professional.
Jon Clayton:So what you're saying is that if we, if we put content out there online and we
Jon Clayton:consider the types of words, the types of language that our prospective customers.
Jon Clayton:We'll be searching for when we are putting our portfolio out there or, or talking
Jon Clayton:about what we do, that then we can capture people, we can, they can be looking for
Jon Clayton:our portfolio or they could be reading our articles way before in advance.
Jon Clayton:And then when it gets to the point when they are ready to buy, we are
Jon Clayton:more likely to be front of mind when they are ready to work with us.
Jon Clayton:Does that kind of sum up what you, you're thinking?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah.
Heidi Suutari:So yeah, definitely people are, I think, like when I think myself, I like, I
Heidi Suutari:like to do my research before and I like to dream and I like to plan things
Heidi Suutari:and I do have my Pinterest boards about things I would love to have in my future
Heidi Suutari:house or, or things I, things I love.
Heidi Suutari:So I, I can use those, I mean.
Heidi Suutari:Those are the things that if you as a designer, you put your work out there,
Heidi Suutari:you might end up in the mood boards of the clients and maybe the potential
Heidi Suutari:clients are loving you enough so that they are actually reaching out to you
Heidi Suutari:when they, when it actually, it's, it is time to make, uh, these decisions,
Heidi Suutari:uh, when they are ready to buy.
Jon Clayton:Okay,
Jon Clayton:so if we're gonna put out our work and we're gonna share our portfolio how can we
Jon Clayton:make our portfolios easier to find online?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, I think like you, well you have to put
Heidi Suutari:your, uh, first thing first.
Heidi Suutari:You have to put your portfolio online so that it's not buried in, in your computer.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, I think like, for, well, I think like the audience for this
Heidi Suutari:are more, more entrepreneurs, but if you are just or just um, or an
Heidi Suutari:architect working for a company, I.
Heidi Suutari:You should still work.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, still put your work out, uh, out there and not just bur bury
Heidi Suutari:it into, into the PDFs on your, on your computer, uh, because nobody,
Heidi Suutari:it, it is not gonna find it.
Heidi Suutari:So it's like if, I think it's important to use the different platforms,
Heidi Suutari:different platforms, uh, whenever you are creating a new project.
Heidi Suutari:So just update, uh, update those at the same time.
Heidi Suutari:Same time you're updating your portfolio that lives on your computer or whenever
Heidi Suutari:you have like a new, new project.
Heidi Suutari:So you should have that there.
Heidi Suutari:But I think like, uh, what you should definitely include, include
Heidi Suutari:uh, to every case you have is the location, uh, the styles.
Heidi Suutari:Challenges that you had or had with that project in that, uh, description.
Heidi Suutari:So Google and all these other, uh, search engines are.
Heidi Suutari:able to find those those projects.
Heidi Suutari:Projects because it's, um, well Google it is still just a machine.
Heidi Suutari:It is not it is not very much else than just the machine.
Heidi Suutari:So, and the machine understands language, uh, written language especially.
Heidi Suutari:So, um, Google is able to crawl those websites and find.
Heidi Suutari:Find the information on those websites.
Heidi Suutari:So the better descriptions and the, the more you tell about, uh, your
Heidi Suutari:projects, it's easier to those machines.
Heidi Suutari:Search engine engines to find, find you and, uh, push you out to the right
Heidi Suutari:people when, uh, they're searching.
Heidi Suutari:Searching for those, um, results.
Heidi Suutari:So yeah, that is at least one thing.
Heidi Suutari:And uh, for the website it's.
Heidi Suutari:It's smart to create a dedicated page for each project that you
Heidi Suutari:worked with so that you have like good images and good descriptions.
Heidi Suutari:And for the websites, it's also very important that you link.
Heidi Suutari:To one page to another.
Heidi Suutari:And, uh, you also get links from other pages to your project.
Heidi Suutari:So for example, you create like a Pinterest pin and then, uh, off,
Heidi Suutari:off your project and then uh, link back to your, back to your
Heidi Suutari:website or back to your portfolio.
Heidi Suutari:So that's.
Heidi Suutari:Makes also, uh, Google easier to navigate online to find your project.
Jon Clayton:Okay, so the first step is to not leave our portfolio of work.
Jon Clayton:Just sat on a hard drive to actually take the step to.
Jon Clayton:Take that work and publish it online.
Jon Clayton:So that's the first thing.
Jon Clayton:Then in doing that, you mentioned that it was really important to have, uh,
Jon Clayton:a good description with those images.
Jon Clayton:So rather than just that portfolio, just being some glossy photos
Jon Clayton:that's great, but like even better to make it more discoverable.
Jon Clayton:We have a, a detailed description about the project and you mentioned
Jon Clayton:there about talking about.
Jon Clayton:Some of the challenges that maybe were faced during the, the process
Jon Clayton:of bringing that project to life.
Jon Clayton:So it's, the more information we can put in there then the more words we've,
Jon Clayton:you know, Google's got to be able to find, and particularly if we're using
Jon Clayton:amongst that copy key words and phrases that our ideal customers could be
Jon Clayton:using, that then there's an opportunity for us to, to put those in that.
Jon Clayton:Description within the portfolio, which is gonna make it easier to find.
Jon Clayton:And the last thing you mentioned was about, um, the importance of the link.
Jon Clayton:So like we, we've got an opportunity to then link, um, to take that page that
Jon Clayton:we have for that project, to link it to other places and to also have links
Jon Clayton:from other platforms like Pinterest, for example, that if the images get shared
Jon Clayton:there, we can then back link it back to our, our portfolio on our website.
Jon Clayton:Yeah.
Heidi Suutari:And that is actually one super important thing that a lot of
Heidi Suutari:people don't even know about that much.
Heidi Suutari:So it's like.
Heidi Suutari:Super important to get those links, uh, links to your site.
Heidi Suutari:So, so your link, uh, so your site is getting like this authority and it
Heidi Suutari:shows up higher on, on Google as well.
Jon Clayton:Hmm.
Jon Clayton:So let's, let's talk a little bit about.
Jon Clayton:Pinterest about how we could use Pinterest.
Jon Clayton:Could you share your thoughts on that?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, I think like it's a brilliant tool for people
Heidi Suutari:who design different spaces.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, it's like one of the biggest actually, uh, search engines.
Heidi Suutari:So it's not just a place to put your beautiful pictures, but it is, it
Heidi Suutari:works as a, like a search engine.
Heidi Suutari:So you have, you can put your pictures there.
Heidi Suutari:And then you have to put your descriptions descriptions of those
Heidi Suutari:pictures, pictures over there as well.
Heidi Suutari:So I think it's like smart to tell about the project or tell about
Heidi Suutari:that picture that you have there.
Heidi Suutari:And it's ever cream.
Heidi Suutari:So it is not something.
Heidi Suutari:Like, for example, if you post your pictures on Instagram, it's
Heidi Suutari:Instagram is a bit different.
Heidi Suutari:So it, it is not people go there more to just look, look other
Heidi Suutari:people or uh, look just stu stuff.
Heidi Suutari:And it's like, it's not a place where you can actually link to your
Heidi Suutari:website, but in Pinterest you can actually link to your website and.
Heidi Suutari:Usually Pinterest is a place where people are going to find this, like inspiration
Heidi Suutari:and, uh, looking for different ideas.
Heidi Suutari:Ideas.
Heidi Suutari:So Pinterest, I think it's, it's like super great.
Heidi Suutari:Tool for architects and interior designers, and I
Heidi Suutari:think it's like a bit, mm,
Heidi Suutari:mm,
Heidi Suutari:not like underused, but, uh, going a bit like under, under their radar.
Heidi Suutari:But basically, uh, what you should do do there is post the images from
Heidi Suutari:from your site or from your project.
Heidi Suutari:To drive actually traffic back to your port portfolio.
Heidi Suutari:So you get those backlinks, back links, uh, from Pinterest and then
Heidi Suutari:also create boards of your specialties.
Heidi Suutari:So for example, create a, if you are.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, let's say you, you design office spaces, so you can create a different
Heidi Suutari:boards about like modern office spaces for, or London office spaces.
Heidi Suutari:So you should create those boards so it's, they are showing up, uh, when the people
Heidi Suutari:are actually actually looking for those.
Heidi Suutari:Um, ideas, uh, to pin on, uh, on Pinterest.
Heidi Suutari:And when you have your Pinterest, uh, LA active, or when you have your, uh, photos
Heidi Suutari:on Pinterest, actually those Pinterest posts can send traffic for years.
Heidi Suutari:Unlike Instagram, Instagram or well LinkedIn, it doesn't really support.
Heidi Suutari:Support, uh, visuality that well.
Heidi Suutari:But well, when people, because Pinterest is a search eng engine
Heidi Suutari:it can really drive traffic.
Heidi Suutari:Way, way longer than Instagram because Instagram is more
Heidi Suutari:like, uh, living in the moment.
Heidi Suutari:Of course, you can put these hashtags and uh, whatnot, but if you, if you have, for
Heidi Suutari:example, posted your work to Instagram like five years ago or, well, even a
Heidi Suutari:year ago, it really doesn't come up.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, come up, um, that easily because it, it is an old post, uh, but in a
Heidi Suutari:Pinterest, it actually can surface when you, if, if you have, uh, created
Heidi Suutari:right kind of create, if you have added right kind of key keywords.
Heidi Suutari:Keywords to there, there.
Heidi Suutari:So
Heidi Suutari:So
Heidi Suutari:I think.
Heidi Suutari:It's gonna help you like long-term, with a long-term visibility, quite a lot.
Heidi Suutari:Comparing to other social media channels that are, I think, a bit more fast paced.
Heidi Suutari:So you need to really update it like all the time.
Heidi Suutari:time
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Jon Clayton:Now, back to the show.
Jon Clayton:Pinterest.
Jon Clayton:I, I completely agree.
Jon Clayton:It's, um, it's a really underrated tool.
Jon Clayton:I think you're right.
Jon Clayton:It does go under the radar.
Jon Clayton:If you're listening to this and you'd like to learn more about Pinterest, we
Jon Clayton:did an episode specifically on Pinterest.
Jon Clayton:It's probably, I can't remember the episode number, but it was with, um, a
Jon Clayton:Pinterest specialist called Faye Strange.
Jon Clayton:And it was about this time last year, so you're probably
Jon Clayton:gonna need to go back maybe.
Jon Clayton:50 episodes.
Jon Clayton:But yeah, we did a whole episode on Pinterest, so please, if you'd like to
Jon Clayton:learn more about that specifically, go and check that okay, Heidi, so Pinterest's
Jon Clayton:great and it's important, but there are other things that are important as well
Jon Clayton:when it comes to long term, uh, strategies to build your visibility online.
Jon Clayton:How about our websites?
Jon Clayton:I mean, how, how important is our own website when it comes
Jon Clayton:to building our visibility
Jon Clayton:online?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, I think it's like your digital HQ or, or your first
Heidi Suutari:impression to your potential clients,
Heidi Suutari:so
Heidi Suutari:so it should be, Easy enough to navigate and e the p your potential
Heidi Suutari:clients should find easy enough your projects and what you can offer to them.
Heidi Suutari:I know that a lot of, I have, going through like a lot of
Heidi Suutari:different, uh, website that are more, uh, more creative style.
Heidi Suutari:Sometimes they work, but sometimes they are like super, super confusing and not
Heidi Suutari:that easy to grasp as a potential client.
Heidi Suutari:So there should be like some elements that are.
Heidi Suutari:Or in the, like, right places, uh, to the potential clients and easy to navigate.
Heidi Suutari:So they shouldn't be like, too confusing.
Heidi Suutari:Too confusing.
Heidi Suutari:But of course, like you should definitely show your, your style how
Heidi Suutari:you work and why the, your potential clients should work with you.
Heidi Suutari:So that, that, that is like super important information.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, what there should be, uh, what.
Heidi Suutari:You should have there.
Heidi Suutari:And, uh, I think like if the, well, if the website is slow or, or confusing
Heidi Suutari:so it can really, people get frustrated really fast, uh, really fast these days.
Heidi Suutari:So people can just go away and click off, click out of, of your website.
Heidi Suutari:If it, if it's like not working or there are not, the pictures are not
Heidi Suutari:loading or it is a bit confusing.
Heidi Suutari:So you should have have the website that is like easy, easy to use and it's fast.
Heidi Suutari:And if you have a CEO friend sites, it's, it's, I think like it's key to
Heidi Suutari:convert those people who are interested about you into potential leads.
Heidi Suutari:So you should have some sort of a easy way for people to conduct.
Heidi Suutari:Contact you.
Heidi Suutari:So, have your information there and have, have a little box of like,
Heidi Suutari:uh, how, how people can reach you.
Heidi Suutari:So tho those things are, I think I. Important stuff that you should have at
Heidi Suutari:least nailed, nailed on your website and, uh, yeah, to have the SEO, uh, on place.
Heidi Suutari:So if you are working, let's say Manchester, so uh, you should have.
Heidi Suutari:That on your website and you should have at least one dedicated place.
Heidi Suutari:If you are, for example, interior architect in Manchester, you should
Heidi Suutari:have a A page that you tell that you are interior architect working, working
Heidi Suutari:from Manchester, and what kind of projects you actually do and tell them,
Heidi Suutari:like tell there is like you cannot have or you cannot tell, like too much
Heidi Suutari:information I think on your website just.
Heidi Suutari:Make it like a different pages if there is like lots, lots to tell.
Heidi Suutari:So put out like more pages.
Heidi Suutari:Pages over there as well.
Jon Clayton:Okay, so have a site that is fast loading.
Jon Clayton:It's clear, uh, it's, it's easy to navigate and.
Jon Clayton:We put plenty of information on there, but we can break it down into a different
Jon Clayton:number of pages to make that information more easily digestible, and that once
Jon Clayton:we're clear on what type of projects and what locations we're working in,
Jon Clayton:all those sorts of things, we can start to create pages on a website that are.
Jon Clayton:Keyword optimized for you.
Jon Clayton:You said the example there, if you're like a, an interior designer or
Jon Clayton:architect in Manchester that, you know, it'd be pretty darn good to have that
Jon Clayton:written on the website, you know, um, to, to help people to, to find you.
Jon Clayton:So yeah,
Jon Clayton:absolutely.
Heidi Suutari:Indeed.
Heidi Suutari:And, uh, for, and if you specialize on something, if you specialize, for
Heidi Suutari:example, sustainable design or you work with sustainable materials, tell that
Heidi Suutari:also because I think like nowadays, people are really, uh, looking for
Heidi Suutari:options that are working, for example, with sustain, uh, sustainability or,
Heidi Suutari:or something, something like that.
Heidi Suutari:In mind.
Heidi Suutari:So tell them, tell people, and tell the Google that also, that
Heidi Suutari:it's, it's able to find you.
Jon Clayton:absolutely.
Jon Clayton:So, Heidi, what about social media?
Jon Clayton:Because social media, it, it can be exhausting for some people.
Jon Clayton:They're, they're trying to like post every day or several
Jon Clayton:times a day on some platforms.
Jon Clayton:I mean, what's, what's the alternative to that approach?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, I think like, well for example in Instagram, I
Heidi Suutari:think like you have to post quite often there so that your page or
Heidi Suutari:your work is actually shown and seen.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, but I think like people should focus on quality or quantity.
Heidi Suutari:So I think like, not posting, posting daily, uh, for me, I think like.
Heidi Suutari:Designers, they have like a lot of, lot of going on in their daily, daily work.
Heidi Suutari:And if you are working as a entrepreneur that you have a
Heidi Suutari:lot of things on your table.
Heidi Suutari:So I think like you have to find the ways that you don't have to obsess
Heidi Suutari:every single day, uh, to posting.
Heidi Suutari:To post in a different social media, uh, channels.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, one thing is like you can schedule stuff.
Heidi Suutari:So there are, there are tools if you, if you want to spend like one day up.
Heidi Suutari:A month to check schedule different social medias.
Heidi Suutari:That is, I think that is very viable.
Heidi Suutari:But I think like you should also repurpose, uh, your content as well.
Heidi Suutari:So if you have a project update, so you can create like a multiple different
Heidi Suutari:post about this and then you can repurpose that, that same, those same
Heidi Suutari:posts like let's say hot six months later or a year later, so you don't
Heidi Suutari:have to reinvent the wheel all the time.
Heidi Suutari:I see it.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, I see a lot of people who are posting on Instagram or posting on LinkedIn that
Heidi Suutari:they are, they're actually, uh, they don't have that much of a content, but they
Heidi Suutari:are actually reposting their, like old content, which is like people have short.
Heidi Suutari:Attention spans so nobody's going to remember that.
Heidi Suutari:Yeah.
Heidi Suutari:She posted that like three months ago.
Heidi Suutari:Three months ago, and now, now it's again like why is she doing that?
Heidi Suutari:No.
Jon Clayton:so true.
Jon Clayton:It's, um, not only did people have short attention spans, but I
Jon Clayton:mean, statistically on most of the platforms, only a a fraction of your
Jon Clayton:audience actually will see that post.
Jon Clayton:So if you're putting something out and like.
Jon Clayton:Only 5% of your followers see it, then it makes sense that, well, surely I
Jon Clayton:should post this again so that some of the other 95% that didn't see it
Jon Clayton:actually get the opportunity to see it.
Jon Clayton:And as you say that you could have a, a selection of posts that you could.
Jon Clayton:Just do a little bit of variation maybe with the, the wording
Jon Clayton:or maybe swap out the image.
Jon Clayton:It could be directing them to the same project, case study, and you could have
Jon Clayton:that going out on, on a cycle, just recycling the same content each month.
Jon Clayton:Why not, you know?
Heidi Suutari:Yes, it's more work smarter, not harder.
Jon Clayton:Uh, yeah, that's it.
Jon Clayton:Work smarter, not harder.
Jon Clayton:That kind of sums it up well, um, Heidi, could you just tell
Jon Clayton:us a little bit more about Aday?
Jon Clayton:Just, you told us a little bit about how it came about in the introduction, but
Jon Clayton:tell us a little bit more about who it's for and how we can use the platform.
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, well, uh, it is for people who work in the different fields of
Heidi Suutari:architecture and in their interior design.
Heidi Suutari:So architects, uh, landscape architects, interior architects, interior designers.
Heidi Suutari:So it is a built to solve the pro problem that, um, well, you don't have your.
Heidi Suutari:Outdated, uh, outdated static portfolios sitting on your, on your hard drive
Heidi Suutari:or you don't just post your, to your Instagram or keep it there.
Heidi Suutari:So, and it is, well, of course you can have like, for example, your
Heidi Suutari:LinkedIn, but LinkedIn doesn't really support this like, visual aspect
Heidi Suutari:aspect of the show in your work.
Heidi Suutari:And then they are like the hands or, or triple, but they are, they are for
Heidi Suutari:most, mostly of those people who are, who are designing pixels, not spaces
Heidi Suutari:for people who are designing different physical spaces, uh, to show their work.
Heidi Suutari:Keep your portfolio up to date.
Heidi Suutari:So it's like super easy to share your, share your, uh, profile to potential
Heidi Suutari:clients or potential employers or people, colleagues or whatever.
Heidi Suutari:So it's like easy.
Heidi Suutari:Easy to show and show your work, share your work, and update your
Heidi Suutari:work because well, when we were doing the first interviews, we.
Heidi Suutari:we.
Heidi Suutari:We realized, or we understood that there was already a problem, that sometimes
Heidi Suutari:the, in your hot, hot drive, there is a, there is a file or folder when the, the,
Heidi Suutari:uh, PDFs are named, like latest, latest, latest portfolio, 2005, 2000 something.
Heidi Suutari:And it's like easy way to keep your work, uh, updated and strong.
Heidi Suutari:Show to the right people.
Heidi Suutari:And idea is that it's also help, helps to get you discovered by the right clients.
Heidi Suutari:So people can come to ARG site and they can look for different kind of projects.
Heidi Suutari:Projects and the clients, potential clients can actually
Heidi Suutari:reach out to you directly.
Heidi Suutari:So it is a place where your work is not buried into a ton of irrelevant content
Heidi Suutari:or, or a ton of under, behind like a lot of different types of content.
Heidi Suutari:So it is a place where.
Heidi Suutari:When people have a need to find somebody to look, to look for architects
Heidi Suutari:or look for a designer, they can come over there and search, search
Heidi Suutari:and, uh, first find an inspiration.
Heidi Suutari:So that's why it is important that you, that you have your work.
Heidi Suutari:Shown there.
Heidi Suutari:And it's also important that you, uh, have your project descriptions there so
Heidi Suutari:people can actually find them, find them.
Heidi Suutari:And it's also, well it's also a good place gain your gain back links to your website.
Heidi Suutari:When I, when I was mentioning that, that uh, you should get that back links
Heidi Suutari:to your website from other places.
Heidi Suutari:So it is a great place to get tho those.
Heidi Suutari:Those as well.
Heidi Suutari:And I think it's like idea both for emerging professionals
Heidi Suutari:and established firms.
Heidi Suutari:So we are supporting, currently you can create your own personal, uh,
Heidi Suutari:profile on architect, but then also you can create your company profile.
Heidi Suutari:A and I, I know that there are a lot of cases where there has been
Heidi Suutari:one project, but there has been a lot of people who have collaborated
Heidi Suutari:on that project and sometimes people are a bit afraid to share.
Heidi Suutari:Share those, um, projects if they are not like, really if it's
Heidi Suutari:owned by a company, for example.
Heidi Suutari:But we have tackled that so that, for example, when a company creates
Heidi Suutari:a projects project on the site, they can hack, uh, those people
Heidi Suutari:who have worked in that project.
Heidi Suutari:So you get that credit as well.
Heidi Suutari:So, uh, it'll show on your profile as a collaborational, uh, project.
Heidi Suutari:So when you are looking for.
Heidi Suutari:Well, if you are a person who is looking for a job, so you actually
Heidi Suutari:get the credit of those projects that you have been working, uh, before.
Jon Clayton:Ah, sounds really cool.
Jon Clayton:Thanks for, for sharing Heidi, what, what's the main thing that you'd
Jon Clayton:like everyone to take away from our conversation today about the, the topic
Jon Clayton:we've been talking
Heidi Suutari:I think like, um, people should treat their online presence a
Heidi Suutari:bit like an ecosystem, so to speak.
Heidi Suutari:So you should have your.
Heidi Suutari:your.
Heidi Suutari:Websites, you should have your socials, uh, you should have your, uh, portfolio.
Heidi Suutari:So you should have those all.
Heidi Suutari:But, uh, you should have like, um, a good and keep those updated.
Heidi Suutari:All, all, all of those places and remember to update, update all those.
Heidi Suutari:And I think like, uh, if you put.
Heidi Suutari:I mean, you don't have to, well, you don't have to reinvent the wheel all
Heidi Suutari:the time, so repurpose your content or do the small tweaks so it can
Heidi Suutari:really boost your visibility and, uh, bring the right kind of clients.
Heidi Suutari:And I think also descriptions and the authentic storytelling is super important.
Heidi Suutari:And you should, think a bit like your client or, uh, try to think like what
Heidi Suutari:your client would want to hear about these projects that you have made before.
Heidi Suutari:Because it, uh, builds
Heidi Suutari:trust
Heidi Suutari:really fast and the more clear the descriptions are, it is.
Heidi Suutari:Easier for the potential clients or potential employers, uh, to
Heidi Suutari:contact you and work with you?
Jon Clayton:Got it.
Jon Clayton:That makes sense.
Jon Clayton:Was there anything else you wanted to add about the topic
Jon Clayton:that we haven't already covered?
Heidi Suutari:Hmm, well, I think like people should show their
Heidi Suutari:personality and passion, passion, uh, to come through because of course.
Heidi Suutari:Clients love seeing that.
Heidi Suutari:And,
Heidi Suutari:and
Heidi Suutari:sometimes I think like as an architect, you might be like too
Heidi Suutari:deep into what you're doing, uh, and you're seeing it a bit too close.
Heidi Suutari:Uh, so I suggest that you don't get stuck on these like technical
Heidi Suutari:details or technical jargon and try to think like, the message.
Heidi Suutari:That you're sending to the clients.
Heidi Suutari:So clients wants clear, clear messaging and clear clear descriptions,
Heidi Suutari:and the clients want to know that why you're different and why they
Heidi Suutari:should work basically with you.
Jon Clayton:I love that.
Jon Clayton:So show a bit more personality
Heidi Suutari:Yeah.
Jon Clayton:and and um, yeah, be really clear how you describe things.
Jon Clayton:So it's easy for.
Jon Clayton:You're the right clients to understand what you do.
Jon Clayton:So Heidi, I've got one more question I wanted to ask.
Jon Clayton:I love to travel and to discover new places.
Jon Clayton:I was just wondering if you could tell me about one of your
Jon Clayton:favorite you love about it.
Heidi Suutari:Oh, well, um, well I have been, uh, traveling in Finland, uh,
Heidi Suutari:into, to Lapland, but I usually don't go there in the winter time because it's.
Heidi Suutari:it's.
Heidi Suutari:Well, it's quite dark over there and quite cold, but I love going
Heidi Suutari:there in the summertime when the sun doesn't sit down and it is super
Heidi Suutari:nice and it's super beautiful and sometimes it's like super hot as well.
Heidi Suutari:So, um, maybe I object to finish.
Heidi Suutari:Lapland would be nice and then you can go to have a sauna over
Heidi Suutari:there and hiking and all that
Heidi Suutari:stuff.
Jon Clayton:Oh, that sounds fantastic.
Jon Clayton:Yeah, that's, that sounds very well worth a visit.
Jon Clayton:I shall add it to the, the growing bucket list of places to visit.
Jon Clayton:So, Heidi, thanks again for joining us today, uh, for coming
Jon Clayton:along, sharing your expertise.
Jon Clayton:Um, do you wanna just remind everybody about the, the website where the
Jon Clayton:domain, where they can find it?
Heidi Suutari:Yeah, it's.
Jon Clayton:Okay.
Jon Clayton:And that is, uh, I'll spell that out actually, just so there's no confusion.
Jon Clayton:That's A-R-K-I-S-T e.com.
Jon Clayton:And I'll put a link in the show notes as well, so it's easy for
Jon Clayton:people to, to find the site.
Jon Clayton:Perfect.
Jon Clayton:Well, thanks again, Heidi.
Heidi Suutari:Thank you very much.
Heidi Suutari:It was a very pleasant to talk with you, John.
Jon Clayton:Thanks so much for listening to this episode
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