Social Media Communities for Architects and Engineers

Finding a place where people can offer you information about your passion is not always easy. It depends on what your passion is and the overall popularity of it. Another important factor is just how much of a passion it is considered to be, whether rightly or wrongly. For some people, their job is their passion. For others, their job is simply that and they dedicate their spare time to their passion. In the cases of architecture and engineering, these two generally tend to fall into the latter category: Most people on the outside see it is a job and nothing more. However, there are plenty of architects and engineers who are so passionate about these two areas that they may as well be considered hobbies. While they may not be as elegant or trendy as more traditional hobbies, they are two areas that people enjoy and are excited about. Surely this meets the definition for a hobby?

There is plenty to get excited about regarding architecture and engineering. Even if you are just looking at the marvellous designs, it is hard not to be impressed by the effort and skill that goes into each of these areas. Additionally, both have their own sense of beauty that can be appreciated. Because of this, it is no wonder that some members of these groups would be looking to find a space where they can interact with each other and share their passion. Such a place does exist, though it may not seem like it does. This place is social media. Billions of people from all around the world have social media accounts. It is practically impossible that no architect or engineer would have an account on social media. Quite the opposite is the case, in fact, as both areas are represented by social media communities that are dedicated to each topic. This community is fuelled by the interaction from others who share this passion. This leads to people developing online accounts and even going as far as paying money to websites like IIGERS one to get the attention this topic deserves. There is a community out there so lets find out more about it.

What is out there for architects on social media?

Architecture is all about design. With the visual focus emphasised by numerous social networks, architecture has found the perfect home. Due to its visual impact, architecture works well in an environment that promotes its content through the use of images. Architecture is a popular topic on social media. To have an idea, there are nearly one hundred and twenty-five million posts on Instagram alone that use the #architecture hashtag. A quick look at these results shows you that a large amount of these posts are there to enjoy the beauty of architecture and celebrate it with others who share their passion. And this is just one social network; other ones are bound to have similar levels of interest in the topic.

What about in the case of engineering?

While it is true that social media has less instances of hashtags that are solely dedicated to engineering, Instagram still has almost seven million posts that use this hashtag. These posts tend to celebrate the innovative streak involved in engineering and, as such, tend to draw a lot of attention. These posts are used to show an interesting side to engineering and try to work against the idea that engineering is just a job or that it's boring. Engineering can be fun and entertaining for everyone is the point they try to get across. More people are needed to get on board and help this community grow in the hope that, one day, its numbers will rival that of architecture.

How to get attention on social media

If you are passionate about either of these two topics and you want to help them gain more exposure then feel free to have a go at it yourself. Create your own account in the name of either one, or both, and take to the online world to share your passion. There are many ways that are recommended to get attention.  As we mentioned above, the use of hashtags is a crucial way to get your name out there into a ready-made community. There is no limit on the number of hashtags you can use but it is generally recommended not to use more than eleven per post. This number gives you the chance to use a combination of general and specific hashtags to categorise your content. You can also use variations of the same hashtag in order to get even more attention.

Paying for social media features

The only way that you can guarantee these features for your profile, and therefore guarantee its growth, is by paying for them. This is an option that has emerged in recent years and there are now hundreds of websites which offer social media users the chance to purchase all manner of social media features in order to boost the popularity of their social media account. With the help of these features, your profile will become more visible and it will be easier for new people to come across it. This is where the popularity of this approach comes into play. If you opt for this path, there are several strategies that are recommended when it comes to adding the features you have paid for to your account. With views and likes, add as many as you can as this is the only way they will have an impact on your interaction. For comments, adding one or two should suffice as comments tend to generate more engagement from other users as it is. In the case of followers, it is advised that you add a small number of followers at regular intervals in order to gradually raise the level of engagement for your profile.