About The AIAAbout The AIA

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the largest professional social networks. In mid-October 2012, 4,175 LinkedIn users were following the AIA company page and 16,027 AIA members were in the AIA LinkedIn group.

How We Use LinkedIn: Our presence on LinkedIn is twofold. The AIA LinkedIn group is a discussion forum for AIA members only. This forum enables members to network with their peers in a trusted online environment. The AIA company page is a showcase where we can tell our company’s story, post the latest Institute updates, highlight our products and services, share job opportunities, and drive word of mouth at scale. Users who “follow” the AIA receive our updates in their own newsfeeds. Go to LinkedIn

Facebook
The social networking site Facebook is for more than just family and friends—Facebook can be used for business, too. As of this writing, 24,297 users “like” the AIA National Facebook page. These likes include not only members but prospects, architecture fans, photographers, vendors, and educators as well.

How We Use Facebook: The AIA National Facebook page serves two purposes: to engage with friends around news about the practice of architecture and the architecture profession and to share Institute news. Thus, we vary the information so we cater to all audiences. Many friends also post to our “Wall” or tag us in posts which, in turn, also show up on our page. To build community and show support, we feature images of members’ projects as our cover image for the page. Friends who “like” the AIA National Facebook page receive our updates on their own Facebook home page newsfeed. Go to Facebook

Twitter
Twitter lets users share information quickly, in 140 characters or fewer. Power Twitter users are loyal to the site, checking their timelines multiple times per day via their desktops and mobiles. Many of our 27,739 Twitter followers are members, prospects, vendors, and fans.

How We Use Twitter: We use Twitter in a variety of ways, most notably sharing news from within the AIA as well as the architecture profession. We also post information about upcoming events; new products, programs, and services; membership campaigns; and retweets our followers may find interesting. We sometimes tie tweets together via hashtags. We rotate images of Institute Honor Award recipients in the profile banner. In addition, we host a monthly Twitter chat, AIA Chat, on a variety of architecture practice-related topics. Go to Twitter

Foursquare
Foursquare is a geolocation social networking site that lets users “check in” to a site on their mobile smartphone, earn points (enough points can garner you a “mayorship” of a venue), and share with friends who follow you. Foursquare can be linked to users’ Twitter and Facebook accounts, thereby gaining promotional value for the AIA.

How We Use Foursquare: With its focus on specific locations, Foursquare enables us to highlight many of our award-winning locations. As a public-facing initiative, the award-winning sites are categorized by building types more commonly known among the public. Our Foursquare account highlights these sites and features nuggets of information about the sites (“tips”). We also use Foursquare for select contests during National Architecture Week and the national convention for increased awareness about these events. Go to Foursquare

YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing site that is changing our culture. Low-budget, user-generated video is increasingly being accepted as the norm. Anyone with a mobile camera can record a video, register on YouTube, upload their video to the site, and share it with the world. It has become one of the most popular video-sharing sites.

How We Use YouTube: From videos of AIA leaders to conference presentations to knowledge communities’ presentations, and more, the AIA National’s channel on YouTube houses all of our videos. The videos are embedded throughout the AIA’s website and linked to from other AIA social networking sites. Our videos are tagged and YouTube users can also find our videos in their relevant search results. Subscribers to the AIA National YouTube channel can receive updates in their YouTube feed. Go to YouTube

Pinterest
Pinterest is one of the latest social networking sites causing a firestorm on the Internet. Pinterest is a social networking and social publishing sites based on the sharing of images. Users create an account and then create individual pin boards on themes of their choice. Pins are simply links to websites that must contain an image or video.

How We Use Pinterest: Similar to our Foursquare account, Pinterest is a public-facing account. We feature pin boards by building type and other select initiatives (Pinterest asks that your boards not be too self-promotional.) The pin boards are tagged appropriately to help users find our content in their relevant search results. Go to Pinterest