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Steal This: Showrooms’ Social Media Playbook
Welcome to the digital age, where your future customers are deciding whether or not to do business with you based on your social media posts. Here’s what works for some of this year’s Showroom of the Year Finalists.
These days, it’s not enough to have a tremendous product selection, a beautifully merchandised showroom, and a knowledgeable staff. Your store has to have a lively social media presence that will engage both past and future customers.
This week, I’m sharing how Finalists of the 2026 Showroom of the Year (SOTY) competition handle and plan their social media presence in order to stay top of mind in their selling area.
EL Design, located in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove, Ill., views its Instagram and Facebook pages as a way to “showcase curated collections” of higher-end lighting, furniture, and décor products. The showroom creates visually compelling posts, stories, and reels that highlight new arrivals and seasonal collections as well as design inspiration.
Another platform that EL Design uses is LinkedIn. “It allows us to connect with architects, designers, and corporate clients and share project updates, thought leadership, and industry insights,” said Kelly Gallagher, president. “We also use Google to optimize search visibility and run targeted campaigns that reach both local and national audiences. By combining engaging content, strategic advertising, and consistent branding across these platforms, [we] effectively build community, promote collaboration, and establish [EL Design] as a go-to resource for design inspiration and high-quality lighting solutions.”
Besides highlighting new arrivals and designer collections, Accent Lighting of Wichita, Kansas, regularly features recently completed projects and installations on its social media pages.
“Rather than just posting products, we aim to inspire,” remarked Tammy Dalton, marketing director. “We show how lighting transforms a space and educate customers on scale, placement, and layered lighting. In essence, we are reinforcing our consultative approach.”
Among the Accent Lighting posts that generate interest are those that offer lighting tips, design guidance, and behind-the-scenes showroom updates.
At Bright Ideas in Albuquerque, New Mexico, “Our showroom uses a strategic and consistent digital presence to connect with clients, designers, and builders both locally and beyond,” stated Arielle Cofer, showroom manager.
Bright Ideas has a dedicated social media manager who creates fresh content almost daily that alternately showcases new products, showroom displays, project highlights, and design inspiration.
Utilizing Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, Bright Ideas shares behind-the-scenes showroom updates, lighting design tips, and promotional content that includes in-store sales and special events.
“These platforms allow us to stay visually engaging and top-of-mind with our audience,” Cofer said. “We also utilize Houzz and Pinterest as powerful design collaboration tools where clients can explore curated lighting ideas, save inspiration, and work with our team on concepts and selections — even if they are unable to visit our showroom in person. By combining frequent social media engagement with design-focused platforms, we are able to extend the showroom experience online and connect with customers wherever they are in their project journey.”
Hermitage Design in Nashville approaches digital marketing as an extension of the in-showroom experience. “Our team maintains a daily presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, positioning us as both a design authority and industry thought leader,” commented Danielle Fleischer, senior vice president of marketing.
At Construction Resources (CR) in Atlanta, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram are the platforms of choice. “We will showcase new displays, finished projects, designers in our community as well as CEU classes and events held in our showroom,” said Cindy Herrin, general manager for lighting.
CR also collaborates with designers, builders, and trend influencers on its social media reels and posts.
“We also work with digital publications to spotlight market trends, design trends, and our team — many of which have been featured in ‘Rising Stars in Construction’ and ‘Best of Home Improvement’ [in our area],” Herrin added.
The social media strategy at KIE Supply in Kennewick, Washington, is described as intentional, authentic, and relationship-driven.
“We recognize that today’s customers begin their inspiration journey online, so our digital presence reflects the same expertise, creativity, and warmth they experience in our showroom,” said Amelia Kittson, president.
KIE Supply has hired a local marketing firm to create consistent content across Facebook and Instagram by adhering to a structured social media calendar.
“This allows us to strategically showcase new product introductions, vendor partnerships, seasonal trends, showroom displays, and completed projects,” noted Kittson. “More importantly, it allows us to share the story of who we are as a family-owned business rooted in the Inland Northwest.”
The key to maintaining authenticity in its social media messaging is to be locally relevant. KIE Supply team members are frequently seen in campaigns, real client projects are highlighted, and any local collaborations are featured.
“By combining professional content with genuine storytelling, we create posts that resonate beyond product features and instead build trust and connection with our audience,” Kittson added. “We also embrace video content and evolving digital trends to make lighting approachable and engaging. Whether we are demonstrating product functionality, showcasing showroom transformations, or offering design inspiration, our goal is to educate while inspiring.”
At Kilohana Lighting in Hawaii, owner Susan Irie explained, “We realize that people are visual, so we regularly post to Facebook and Instagram. We provide handy tips about lighting (such as discussing when to use warm color temperatures vs cool) and ceiling fan efficiency.”
Kilohana also shares images of projects the showroom has been involved with as well as images of new products. “In our social media, we emphasize that we are a locally owned business – not a big national chain – with people who are passionate about lighting and finding customers the best solutions for their homes,” Irie said.
In Puerto Rico, LED Distribution Corp., has had a lot of success and recognition from its active and consistent social media presence.
“We have a Facebook page with over 50,000 followers, as well as an Instagram account, where we regularly post about new products and special offers,” noted Bryan Rivera, president. “We use daily posts of photos, videos, and reels, and highlight updates through stories. We also keep our followers informed about store hours and product launches.
I think what sets us apart is our fast and personalized response to all inquiries we receive, whether through direct messages or comments. This approach allows us to maintain direct and effective communication with our customers and providing them with exceptional customer service through our digital platforms.”
Lighting Design of Draper, Utah, has found “notable success” through its social media platforms and TV advertising. The showroom’s Instagram account has 133,000 followers and has worked with influencers such as lifestyle influencer Hailey Devine, Witney Carson and Lindsay Arnold of Dancing With the Stars, DIY influencer Lindsay Dean, actress and dancer KayCee Stroh of High School Musical, and is currently working on a large project with Utah lifestyle influencer Cara Loren. In addition, Lighting Design’s Pinterest has a monthly viewership average of 4 million, plus 2.19 million+ video views, 22,000+ likes, and 15,000 followers on TikTok.
How has it achieved those incredible numbers? From the very beginning, founder Jean Eyre has been laser-focused on marketing. Eyre developed a long-standing relationship with FOX13 digital marketing services and attributes much of the showroom’s early success to its TV and radio ads.
Lighting Design has also been featured on FOX’s home page in advertisements and videos.
Recently the showroom invested in digital display ads, localized SEO, SEM paid advertising, and sponsored articles that Eyre said has yielded millions of views. In February 2026, advertisements that ran during the 2026 Winter Olympics provided an estimated one million impressions. Working with two major Utah news networks also reinforced Lighting Design’s brand locally.
Another SOTY finalist in Utah is Nova Lighting, which is located in Oren and was formerly known as Hansen Lighting. This showroom also concentrates on maintaining consistent, high-quality content across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Among the topics featured on its social media channels are collaborations with builders, a look at real Utah homes, plus announcements of new products and install days.
Rather than relying on stock imagery or vendor-provided assets, Nova has built an internal library of professional photo and video content from completed projects. “This ensures our marketing reflects real installations, real scale, and real performance in the environments our customers live in,” explained Brooke Hatch, marketing manager.
“Our content balances inspiration with practical education. We address the questions homeowners and designers ask most often, such as color temperature, layering, fixture scale, stairwell lighting, kitchen pendants, and outdoor compliance,” she noted. “We position our social media as a learning tool rather than just a visual feed. We feel that short-form video and reels humanize the brand by highlighting staff expertise. We also highlight our involvement with parade homes and show behind-the-scenes project work.”
Nova Lighting also creates collaborative posts with builders and designers as a way of extending its brand reach across multiple audiences while strengthening local partnerships.
Another hyper-local aspect to Nova Lighting’s social media campaigns is its strategic seasonal and project-based campaigns that align with Utah’s building and remodeling cycles.
“Digital engagement is treated as an extension of our service model. We respond directly to comments and messages and have turned our social platforms into an additional channel for lighting guidance and relationship-building,” Hatch stated.
Key take-aways from the finalists
• Emphasize local partnerships and collaborations
• Show behind-the-scenes peeks that engender the feeling of “knowing” the staff
• Treat social media as an additional opportunity to highlight great customer service and responsiveness
• Be consistent in your posting frequency
• Be educational in an engaging way
• Show photos of recent, local projects
• Highlight new products as they come in
• Designate someone to make social media marketing a priority
Stay tuned for more tips from the finalists of the Showroom of the Year Awards in coming weeks.
Cindy Morris, president of Dallas Market Center, and I will announce the SOTY winners in each revenue category live at Lightovation on Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m. on the Main Stage of Trade Mart 3 Loft. I hope you will join us in congratulating your peers on this achievement.
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