In this video, Polly Barnfield, OBE, explains how construction and home‑renovation firms can leverage throwback Instagram posts to attract new clients. Using the example of a London‑based company, New Projects, she shows how showcasing a completed, high‑profile renovation (with a celebrity client) – complete with hashtags and a narrative about the project – can inspire prospects and demonstrate the firm’s capabilities. She recommends adding before‑and‑after images for greater impact. Barnfield then outlines a practical networking strategy: create and join Instagram groups of complementary trades (plumbers, interior designers, architects, florists, furniture suppliers, etc.), follow competitors, and actively engage by liking, commenting, and even recreating posts. This systematic engagement builds referral relationships and keeps the business visible to the right audience. The video ends with a call‑to‑action to click the City Play button for further help.
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Today we're looking at how throwback photos can drive new business through social media. This is new projects and they are based in London and as you can see, they mainly use Instagram to show off some of their stunning projects. And they do quite a lot of face to camera, really showing, I guess, the team that you would get coming to work on your home or your new project. And here what I really love is it says this is a throwback to one of their favorite projects in film, with the pleasure of working with the one and only David Gandhi, the supermodel himself, on his home renovation. Now, most people know who David Gandhi is. So we're not expecting every single construction company to be able to show a throwback like this. However, any kind of throwback is always good because it shows how amazing it is. So here, and they've done the little hand to really show exactly where it is. And then it's saying that they went above and beyond to create his dream space. They're showing how stunning it is. They've put their little hashtag new. And as part of it, they're showing how beautiful all this. They're explaining and everything that they did. And check out the photos, let us know what you think. And then they've obviously used all the hashtags which you would expect to use as part of this as well. And I think what I really, really like about it is that they've shown, I guess, the best of it. What would have been nice is to see maybe the befores as well. However, basically what they're doing is they're celebrating, you know, the fact that it's a finished project. It shows the vast level of potential that this company have. And what they can achieve was giving clients, I guess, ideas on what they could do to change their own properties as well as giving some inspiration as well. Now if I was a new project, one of the things that I'd want to do is maybe create a group of businesses that I could start engaging with. So if you think about it, they are construction. So they would work with plumbers, interior designers, architects, people like that, you know, in terms of like referrals and networking, that kind of thing. So one of the things that I would do is go onto maybe and I would start adding them in. I might look at competitors as well. I would start adding them in as groups. And then as part of that, then once you've added in the groups, you might say, I don't know, I want to engage with them. I, I want to look at florist for example, maybe to furnish some of my houses, I might want to look at furniture, so interior designers, maybe, things like that. And then what the what would then start coming up are any of the businesses that are are partaking in those areas. Then you can start to like them, you can start to comment on them, you can even recreate their posts. And it's just such a good way of, I guess, being able to constantly engage with people that genuinely actually build your business, as opposed to randomly. Now, as always, if you've got any questions at all, click on the City Play button. We love to help.
