Going to High Point Market? Here’s What to Share with Your Audience

High Point Market is an interior designer’s dream. Inspiration is everywhere. You’ll spot industry shifts, meet people from your designer circles, sit-test new furnishings, talk to vendors, go on tours with mentors or lead them yourself, go out to eat, and on and on.

Frankly, it sounds like an absolute blast, and as someone who’s not a designer, I’m still waiting for the year when I can finally attend. Until then, I’ll continue to live vicariously through our clients, many of whom have us write blog posts and newsletters for them after their trip. Which brings us to today’s topic.

Have you ever wondered…

• What and how much should I share about my HPM trip?
• What do my clients and my audience care about?
• When should I share? Is waiting a month too late?

If so, keep reading to enjoy our quick guide to impactful sharing.

What Should You Share about High Point Market?

01. WHY YOU GO TO MARKET + THE BENEFIT FOR CLIENTS

The natural inclination is to post photo after photo of all the items and styles you have an opinion about. But before you do, help your audience understand why you actually go and how it’s relevant to them. Because you’re not just on a shopping trip. You’re doing on-the-ground research and relationship-building that directly benefits for your clients.

02. TRENDS, OR BETTER YET, “INDUSTRY SHIFTS“

Regardless of your personal feeling about trends, we have years’ worth of data showing that designers’ audiences love to read about them. To keep your audience from jumping on the trend bandwagon, you could use the term “trends” in a title or subject line (for SEO + getting attention), but consider calling them “industry shifts” in the copy itself. “Shifts” feel a little less fleeting than “trends,” which is more aligned with a client who wants to invest in a home that lasts.

Note: When talking about trends and shifts, don’t be afraid to inject your own opinion in there. Just because you’re seeing a shift to [insert trend], doesn’t mean you have to recommend it to your clients. They are reading your content for your opinion. Let them know how you feel about it and the applications you could see for it in projects, if any.

03. YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE STYLES AS A TASTEMAKER

Speaking of your opinion, by all means, share what resonates with you. Try to edit down your finds, too. I know that choosing between favorites is hard (can’t even tell you how many clients we’ve done this for), but oversharing is just going to overwhelm people.

If you can, go through your photos and pick out your top 10 items, maximum. Share what you love about them, why, and how you could see them impacting client projects.

04. NEW VENDORS, PRODUCTS OR INNOVATIONS YOU’RE LOVING

Part of the value of hiring an interior designer is working with someone who has their finger on the pulse of the industry. I know I’m not alone in cringing when I see photos of new, builder-grade homes with features that immediately date it. Your clients are hiring you for the opposite: design that is custom, enduring, and personality-filled. Showcase that.

05. PERSONAL ANECDOTES

People love to follow people, so don’t be afraid to share some personal details around your trip. Does your audience need to know exactly what you ate for every meal? Probably not, though ONE good, artsy food picture has its place. Do they want to know that you met your designer BFF or mentor for the first time in real life? Sure, but a quick sentence or two is probably enough. Do they want to know that you tripped on your way out of the elevator and crashed into your lifelong design crush? Absolutely. Anything funny — add it.

When Should You Share Your HPM Content?

SOCIAL VS. BLOG + NEWSLETTERS

When you’re at HPM, you’re not going to have time to whip up a blog post or draft a newsletter about the event. And frankly, that’s absolutely unnecessary. If you want to share images from the event on social media in real time, go for it. But content that is more structured and thoughtful can absolutely wait.

For starters, your audience has NO IDEA when High Point Market is. They’re living their own lives and probably don’t care anyway. So feel free to take your time and compose something thoughtful to share in a month or two.

HOW TO FRAME YOUR CONTENT

Unless you know that your audience is gung-ho on High Point Market, you don’t need to frame your content as “What I Saw at High Point Market” or “Trends from High Point Market.” This won’t mean anything to most people. Instead, I recommend framing your content in one of these ways:

• Design Trends Coming to Homes in 2025
• 5 Design Industry Shifts You’re Going to See Next Year
• Interior Design Styles to Watch in 2025
• Interior Design Styles that are on our Radar
• Why We Attend Design Markets Every Year
• How Attending Interior Design Markets Benefits our Clients
• Style Watch: What We’re Currently Loving

You get the idea. Make it about what’s new and coming, your great eye, and/or the benefit for clients — and your audience will love it.

Until next time,
Jaquilyn