There is no getting around it; digital marketing is such a vital component of any industry, and while there’s a misconception that more commercial industries like construction do not benefit from social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, the reality is quite different. In fact, like many other businesses, you can use social media as a key facet of your digital marketing strategy. But how can you do this?
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Is Social Media Marketing Actually Useful for the Construction Industry?
Many construction companies who conduct work on commercial buildings may believe they are not going to benefit from social media marketing because of the nature of the industry. After all, what does building structures have to do with social media? But the reality is that when you are working in any industry, you are dealing in the business of people. Even if you are operating within B2B the company you work with is made up of people. Therefore, as your target audience and ideal buyer are present on social media, you should be as well.
How Does Social Media Drive Results Within the Construction Industry?
The answer to this question depends on your social media marketing strategy and your overarching goals for your social media accounts. Social media can drive brand awareness in a number of different ways:
- It provides a platform for your business. If you want to provide great construction social media content and insightful information, a social media platform is a fantastic way to engage your target audience.
- It establishes a symbiotic relationship between business and consumer. By engaging with people on social media, you will be able to ascertain certain pain points so you can drive the best solutions.
- It is a great way to generate leads. When used within the context of a solid social media and marketing strategy, it can drive leads to your website and, therefore, your construction company.
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How Can Construction Companies Start Using Social Media in Construction Marketing Strategies?
If you are starting from the ground up, it can take a lot of effort. In the construction industry, the hardest part is getting started. But in order to do this effectively, you need to follow a solid structure. Here is a rough layout to ensure you are able to reach potential clients through your social media platform of choice:
Decide on a Goal
In any sector, the key to successful social media marketing is to set the right goals. Social media is a very powerful tool, but it’s only going to work if you have an understanding of the platform and how you will incorporate your goals on that platform while also measuring your progress.
Measuring your results is crucial because this will align directly with your goal. If you are looking to get the word out about your construction company, you might think that measuring clicks and traffic is the best place to begin, you are better off measuring how many people are engaging with a blog post or piece of content. The more visibility you acquire, the closer you will be to reaching your goal of awareness.
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Choose the Right Platform
For any marketing strategy, the way to increase brand awareness is to choose the right social media platform, and choosing the right platform will depend on your target audience. Each social media platform will have its uses. Here are some of the most popular and how they can help you reach your goal
- LinkedIn. LinkedIn gears its content towards professionals. For companies looking to drive targeted conversions and raise brand awareness in a professional setting, such as B2B, this is an ideal choice.
- Facebook. Facebook is the most dominant platform on social media. If you are looking to appeal to local and global customers, posting photos from a construction project to a local group can help to drive engagement.
- Instagram. This is another great way to start posting photos from a project and share “before and after” pictures as well as highlight new products. Instagram is a great tool for growing your brand because it deals with the most important factor to drive engagement: visuals. Visual marketing is so important as the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text.
These three platforms can make a big difference but the key is to choose one or two platforms. You may be able to keep a solid presence on every social media platform, but maintaining just one or two will help during the initial stages and in the long run.
Be a Regular Poster
You might find that coming up with a blog post or posting photos gets in the way of you doing good work, but the key to successful social media marketing is being consistent with your posting. Consistent posting to your social media shows potential customers that you are active and engaging with your audience. Posting frequently helps with your brand recognition and can even help increase your local SEO presence.
The frequency of your content will vary depending on your platform of choice. For example, on Facebook, you should be posting at least once a week but should be aiming for once a day. However, it’s far better for you to focus on quality content rather than frequency.
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Providing Diverse Content
Many construction companies make the mistake of thinking they should only provide straightforward content, like before and after photos. But if you are looking to grow your construction business, you have to vary your content to keep things fresh and interesting.
This is where understanding the best types of content that drive engagement can help you. One day you could be posting photos, the next you could create a blog post, and a few days later, you could share an industry-focused article that you found useful. It doesn’t have to be original content, but the goal is about maintaining regularity and diversity.
When you provide diverse content for your construction business, ensure you are giving out information that appeals to different types of buyer personas, keeps followers entertained, and is likely to help you maintain a solid reach.
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Engage With Your Target Audience
When you have successfully set up a social media marketing strategy, rather than just “setting it and forgetting it,” you need to be active in how you engage with people. Because social media is about being social, this is critical to how you are perceived and will translate to quality leads.
Whether you are on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, you should get involved in pages that are relevant to your company. LinkedIn is especially effective but a quick glance on social media can highlight a number of industry-specific groups you can get involved in.
Engaging is, in many ways, very simple, you just start talking! You can start a conversation, respond to other questions, share helpful information, and the more you do this, the quicker you will establish a presence on social media. While it’s important to link it back to you and your services it is important not to be self-serving but rather, you should be genuinely helpful. After all, while you can learn the ins and outs of digital marketing for construction companies, it is worthless if you aren’t genuinely helpful.
Social media is one of the most important tools for growing any business. Rather than thinking that the construction industry is not ripe for growth through social media, you can harness the powers of digital marketing in combination with a solid social media strategy to ensure that you build your business in the right ways. Any business deserves a chance to showcase its talents, which is why it’s time to engage in social media marketing.