It should be no surprise that social media plays a huge role in the marketing and promotion of nearly every business. The construction industry is not immune to this fact. Social media serves as a major way to effectively create awareness about your business, build trust in your community and with your customers, and make your brand more accessible to the public.
The following details the results of a survey conducted on architectural/engineering/construction (AEC) professionals by the Construction Marketing Association.
2018 Survey Results:
Of the individuals surveyed, 100% reported using social media as part of their marketing program. The respondents indicated being employed by a company ranging in size anywhere from 1-10 employees to over 1,000 employees. This just goes to show that whether you are among a small startup or large corporation, every company should be utilizing social media.
The two most popular social media sites used by AEC marketing professionals are LinkedIn and Facebook in terms of effectiveness. According to the survey, 98% of construction professionals use LinkedIn, followed by Facebook (96%), Twitter (78%), and Instagram not far behind (59%).
Over half of the respondents reported that their main goal for using social media is to build brand awareness. Improving sales leads (22%) and increasing website traffic (22%) were tied as respondents’ second ranked goal. Of the total number of respondents, 70% reported having achieved greater brand awareness through the use of social media.
Now that you know the importance of social media for marketing purposes, it is important to understand how to effectively build a strong social media presence.
Understand your customers.
To effectively use social media, you must first understand who your target audience is. Once you have pinpointed who you are trying to reach, you can then determine where to find them. Which social media platforms are they most frequenting? Take advantage of the sites that cater to your target audience.
Use imagery.
Using photos and videos in social media posts is a proven way to boost engagement. It is an easy way to grab someone’s attention and get them wanting more.
Avoid using only branded content.
Be sure that you are posting more than just your company’s content. To vary your page and prevent your audience from getting bored, share information from third parties. Industry-specific content, news articles, and mentions of your company on other sites are great topics to include on your page.
Social media has become such an important part of everyday life. It is best if companies embrace this cultural norm as there is no sign of this changing soon. Companies should use social media to their advantage to market their products/services, generate brand awareness, and build customer loyalty.