Photo by Ivan Henao
Originally Posted On: 7 Elements Of A Great Construction Marketing Strategy (themauldingroup.com)
It’s Time For Your Construction Marketing To Get Creative!
Covid-19 changed the world. It sparked businesses all over to re-evaluate how they operate. The construction business has been no different. For many contractors, it has meant figuring out how to strategically work factoring in the needs of social distancing and use of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). Yet, while like many industries, construction has seen its share of challenges during the pandemic, many companies are seeing this time as a way to get creative with their construction marketing, to not just survive but actually build a better brand.
Construction Marketing Challenges
Construction Marketing has always had its challenges. As the new era of device-driven technology takes over everything from communication to project proposals, construction company owners have been forced to embrace it often in place of traditional “handshake” interactions.
So, what are your steps if you are contractor, developer or construction business owner seeking to use construction marketing to establish and increase your brand? Here are few ideas to help you “build” your brand, increase qualified leads and get your company in front of the right decision makers.
Construction Marketing Ideas That Work
1. Establish A GREAT Website. Every business needs a website! Whether you are a small contractor who offers home remodeling services or a large company building multi-million-dollar skyscrapers, you must have an online presence. Potential clients are going to want to look you up on the Internet. Think of this as your business card, your website builds trust. It helps to establish your legitimacy as a company. If potential clients can’t find your company online, they will often move on to their next consideration.
Your Construction Marketing Website Should Have:
An About Page – This tells your website visitors who you are, your history and experience.
A Services Page – Lets clients know what services you have to offer.
A Testimonials Page – This is important to build trust.
A Gallery Page – To provide visual impact and show the results of your work.
A Blog Page – For support of SEO through continued updates via fresh content.
A Contact Page – So that potential clients can reach you easily.
Corporate Identity Branding and Strategy Services
*Don’t Forget SEO (Search Engine Optimization)! SEO is crucial for getting your website to the Top of Google Searches.
To have good dynamic SEO, your website needs both Off- and On-Page SEO. In addition, you should have an avenue such as a blog to continually feed good updated SEO content to your website.
2. Embrace Social Media. Okay first off, let us just say social media is not just about “playing on Facebook”. Social Media Marketing is an effective tool for construction marketing. The key is doing it right.
For those contractors and companies in the home building and remodeling services’ market, social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are essential for reaching homeowners. These platforms can help you to build a great referral community to “pass on” your name and advertise your services by word of mouth via the Internet. Social Media is also a great way to get personal and build relationships with your followers (customers). Let the community see who you are as a civic business leader. And while, having a Facebook Page is a standard for all businesses, for those in the B2B market and larger-scale construction companies, your primary platform should be LinkedIn.
Having a LinkedIn presence will help you to connect with decision-makers that are seeking proposal submissions for large projects. It can also help you to build a great referral network with vendors. The key is to make sure your LinkedIn Profile and Page is attention-getting, informative, and professional. Use the posting of articles to establish your company as a knowledgeable leader in your industry.
3. Create A Newsletter. Newsletters are an amazing tool for email marketing. Once a month is the ideal base marketing schedule. Use a newsletter to highlight projects you are working on or have completed. Share your community outreach and company member highlights. While yes you can and should promote a sale or discount as part of your email, for your newsletter to be effective its content should not all be about sales! In the end, newsletters are the perfect tool for establishing and maintaining a relationship with your existing customers.
4. Make An Impact With Video. Whether you are looking for a way to introduce your company on the Home Page of your website or use it on social media as a recruitment tool, video delivers your message quickly. Creating just one video can provide you with a marketing tool that can be on your website, in your social media posts, and emailed out in your newsletter. Considering all the “marketing” mileage you can get from one video; it may be one of the best investments you can make for your construction marketing.
DID YOU KNOW?..”59% of executives prefer video instead of text.” (Wordstream)
5. Build a Partnership. No building is made up of only one material. Partnerships are essential in the construction business. And, they can be terrific lead builders. Work with trusted vendors to build a partnership list. LinkedIn is one to the best platforms for sourcing potential partners. Make a partners’ page on your website with a contact form for those who may wish to join up. Be sure to explore other organizations that may be a benefit to join and publicize your membership on your website. The ACG (Associated General Contractors of Georgia) organization is a great place to start. Also, be sure to connect with your local Chamber of Commerce and Business Associations.
6. Host a Webinar. Consider hosting a webinar with a topic pertinent to your industry. This is a great way to attract potential vendors, clients, and employees, you just have to gear it to whatever audience you wish to attract. *Home Services Contractors, hosting a webinar is the perfect way to show your expertise and gain potential leads.
7. Use PPC To Bring In Qualified Leads. PPC (Pay Per Click), also known as Paid Advertising, is a highly effective way to get you in front of the right audience AND garner more qualified leads. The key is having someone who is trained and knowledgeable in how to perform PPC correctly. PPC often requires a degree of “tweaking” and can be a very fluid marketing tool; it really requires careful oversight to perform its best, This is one marketing tool best left to experts and not just anyone otherwise, you can end up wasting marketing dollars and have little leads to show from it.
Construction Marketing is An Investment That Will Pay Off If Done Right
Construction Marketing takes a team that is knowledgeable in marketing and comfortable working with the industry. While often many small construction businesses will try to keep their marketing in-house, such as using an admin to do the work. This decision can often actually end up costing you money, delivering little results. In addition, this can be a headache for your office staff.
A marketing team that has all the resources in-house can carefully coordinate and design a construction marketing strategy for your business that delivers results. More qualified leads coming in, can mean more profitability. In addition, a well-trained, expert marketing team will be able to perform services effectively, assuring the right emphasis is placed on the tools that best fit your company where you are at the moment.
The Mauldin Group Are Construction Marketing Experts
At The Mauldin Group we understand the complex and unique marketing services those in the construction and home services industries require. With a combined 30+ years of experience in digital marketing and media design, our team can coordinate a construction marketing strategy that will deliver to you the results you are looking for.