Earlier this year, the Construction Marketing Association asked how construction professionals nationwide had planned their marketing budgets for 2017. In response, 96.4% of them said that they want to increase their marketing efforts, and a vast majority stated that they planned to boost investments in their online presence.

Say what you will about construction professionals, but they’ve understood very well that to promote and take their small businesses to the next level, they need to increase their online marketing efforts. In an era where traditional advertising methods are losing their power, it’s paramount to keep pace and take one’s brand where the buzz is. Social media has now become one of the preferred methods that consumers use to research, engage, and communicate with the companies that might help them solve their problems. And, that’s what your construction company needs to do too.

But, with so many options and ever-changing trends, the question on every constructor’s mind is: “What should I focus on and what should I deem as unnecessary?”

Let’s find out.

1. Define Your Style Guide

You may see social media publishing as a burden if your primary focus is meeting deadlines, keeping up with contract milestones, and ensuring the safety of your construction sites. With so many tasks to accomplish, who has the time for creating and sharing content on social media?

That’s why creating a style guide as a distinctive section in your company procedure manual can come in extremely handy. These instructions are going to tell you how to write, when, and where, as well as how to design your documents.

Be sure to define the style for each communication channel you plan to use, as their voices are each different. For social media, your tone should be more relaxed and show that you are a down-to-earth company which understands its clients. For a professional channel, your communication may include more technical terms.

Don’t forget to set a publishing calendar as well to mark important dates in your company’s history, milestones, events, achievements, and so on.

2. Create Content Regularly

The more visible you are online, the bigger the chance you will have to nurture a lasting relationship with your current customers and find new ones.

Share content through more than one communication channel, but be sure to adapt your style for each of them. Twitter, for example, has the 140-character rule (although it may soon increase to 280), while on Facebook you can add photos and videos to increase your interactions.

One good lesson is to learn how often is too often, as you don’t want to spam your clients. This infographic explains what days and what hours are best for posting on some of the most important social media channels.

3. Publish Relevant Content

Relevance matters just as much as frequency. While it’s important for people to see that you are active on social media, it’s also beneficial for your small business for the content you create to be good quality and educational.

Position your company as a go-to resource for construction information by sharing links to interesting articles in the industry and creating content that is helpful and valuable.

Remember that social media interactions must come naturally. If you’re not very knowledgeable, give this task to a team member who understands how social media works. That individual will enjoy doing the job, and your clients will see the joy.

4. Measure and Analyze

The ultimate purpose of social media marketing is lead generation. Consequently, you should create each post with the hope that prospects will find it helpful and relevant and choose your construction company instead of the competition. But, to tell if your efforts are well worth it, you need to measure them closely.

Here’s what you need to check for:

  • Number of visitors (unique and recurrent)
  • Visits following social media articles/ads
  • Conversion rates
  • Referrals

5. Test, Revise, Use New Tools

One of the biggest concerns for many small business owners is a lack of patience. They often expect to see skyrocketing results one week into their social media campaigns. That’s not going to happen. Take your time to analyze if your strategy is effective or if you need to tweak it.

 

Try some other tools as well:

Focus on local SEO optimization, and get your page to rank at the top of search results. This may be difficult to attempt on your own, at least in the beginning, so you may think about finding a reputable SEO agency to help you out.

Invest in remarketing; remind past visitors about your construction business, and show them your new content. Use web directories, such as Yelp or Angie’s List. Make sure to build your profile carefully and include your contact information and testimonials from clients.

Social media marketing can offer an excellent way to boost your small business and get new clients. Make sure that you create relevant content, adapt your style to the platforms you’re using, and continuously measure results.