A Balancing Act
Print and online marketing strategies are a balancing act in any industry. The more you blog, use LinkedIn and social media, the more your SEO goes up. The more association meetings or trade shows you attend, the more your company becomes recognized.
Familiarity of your brand, personalizing your team and creating solutions is key in marketing to the A/E/C industry. In order to build your brand, A/E/C firms should consider using a mix of Internet, advertising and public relations.
Opportunities and strategies to help you engage, share and connect:
- Email marketing
- Newsletter – printed or electronic
- Website blog
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social media activity including videos, podcasts, webinars
- Advertising opportunities
- Conferences and trade shows
- Sponsorships, co-sponsorships
- Award entries
- Printed collateral, brochures
- Direct mail
- Public relations opportunities
- Speaking engagements, thought leadership
- White papers, authoritative articles
- Charitable participation
- Hosted round tables, receptions/open house
Comet Creative takes a look at top A/E/C marketing initiatives and ties together strategies that produce results:
Goal: INCREASE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE
Strategy: Use online communication – blog, newsletter, video, email marketing and social media efforts
Results: Will organically drive more targeted traffic to your website, which will give you more opportunity to gain followers that are legitimately interested in your products and services.
Goal: INCREASE EXPOSURE; ATTRACT NEW FOLLOWERS
Strategy: Public Relations – news articles to local media, national media and free wire listings; sponsorships, speaking engagements and charitable participation
Results: Not limited to geography, viewers are given opportunities to read about your company on various media platforms. Credibility is gained from being published. Unlimited amount of viewers can access online published content (projects, employees, partnerships, community involvement).
Goal: STAY TOP-OF-MIND WITH CURRENT AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Strategy: Email Marketing and Advertising – print ads, association ads, sponsorships, direct mail, trade show and conference ads, award entries
Results: “Push” marketing and targeted ads increase website traffic, brand awareness and provide opportunity to track and measure efforts. Advertising elevates your brand position in the marketplace and increases lead opportunities.
Goal: GROW BRAND AWARENESS; SHOWCASE YOUR FIRM’S PERSONALITY
Strategy: Social Media and Blog – post to your accounts and link to others that mention your brand and projects to increase exposure and virility
Results: Spread awareness and showcase work, including projects under construction. Reveal more about the people in your firm to display a balance of professional work and get to know people on a personal level. Become more approachable and make your firm look more like a group of people rather than a commodity. Align your brand with industry leaders – share accomplishments and projects of your clients, developers, contractors and subcontractors.
Goal: FIND TALENT AND MONITOR THE INDUSTRY
Strategy: Social Media – LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Vimeo, Issuu, Google+, Blogs, RSS feeds
Results: Find and pre-qualify people on sites like LinkedIn. Eyeballing a few active groups or liking Facebook pages that aggregate construction market information can provide insights to trends and customers. Tuning in to thought leaders can be useful for generating imaginative answers to pressing problems, or even provide inspiration when you’re feeling uninspired.
