With another year ending, our construction PR and marketing agency in Essex are hearing a lot of businesses talking about their growth plans for 2020. This is hugely promising as companies are starting to look past the unknown effects Brexit may have and are soldiering on.
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One of the biggest changes these companies are looking to implement is the way they are marketing. It goes without saying that you can’t grow your business without growing your audience and therefore enquiries. The construction sector is labelled as having an old-school approach to lead generation and brand exposure.
For example, using ad space in local magazines, sending out calendars at Christmas, and leaflet drops. Sound familiar? At the very most they may have begun to dip their toe in the social media world or PPC ads on Google. Unfortunately, a lot of construction companies aren’t utilising digital platforms and, for lack of a better phrase, are late to the party.
There have been some huge algorithm changes in the last year both on social media and for Google’s SEO criteria that has started to change the marketing landscape. This means it is becoming increasingly difficult to gain audience attention in competitive industries. That is where we come in. As someone that has had a career in the construction and engineering industries, I am uniquely placed to assist with construction PR and marketing and write this blog.
What is construction PR and marketing?
It really isn’t much different to other B2B PR and marketing strategies. The main factor is ensuring you know both the industry and effective marketing techniques that suit it. First and foremost, you need to understand what your perfect consumer looks like. Once you have that information you can start to work backwards, figuring out what routes would work best and offer the highest return on investment. If you are outsourcing your construction PR and marketing it is important that you find an agency that has experience in the industry so that they can translate your brand message accurately to the appropriate audience.The goal with marketing is to attract the target audience, attaining more leads and therefore orders/ jobs. It is always best to have multiple active, but relevant, channels to spread your reach as far as possible with each channel supporting the others. We have listed some of the best lead generation methods below.
Social media marketing for construction companies
First and foremost, you need to consider your perfect consumer. This will help you determine what social media platform should occupy most of your time and effort. Chances are you will be looking at prioritising LinkedIn and Twitter for the construction industry. I would not rule out the other platforms entirely, as having as much digital presence as possible increases your chances of being noticed. In an ideal world, you would spend as much time as possible on all platforms to ensure great results. However, it is best to find out where your target audience is spending most of their time online and put your efforts there.
Whatever platforms you are using for your construction social media marketing, you need to ensure you are posting regularly and engaging with your audience. Doing this shows that you are consistent and have an active social media presence. This will make your business look a lot more credible and help gain the trust of your potential consumers. Using LinkedIn to connect with other business owners can be incredibly effective at generating leads when executed correctly and consistently.
Construction company SEO.
The construction industry is incredibly competitive, especially when it comes to SEO. Everyone wants to be number one on Google for their niche. Many will go down the PPC route and while that may suit a short-term strategy it can become very expensive. By focusing on organic SEO you will benefit from a longer lasting effect. It may take a little longer but for the best results there really aren’t any shortcuts. One route is on-site SEO which involves many elements. One of these is updating the copy and content on your website so that it ranks higher for certain keyphrases. Having a blog on your website is a great way to optimise, while keeping your audience up to date with industry and company news. All of this helps strengthen your brand and helps with the company’s credibility.
Construction public relations
PR is a great way for any company to gain more exposure. If you are working in a B2B market, then construction PR could help generate more leads. Here at VerriBerri, our PR team have connections with both mainstream and trade press. This means that we are able to have your company featured in editorial content in a mix of publications. These editorial features not only perform better than adverts they also cost significantly less. PR also means that you are seen as market leaders to both your audience and the industry. By featuring in both national, mainstream and trade press you are also creating more future content for your social media channels all while helping your SEO with mentions and potential backlinks.
Construction marketing and PR can be an intense, full-time job for a company to undertake on their own. If you feel that you could benefit from talking to the experts, then why not contact our friendly team today.