Do you know how to implement digital marketing for your construction company? Most large businesses have learned how to use digital platforms, but small businesses have a unique edge. For large companies, they may need appropriate approvals and oversight. For a small business, you can compare and determine easily what your construction company needs.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is also known as online marketing. It refers to advertising through digital channels to promote your brand. There are many forms of digital marketing for construction companies such as:
- Social Media
- Websites
- Search engines
- Online Leads
- Messaging
Now more than ever, it is important to establish your online brand. In a recent survey, it was found that 60% of people research a brand online before making a purchase. According to Forbes, small businesses going digital helps to transform their business.
How to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Construction Company
In today’s world, it is vital for a company to have an online presence. How many times have you researched something online before purchasing? If you want to be a step ahead of many of your competitors, this is your opportunity.
Previously, a business just needed to be concerned with its yellow page ad. Many construction companies have not used their online presence as they could. If you place an ad in a newspaper or put up a billboard, you won’t really know how many people see your ad. However, if you establish an online presence, you will get detailed statistics on who is visiting your pages.
Now there are more ways to increase your online brand for your construction company which will help you get more clients.
As discussed above, 60% of people are conducting online searches before making a purchase. What steps can you take to transform your business into the new digital age?
Develop a website
One way to develop digital marketing for your construction company is to develop a website. Your website should showcase your projects, your achievements, and show the services you offer. It should be professional. Put testimonials on your website. Also, show before and after pictures of completed projects. Use important keywords for Google to rank high in search results. Additionally, make sure your website has the locations you serve.
You want it to be clean and organized. Users should be able to navigate your website well. If you want to take it even further, offer a way for customers to create an account, pay invoices, send messages, and ask questions. Make your website customer friendly.
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Create Social Media Channels
For small businesses, social media may be the hardest part. You only have 24 hours a day and you are running a small business. Now, you feel you need to do social media.
On your Facebook and Instagram, you can show before and after pictures of projects. You can even show your staff working on a project. Create a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok account. These are the largest social media channels.
But why TikTok? TikTok gives users a reason to relate to your brand and it establishes credibility. In 2020 alone, TikTok had over 800 million users a month. You don’t need to do much. You can showcase your projects or create videos with your staff. By shooting “how to” videos and placing a caption that stands out on your videos, you will start gaining followers. For example, marketing experts, financial experts, and designers are on TikTok. Followers become leads the more they engage.
You can place your website at the top of your business account and then create a form online where they can request a project quote. All from your TikTok account.
Join Facebook groups where people talk about building their own projects. Also, give advice where people need help. You have a special skill that many don’t have. By giving advice in these groups, you are helping people with a problem.
Here are some other ideas to put on your social media channels:
Industry news, awards, contests, talk about yourself and your employees, show your employee achievements, showcase testimonials, how-to videos, and show a day in the life of a construction worker. Additionally, you may have employees that would like to help.
Build a Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy on Google
If your construction company isn’t optimized for local search in your area, you could miss out on potential customers. Search engines rely on local content, social pages, links, and other information. This helps to provide the local results and information to the potential customer.
According to Hubspot, there are several steps to take. However, it doesn’t have to be done all at once. The important part is to begin by creating a Google My Business listing. You want to ensure every online channel you create has the same phone number, address, and business name. Everything should be consistent, even on your social media channels.
Ask for customer reviews on local directory websites too. Try to be creative and post topics or ideas that will create engagement. When a customer asks a question, answer them on the page or send them a private message. Always be polite.
If you want to write blogs and articles for your website, consider hiring a freelancer from Upwork. It is inexpensive, and they can help you improve your SEO as well.
Other Digital Marketing Ideas for Construction Companies
You can create email marketing campaigns, text messaging marketing campaigns, and other marketing materials. You can also make sure you are on any online lists for construction companies in your area such as Yelp or HomeAdvisor. Ask for reviews from your current clients if they found you on these lists.
When you put up a new construction sign at a new site, be creative. Put up your website information as well as your social media channels on your construction signs. Advertise your online presence.
How Can My Construction Company Increase Sales with Digital Marketing?
When you do all of the above, you begin a process of planting seeds that will grow with time. All of it grows, and in about a year you will see a difference if you start now.
The problem can be time. Try to carve out time in the day to work on your marketing project. All of the above options can take time. You could hire someone, but if you carve out some time in the day, you will establish a good plan.
Also, implement digital platforms that will take time out of your day. For example, if you are using manual timesheets and you have to spend hours on timesheets, consider using ezClocker. Your employees can clock in and out with their phone or computer. It will also let you develop and make changes to their schedules. They can even request time off through the app.
Sandro DeSouza of Eagle Vision Construction, says his employees would forget to write down their times or forget to text with their hours. Also, the team would text each other to determine who was going where. He found that ezClocker was easy to use. He was able to use the scheduling feature and put in the addresses of the clients. Then he could add which employees needed to go to what location. Once he published the schedule, his employees would get a notification on their phones. It even links up with maps so they would have navigation to get where they need to go. EzClocker freed up his time.
Final Thoughts
There are several paid, low-cost, and free online tools that can help your business become more efficient so you can work on a thorough marketing plan. At first, this may seem overwhelming because you have so much to do. However, if you develop a timeline with project deadlines for your digital marketing plan, you will achieve results. Find other systems and streamline other activities to help you carve out more time.
By creating a digital marketing strategy for your construction company, you will see results that will grow your business.
