How can Construction Business increase their Digital Presence?

The construction business is highly competitive, consisting of constant bidding war to win jobs, so it is becoming increasingly important to create an online presence that makes your company stand out among other businesses bidding for jobs. You can position your construction business for success by defining the goal of your marketing plan your as well as your target market. Then develop a digital strategy that best fits your needs, your assets and presents a consistent brand message to this market.   
Website
Create a website that provides essential information to prospects that may be doing research before selecting a potential contractor.  Find out what is viable for your company and determine what needs to be on the site to keep them there. If your website is designed well it makes a bigger impact on your prospective customer and capture leads.    
Here are some essential items to include on your website: 
Gallery – Showcase your work with high quality photos of our finished project. A gallery shows your prospects what your company is capable of doing.  
Services – Give specific details about the types of services you have to offer and what you specialize in. Link these details back to your gallery to reinforce your expertise. 
Testimonials/Press –Nothing speaks to the quality of your work like a testimonial (written or video) from a satisfied customer. Testimonials build trust as well as help sway skeptical customers to   take a closer look at your business.  Additionally, if your company receives press, share it, as it promotes your business without sounding to ‘salesy’. 
Video – Showing your business on job sites is a great way be transparent.  Video shows how safely your crew works, what kind of processes you have on the job site, as well as give prospects a firsthand idea of the completed project. 
Social Media  
Being active on social media can go a long way in developing brand awareness for your construction business.  Create profiles to show the public what kind of work your company does, share stories, and connect with potential customers.  The key to using social media in your digital strategy is finding the right platform that you can use to your benefit.  
Facebook and Twitter – Use these sites to connect and build relationships with other professionals and position yourself as an expert in the construction industry.  
Industry specific social – Sites that are geared towards the construction industry like  UBuildNet, feature free social tools and resources, as well as allows user to find niche contractors, professionals and prospects in your targeted areas. 
LinkedIn – This site is extremely important and a necessary part of your social media strategy because this social media platform attracts decision makers, as well as provides industry news and professional networking. 
Pinterest – Post the photos of completed jobs or state-of-the art machinery on your website, then pin that project and link your pin directly to your sites contact page, so capitalize on the immediate interest. This creates an opportunity to pick up more leads and drive traffic to your website.   

Leverage Email Marketing
Email is still a highly effective and low cost means of communicating with your core customer base as well as prospects, making it a necessary part of your overall digital strategy.  You should take the time to collect current customer and prospects email addresses through your website and social media profiles to build a subscription list compiled of customers that are genuinely interested in your services. 
Some key ideas to remember when creating the email marketing element of your digital strategy are: 
Keep the list current – Manage your contact lists regularly, so you can respond quickly and efficiently to requests for more information or to unsubscribe.
Subject line – Your window of opportunity to get readers to click open is limited, so make the subject personal, yet impactful.  
Call-to-action- Guide your prospects with a strong call-to-action, such as inviting them learn more about your home renovation tips, or other valuable content on your website.  
Social Media – Provide links to directly to your social media profiles to email expand your reach and identify potential leads on these networks.          
Measure your results – Track your efforts to determine the efficacy of each campaign your send out.   

Final Thoughts
If you do the research to understand your target market, you can create a thoughtful plan, one that consists of a combination of online tools and allows your prospects to get to know your business.  By using all the digital marketing channels and resources, you increase your opportunities to network, nurture current relationships and build new ones, which translates into more revenue.  

ChangeU: for your independent study ...

2014 Construction Marketing Outlook- Survey Results http://bit.ly/1BUA9JO
To further understand current marketing plans and priorities in the construction industry, the Construction Marketing Association conducted a national survey of construction professionals

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