How to - 5 min read
Attracting customers to your construction business is a continuous process. While traditional methods such as word of mouth, referrals and print advertising may have worked for your company, there will always be a glass ceiling to growth if you don’t leverage online marketing techniques.
Social media marketing provides limitless potential for generating construction leads. These platforms provide a channel where you can cultivate relationships with customers along every step of the buying cycle. Generating construction leads through social media also results in brand awareness, higher conversation rates and increased customer loyalty.
But with the broad nature of social media platforms, how can you get started in generating quality leads for your construction business?
Perhaps the biggest mistake that people make during social media marketing is trying to reach everyone at once. With more than 2 billion people active on social media, trying to engage everyone is an easy way of guaranteeing a failed marketing campaign.
The better approach is to identify who your target audience is and to focus your marketing efforts towards that audience. For example, you may be looking to advertise your green building techniques to customers who are concerned about the environment. Begin by identifying the traits, demographics and preferences of your ideal client. You can then track down your niche audience through Facebook groups, hashtags on Twitter and relevant Instagram profiles.
Focusing your lead generation efforts on a niche audience will yield better results than a blanket approach.
The best way to stand out on social media is by creating unique and engaging content. For construction leads, content should come in the form of short, sweet posts. These should entice your readers to click on links that redirect them to relevant landing pages. But with a sea of social media content clogging the timelines of your potential leads, how can you attract people to read your posts?
Start off by creating content that has before and after pictures. You may show how a certain project looked before you started, and how it looked after you finished the work. Make sure all photos are professionally taken and optimised for the relevant social media platform.
Videos are also an engaging way of generating leads. In fact, most people are able to retain 65% of visual information as opposed to only 10% of audio or text. Create time-lapse videos of your construction projects, as well as videos that provide helpful educational content to your potential leads.
Offering free promotional products is an excellent way of attracting new leads and spreading brand awareness on social media. With every free product you give, include a form that requires recipients to provide their contact information in exchange for the freebie. You should also encourage your leads to share the promotion with their colleagues, friends and family. This is an excellent way of gaining a strong referral network and quality leads in the process.
The free items you give will also speak to your brand. Giveaways could be as simple as a white paper that contains helpful content for your target audience, or discounts for products and services provided by your company. In fact, consider using special discounts that customers can only access via your social media platforms. This is an excellent way of driving traffic.
As well as the organic traffic generated by your posts, you should take advantage of paid social media ads. Many social networks now use advanced algorithms that provide users with relevant content on their timelines. This means that your leads are receiving more of the content they want to see when using social media.
With paid advertising, you can target your ads to reach a particular location, demographic, age range or industry. You can also measure the outreach of your paid ads over time so as to generate quality leads for your construction business. Make sure each ad has a strong call to action (such as links to a landing page) that entices your potential leads to begin interacting with your business.
When your target audience searches for your business online, the first thing they will notice is your logo. Make sure your logo and branding is consistent on social media and on your website. Most social platforms allow you to add a banner, graphics or colours that speak to your image and resonate with your customers.
Consistent branding will make it easier for potential leads to locate your social media platforms as well as your website.
For more insight on marketing for construction companies and a sample marketing plan, download our Tradies’ Template Pack today.
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