David Watling, Head of Sales at Pauley Creative, discusses the importance of social media in driving engagement and attracting the right prospects to your website.
3. Social network usage by UK construction sector
• Research shows that the
adoption of social media
networks for construction
professionals is increasing
year on year
• And with a projected 25%
annual growth over the next 5
years, it’s something that can
no longer be ignored
4. Top tips for maximising the
effectiveness of your
Social Media Strategy
5. 1. Set goals & share relevant information
• Set realistic goals for your social media strategy:
- increase x amount of followers on Twitter in 6 months
- generate x% increase in traffic from Facebook in year 1
- generate x% leads from LinkedIn in year 2
• Set these goals in line with your content marketing strategy; what type of
shareable content will enable you to engage, educate, inspire and convert
prospects to leads?
• Whether you’re sharing visuals, articles or industry news, always keep it
relevant and in line with your business objectives: social media should be used
to position yourselves as an authority in the niche construction market.
6. 2. Research where your target audiences are engaging
• Where are the architects, contractors and specifiers interacting online?
• What content are they looking for to help them make better decisions?
• Which platforms do they use more to engage with other colleagues or networks?
• Where are your competitors engaging online?
Useful tool:
Brandwatch Analytics – allows you to monitor your competitors’ social media output
across a range of channels
7. 3. Devise a manageable social media calendar
• Your calendar should help you to allocate a set amount of hours per week to spend on your
chosen social platforms
• It provides a framework for knowing the type of content to share with each audience, on
each platform, at the most appropriate time of day
• Allow time in your schedule to interact with followers
• A calendar will enable you to avoid ‘random acts of marketing’ and makes the process
more manageable
10. • ⅓ of your social content should form
part of campaign promotions to convert
readers, build awareness and generate
profit.
• ⅓ of your social content should share
relevant industry-led information from
thought leaders or authoritative
companies.
• ⅓ of your social content should be
based on personal interactions and
building your own reputation i.e. brand
culture
The rule of thirds
12. 5. Measure effectiveness using analytics
• Google Analytics, along with a range of other tools, help to provide an overview of what social
channels are leading to traffic increases and conversions
• Add annotations within GA to identify when a post was promoted across social media. You can
then align this with spikes in blog traffic or CPD bookings, for example.
• Review on a monthly basis in order to track what social tactics you need to do more of, and
which one’s are a waste of valuable time and effort.
Add annotations in analytics when
promoting a campaign on social
13. 6. Measure, review, refine
• Always refine your social
media strategy on a
monthly analysis as part of
your website reports
• Over time this will provide
in-depth knowledge of what
your customers want and
need
15. 1. Make it shareable with the team
Incentivise the whole team
to get involved – social
media requires a team
effort to boost engagement
on all social channels.
Interact with each other
and drive conversations!
16. 2. Have a strategy in place for negative feedback
17. 3. Include visuals
“Research has shown that
when people hear
information, they are likely
to remember only 10% of
that information three
days later. However, if a
relevant image is paired
with that same
information, people
retained 65% of the
information three days
later”
19. And if you only take-away a few things…
• Social media is a necessary path for all construction businesses looking to be seen as the
go-to experts and approachable brands within the industry.
• Engage your audience by sharing relevant content that inspires, educates and provokes
a desired response
• Always measure your results and don't be afraid to tweak what's not working
• Don’t feel the need to be present on all social platforms – choose a select few
• And most importantly, have fun creating and developing a social strategy that works for
your construction business!
Taken from this year’s Construction Media Index
Second stat by @growthgurus
Remember: you don’t need to be on all platforms: just the ones that are most significant to your target audience. More effective to divide your precious time across less platforms that you know work for your business.
Stat: 88% of marketers want to know how to measure their return on investment for social media activities