Credibility counts for everything in the construction industry. Yet many firms in the sector are not doing all they can to boost their credibility - by neglecting inbound marketing, they are losing out.
Word doesn't travel quite like it used to. Minds are made up on social media these days; decisions made behind computers. That applies to the construction sector, the same as it does to most others. So if you're not building a presence online, don't be surprised if you start to fall off people's radar.
Inbound marketing might sound like something of an add-on, but make no mistake, it's absolutely crucial to keeping business busy. If you don't believe us, here's respected marketing platform HubSpot's findings: Inbound tactics generate 54% more leads than traditional outbound marketing.
Why does inbound marketing prove so fruitful for construction industry? Because it is suited to today's customer who prefers a more subtle selling approach, as opposed to the hard selling tactics of yesteryear. People want to be wooed into signing up, not forced into a corner.
Where to start:
Build up your personal social accounts
People don't want to buy from companies, they want to buy from people. While company profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the rest can act as your foundation online, it's your personal social accounts where you will secure most new business. It's your chance to inject some personality into your company – making it more than just a name and a logo – thus allowing prospects to feel like they are building a relationship with YOU – the heartbeat of the business.
Build a blog
The built environment sector and content marketing: not exactly a match made in heaven? Well, we'd be inclined to disagree. As long as you can keep things interesting and relevant, there is a great deal of success to be had from content marketing. For your clients will be using Google to find out the answers to their construction-related questions. If you can identify the questions they're asking, they might just land on your page for the answer.
Build a following
Once you've got your own blog up and running, consider contributing content to other relevant websites to build a name for yourself. The trick - and this isn't rocket science - is to find websites that have readers which are made up of your ideal audience. If you can get readers to think "this person knows their stuff", you'll be on to a winner, with those readers going out of their way to find other useful blog posts that you've written.
Build a (positive) reputation
Prospects want to see some evidence that you've had success in the past. Therefore, don't think twice about publishing a running record of the work you've done to date. Be proud of your successes; don't hide them away, as it creates suspicion around the validity of your achievements. Case studies in particular are a great way to show how you've tackled problems or a particular type of installation in the past. Another way of building a positive reputation is to display testimonials from people with whom you have done business in the past. This can be done by either contacting clients directly to ask them for a review, or by sharing a flattering post on social media – both have the desired effect of confirming your reputation as a credible company to work with.
Want to learn more about how you can build quality sales leads through inbound marketing for the built environment or the construction sector? Download your free E-book here.
