Construction Marketing: A Digital Presence In A Physical Industry

While we may not associate traditional, physical industries with digital marketing, there’s no getting away from the fact that every business must have a clear strategy to elevate their digital presence in today’s ever increasingly digital world. This includes the construction industry, which has long relied on more traditional forms of marketing.

For construction businesses, a strategic approach to digital marketing will reap rewards through increased lead generation, enhance business reputation and stronger brand awareness. But as construction brands shift their marketing to appeal to younger decision makers, we are going to look at the different areas of digital marketing to see how construction companies can create a digital presence that stands out.

Elements of Digital Presence

Website 

A website has become the starting point for users. Whether searching online for a specific brand or just generally looking for the leading company in a specific area, a website will likely shape a user’s initial impression of a brand.

In the construction world, you could even argue that a website reflects the projects the company works on, so users will want to see a website that is fast, responsive and reliable. They’ll also want to see previous work and client testimonials, so make sure these are visible and showcased in the best possible light.

Also, consider what action you want the user to take. Whether your main aim is driving enquiries or newsletter signups, the UX of your website must guide the user to take the specific action that you are looking for.

Related: How to Utilize Your Business’s Website

SEO

It doesn’t matter how good a website is; users must be able to find it. A critical part of having a digital presence is ensuring your website is optimised for search engines, a process known as SEO. A strong SEO strategy will allow your company to pick up on unbranded searches, which are search queries that don’t include a brand name. 

Given that many construction companies operate within a certain area, local SEO is also extremely important. This is optimising your website for search engine searches relating to a specific area. Consider the following steps for improving the visibility of a construction company in a particular area through search:

• Set up a Google My Business page
• Optimise website content for local keywords
• Appear in local business directories

Content

There’s a belief in modern digital marketing that ‘content is king’. Whether you believe that or not, there’s no denying that digital content has become a vital part of every digital marketing strategy, even if your brand operates within a traditional industry.

With people consuming more content than ever before, content marketing is a great way to inject your brand into the brains of potential customers and also stay fresh in their minds. Content marketing today comes in many shapes and sizes, and your approach may depend on your company’s skillset and resources. Some construction businesses can rack up massive numbers of impressions on YouTube through vlogs, while smaller companies focus on blogs and articles.

Social media posts should also form part of your content marketing strategy; don’t fall into the trap of thinking social media isn’t valuable in a B2B or traditional business setting. As mentioned before, decision makers are younger and likely to be active on social platforms, so capturing their attention through creative social content can be extremely fruitful.    

Online reviews

The final thing to consider is online reviews. While they can easily be forgotten about for ‘sexier’ marketing tactics, online reviews will shape your reputation, which is an important factor for potential customers when deciding whether or not to work with a certain construction company, given the high costs involved.

Try to build a solid reputation through the service you provide, but also encourage online reviews from previous customers to remove any doubts that new customers may have. This is a great example of how your offline and online presence can work together to drive business growth.

Final Thoughts

While digital industries have unsurprisingly adapted to the changing landscape of digital marketing, adoption rates in more traditional industries have been slower. This means there’s still an opportunity for construction companies to get ahead of competitors if they can craft a strong digital presence. It’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to creating a compelling digital marketing strategy. In construction, a plant hire company will market itself very differently from a company offering building services. Consider what works best for your company and be prepared to change your strategy in line with ever-changing trends within marketing.

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