How Are Construction Marketers Using Social Media?

When I first wrote about social technology in “Why you and your company need to get social,” one of our blog readers brought up a great marketing and sales question: Does social media help bring in leads?  I directed her to the second annual Social Media for Construction survey conducted by the Construction Marketing Association (CMA).

While survey respondents also included some building products and equipment manufacturers, over half of those surveyed were involved in either commercial construction or construction services. The survey provides interesting insights, including:

    96.6% of respondents indicated that they use social media in their marketing. I admit I am a bit surprised at how high this number is, although I am bumping into a lot more construction companies in online social spaces these days.

    Construction marketers primarily use LinkedIn (91.2%), Twitter (84.2%), and Facebook (82.5%).

    The two most effective social media avenues are LinkedIn (45.6%) and Twitter (31.6%). Facebook and blogging were tied for third in the effectiveness rating at 29.8% each.

    86% of construction marketers said creating company awareness was the number one benefit from their social media efforts. No surprises there. The next benefit was driving visitors to their website at 63.2%.

    A little over a third of the respondents (38.6%) indicated that they were seeing sales leads from their social media marketing.

The CMA also points out a potential, more targeted opportunity for homebuilders and remodelers. Houzz at www.houzz.com is a new social media platform specifically connecting buyers with contractors. While few construction marketers are currently using Houzz (only 1.85%), it allows contractors to reach homeowners who are researching ideas and construction professionals. You can check out more information about Houzz on the CMA site.

The CMA’s survey confirms the growing use of social media for construction marketing. But how do you most effectively use these new social tools? I’ll cover that in my next social technology post.

Source: Sage Construction and Real Estate