[TOP 5] The Best Social Media Platforms For Construction Companies

HubSpot reedited their State of Marketing 2021 report last August to include data related to the UK market, making it more relevant for businesses operating at a country-level. The report opened with an unbeatable headline: social media has been the #1 channel used in marketing in 2021 with 8 in every 10 companies investing in their social presence.

But, how accurate is that data for manufacturers and construction companies?

General reports on social media implementation are undoubtable useful to have an understanding on overall trends but fail to reflect the rhythms of industries that have proven to be distinctly different, such as the construction sector. As a result, we need to look into industry-specific data to learn the impact social media has had in the last years.

Why Should Construction Businesses Invest on Social Media?

In the Social Media in Construction survey, carried in 2018, every single company surveyed reported employing social media in their marketing strategy. Whilst 6% of the participants admitted outsourcing their social media management, 94% reported curating their platforms themselves! Are you making the most of your social media reach or have you yet not started your digital journey?

#1 It Improves visibility and brand awareness

59% of construction leaders investing on social media have, as their main goal, building brand awareness and, following this aim, 70% of the businesses using social media have achieved a greater visibility. Social platforms like Twitter have been known for helping construction companies reach close to 50,000 users in a year, increasing your online presence.

#2 It works as a lead magnet

In 2018, 68% of businesses were using social media with lead generation purposes. Some of the most common ways of capturing leads through social platforms is sharing exclusive content, offering discounts, running contests, and organising live events such as webinars. Businesses implementing these strategies reported a growth of 24%!

#3 It can show what customers think of your brand

92% of people browsing on the internet for a product or service will trust online reviews and recommendations over promotional quotes. Giving the chance to your clients to openly speak about their experience with your brand can not only portray you like a transparent business, but also improve your online reputation! What about bad reviews? Address them! Think, how can I make it up for them?

#4 It opens a new communication channel with your prospects

If you thought your customer service was limited to the phone, I am sorry to break this to you… It is very likely that you customers would like to reach you on social media, and they will expect a very quick answer from you. Social media opens a new channel for you to interact with not only customers, but also prospects, through comments, direct messages, retweets, and likes!

#5 it can Support your sEO

Whilst social media is not a ranking factor (basically, it won’t make you rank higher), it can improve your SEO. Making sure that your social media profiles are properly branded and correctly linked to your website can get you another link into the SERPs, allowing your social media profile to show when a prospect looks for your company. Use this to build trust and show yourself in a more natural way!

How Should You Start Doing Social?

If you like the sound of the benefits social media can bring to your construction business, you might be asking yourself, how can I start? And, as a matter of fact, there is not a perfect recipe for mastering social media. But we can give you some bullet-proof advise on how to begin your digital journey efficiently, calmly, and without any hassle.

#1 One Platform at a Time

Now that you have decided to invest on social media, what is next? A common mistake when trying to improve your social presence is to chew more than you can bite. Even if your ultimate goal is to be present in every single social media platform, it is advisable to focus on one platform when starting out! As you get more familiar with the platform, you will be more comfortable posting and it will feel easier to keep updating your platform consistently.

#2 Choose Platforms that Interact

At risk of contradicting myself, it is advisable for you to, at first, focus on the management of one platform… but that does not mean that you cannot have other lower-maintenance platforms! With many platforms being owned by the same company (e.g., Instagram and Facebook), it is now easier than ever to repost content on platforms that interact with each other.

#3 Prioritise Quality over Quantity

Ensure that the content that you are posting is valuable. And I mean it! Companies can quickly get into the habit of posting non-relevant pictures, pushy ads, or very low-quality photos, just so the keep showing up on people’s feeds. A strategy that does not prioritise quality over quantity is, eventually, counterproductive, and it will get people unfollowing you very quickly!

#4 Be Regular

And, again, maybe contradicting myself… quality should not keep you from posting regularly! Social media is a place to be professional, but also authentic and genuine. If you are waiting until you get that perfect picture for your feed, your followers will become impatient, and they will lose interest. High-quality content is emotional, human, and natural, not necessarily spotless.

#5 Stay Genuine, Forget Self-Promotion

Beware of falling into the rabbit hole of self-promotion! When posting on your social media channels, you need to remember that no one likes to be sold to. If your audience feels their feed is overloaded with ads and promotional pictures, chances are they will stop interacting with them. Going overboard with publicity can be detrimental for your reputation and hurt your social perception.

TOP 5 Social Media Platforms for Construction Companies (with examples!)

When asked about the social outlets construction professionals most often used, the participants of the 2018 Social Media in Construction survey highlighted LinkedIn and Facebook. 78% also reported using Twitter, and 61% explained having dived into the world of video content and YouTube. Surprisingly, Instagram was only present in the strategy of half of the businesses surveyed.

#1 Twitter

Instant, dynamic, and quick! Twitter is, without doubt, the platform for reach and brand awareness. As the number of people using Twitter grows, Twitter is perfect to share content, increase traffic, and launch promotions, whilst keeping it brief and making sure that you deliver information efficiently and accurately. Looking for an example of Twitter done well? We got you! Bafour Beatty shows how keeping it professional, consistently posting, and proudly sharing success stories, can successfully build a community of almost 70K followers!

#2 Facebook

Despite being employed by several hundred million users daily, seeing Facebook included on social media ranking still causes surprise. Facebook has steadily but consistently tailored the platform to companies, allowing them to create a business page where customers can easily find their contact information, reviews, updates, and other resources. BAM Construct UK is perfect to see how posting genuine and diverse content, sharing their current project, and engaging with events, and hashtags can improve your relationship with your audience.

#3 LinkedIn

Whilst Facebook might have taken the lead, 4 out of every 5 LinkedIn members are decision-makers and, as a result, it is still the go-to platforms for construction companies. This platform is designed to facilitate networking, partnership, and recruitment, making it easier than ever to cultivate business relationships, interact with potential customers, and increase your sales! The LinkedIn profile of The Kier Group shows essential role of growing your authority and professional credibility through consistently keeping up to date and sharing your projects.

#4 YouTube

Probably the oldest platform in this list (yes, I checked, YouTube came out in 2005, Facebook in 2006! Feeling old yet?), YouTube has just recently caught up with other social media channels, particularly since the pandemic. The peak of users in this platform is, without doubt, due to the increasing popularity of on-demand online webinars. B1M was the first construction YouTube channel to have 1 million subscribers and it is quickly making its way into 2 million! Daily videos with catchy content seem to have been the perfect formula for them.

#5 Instagram

You might be thinking… is Instagram really the lowest performing social media tool when compared to Facebook or LinkedIn? Possibly the fastest-growing social platform, Instagram has not yet conquered the heart of construction professional. But it is on its way! With an unbeatable offer for visual content, Instagram can be used to show exactly what your business can do. Using a wide range of tools, such as Instagram stories, reels, and IGTV, Willmott Dixon has remarkably grown their presence on the tricky world of Instagram.

#BONUS Pinterest

But… what about Pinterest? Pinterest keeps making its way into articles about which social media is best for your marketing strategy and, truth is, Pinterest is fantastic for one thing: helping you rank better on SERPs! Devoting your attention exclusively to this platform would, however, not be wise. Pinterest can be used as a complementary platform where you repurpose content that you link to your website, so you generate traffic and ensure that your brand is present in a wide range of channels. If you want an example, check Lccl Construction!

How can you Take your Social Presence to the Next Level?

If you have read all the information above, you are probably quite invested on the topic. I like you! And, as a reward for having read this far, I would like to give you some extra tips so you can take your social media strategy to the next level and make that difference that you were looking for!

#1 Review Your Social Media Strategy

Whilst posting intuitively and almost randomly can be useful until you get used to a platform, it is essential for your social media strategy to have direction. You will need to set up goals for your social media efforts and decide what processes you are putting in place to reach those goals. Do not base your goals on vanity metrics like followers. Redirected traffic can be much more relevant!

#2 Audit Your Content

Consistently posting on social media will require you to produce content very regularly and, while platforms like Instagram or Twitter may want you to strive for instant posting, you are more than welcome to prepare you content in advance! Constant social media posting does not entail endless content creation. Audit the content that you currently have and understand how you can repurpose it!

#3 Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

Stalking you say? In marketing, we call it social monitoring and it involves observing your competitors’ social media activity to understand their strategy, find a pattern, and try guessing their next step before they do. Monitoring does not necessarily ask you to copy their strategy, but it will teach you a lot about which posts are best for gaining followers, engagement or conversions!

#4 Automate Your Social Media Posts

As HubSpot partners, we manage most of our clients’ social media through HubSpot’s Social Media tools. This feature allows us to schedule posts simultaneously on different platforms and accurately report on the performance of each of them. With automated scheduling, you can forget about daily posts and upload your content in bulk, so your monthly content offer is sorted!

#5 Try Paid Social

1 out of every 2 construction businesses interviewed for the 2018 Social Media in Construction survey reported having used paid social media advertising in the past, with Facebook being the most popular network to invest in. Social media has been known to have one of the best ROI, redirecting significant numbers of leads into your website and increasing your brand awareness.

About Insynth

At Insynth we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to reach a technically demanding audience.

We use the latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, to equip building product companies to grow sustainability in this era of digital transformation.

As the only HubSpot certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including CRM Implementation, Web Design, Sales Automation, SEO, and Email Marketing to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers.

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