If you run a construction company, then building houses, renovating kitchens, and adding additions are in your wheelhouse. What might seem much more difficult is marketing. Engaging with your target audience can be tough, and getting new customers can be even more frustrating.
How will people find out everything you offer without getting the word out there? A strong construction marketing strategy will not only grow your business, but it will also put your construction company on the first page of Google.
So in this article, we will break down a few great construction marketing ideas that will get your business phone ringing!
1. Embrace Social Media
No matter the size of your company, customers want to know the personal side of your business. Social media is for more than keeping up with distant relatives and old friends. Think of your business social media the same way you do your personal accounts.
You can show off current job sites and check in with different employees. Try quick video interviews with happy clients or an Instagram story charting a project from start to finish. Not every post needs to be selling something; maintain a balance between ads and personality.
Social media builds relationships and gets consumers in front of content. If you post every day, then your followers will see what you are up to every day. This is a great modern digital marketing strategy. Get real-time feedback from your audience through comments and messages.
Facebook can be an efficient tool to build your brand. Their business accounts make it easy for leads to access your website and even directly call or email through the platform. LinkedIn is useful for keeping an eye on the competition and connecting with other construction professionals in your area.
Just be sure someone on your team is a social media master and can respond to messages and posts using your company's same brand and voice. Hiring a marketing social media manager is a long-term investment that can make a big difference in your exposure.
2. Give Your Website A Makeover
If you haven’t updated your website in a few years, then it’s time to modernize it. Your online marketing presence is how most customers will find your construction company.
First, you should check out other construction companies and see what works and what doesn’t on their website. Feel free to borrow construction marketing ideas and set up clear, easy-to-find pages that showcase all aspects of your company.
Then make your website sleek and clean for modern design. Don’t overload the landing page with gifs and animations. Keep it simple. Navigating your business and locating your specific services on your website should be simpler than reading a map.
If you do not have an app, then your website must be optimized for mobile. Most users will access your site through their smartphone. Your online presence must be accessible for all operating systems and smartphones available.
Squarespace and Wix are affordable tools with a simple user interface, they even have templates catered to online marketing.
Be sure to link out to all your social media accounts at the bottom of every page.
3. Stay In Touch Through Email Marketing
Once you’ve got an email address, hold on to it. After getting permission, you can add a new or returning customer to your newsletter. Direct mail is a great way to share updates on your company and spread your brand. You can even offer discounts and bundle options through this newsletter.
But remember, this is not the same as social media — people don’t want to receive an email every day or even every week. A great newsletter containing updates to the company, new services, and some fun facts about the staff should come out just once or twice a month.
When people see your company name show up in their inbox, they’ll think of you next time they need construction. Email marketing is a good way to deliver content to those who use the internet but perhaps don’t use social media.
4. Set Up A Referral System
People trust word-of-mouth reviews more than anything they’ll see online. Why not set up incentives to encourage this?
Try offering a discount to existing customers who refer a certain number of new clients. Or throw in a minor repair half off for returning customers. The goal is to build relationships with the people you’ll be working with day to day.
Generate leads through word-of-mouth conversations, and you’ve set up a system that you don’t even need to monitor. This form of street-level marketing gets your business fast and solidifies trust from your clients.
5. Engage Your Community
If you are a local business, integrating yourself as a positive force in your community is a construction marketing strategy that helps more than your bottom line. Building relationships sets up long-term clients who will keep coming back. Here are a few tips on how to make your company part of the neighborhood:
- Sponsor your local school’s sports team and put your logo on hats and jerseys to spread your name and give back.
- Donate leftover building supplies. Partner with a nonprofit like Habitat for Humanity, and you’ll be able to drop off leftover material without visiting the dump. This would also make a great social media post.
- Drop off flyers at local establishments. This old-school method puts ads right in front of locals and makes your construction company easier to find for people who don’t use the internet.
- Place ads on job sites. Get your brand on the street. As people drive past construction and see your logo, they’ll look you up and find your amazing website.
- Come up with your own unique ideas tailor-made to your community and the people in it.
You want to be seen as a good member of your community. The construction industry can get a bad reputation, with loud noises and interruptions of daily life. The goal of engaging your town and the larger community is to put a smile on a customer's face before they even start working with you.
6. Set Up A Blog
A blog might pop up pictures of travel writers or foodies in your head — but blogs can be useful tools for construction company marketing too.
An organic blog, updated with content around eight to ten times a month, will increase your search engine optimization. SEO has changed the game of marketing online. Well-written blog articles detailing the process of construction and what to expect when working with a contractor will push your site higher on Google.
Digital construction marketing in the modern age relies on search engine optimization, and a blog will give you real results and solidify your brand. This form of content marketing highlights your expert advice while increasing your visibility. Businesses are made of people, and great, well-written blogs can drive that home.
A good blog also draws in leads to learn more about construction, using your website as an authority. Offer tips and ideas on small DIY projects and finish up by linking back to your main website for detailed services on bigger construction jobs.
7. Highlight Your Employees
Your business is people. Even if you work in materials and power tools every day, you rely on your team to get the day’s project done.
Leads want to know who will be showing up daily doing the manual work in their personal space. So don’t just spotlight general contractors, but get headshots and bios for everyone: from laborers to accountants to the CEO.
Post birthday celebrations from the office or staff out working. People want to see the human-facing side of businesses. Construction marketing campaigns can take the form of tracking a single employee’s growth in the company, like celebrating promotions and advances.
8. Share Customer Feedback
This is really handy for digital marketing. Reviews and testimonials will build customer trust. The construction industry thrives on honest and helpful reviews. New leads will check reviews before deciding to move forward and hire your services, so always monitor your Yelp and Google reviews.
Make sure you have a Yelp account for your business, so you can personally respond and thank happy customers. Place positive reviews prominently on your website. Link out to Angie’s List, Yelp, Google, any other review sites where you garner reviews from your website.
Always ask your customers to leave a nice review after doing business and completing a project. Even just a few sentences will increase your all-around reputation.
9. Use Photo and Video Content
Through your social media and website, you’ll want to have videos and photos to catch the attention of new leads. Construction is a visual industry. It’s a process of transformation, so construction marketing should be visual too. Video can take the form of time-lapses of a job well done and show off results from a great project you’re proud of.
It doesn’t have to be too serious to get views — an award ceremony for employee of the month can make a fun video or photoshoot to highlight team building. Content marketing is the way advertising works, lengthy paragraphs can be glossed over, but an engaging picture or video really is worth a thousand words.
10. Network
Networking in construction marketing is a sworn tip to expand the reach of your company. Construction can partner with a variety of companies because everyone will need your skills. Try cross-marketing with a similar brand but not a direct competitor.
Think about where your leads shop and try to partner with those establishments. Reach out to your local hardware store about becoming a partner and through cross recommendations. You’ll both come out ahead. Potential clients may already trust their local store and will follow their recommendations. There is nothing like good old-fashioned word of mouth advertising.
11. Participate in Expos
Get a wider audience by setting up a booth in construction expos. You’ll get face-to-face contact with new clients looking for all sorts of construction help, as well as connect with other construction companies. Marketing your services and products is easiest when you’re answering questions right in front of leads.
Bring a model of a completed project so potential customers can check out your dedication to the craft and technical skill. Your construction business can also take center stage if you have eye-catching photos and videos playing at your booth.
12. Get a Great Logo
The golden arches are all it takes to tell you a burger and fries are on the way. You want a unique, clean logo that is instantly recognizable. Construction marketing means having a symbol that defines your business instantly.
There are online sources that can design a logo for construction businesses for less than $100. But it is also smart marketing to reach out to your local community searching for designers. Even starting a logo design contest can create great results and engage the community.
13. Put Yourself On The Map, Literally
A map listing should contain your address, hours of operation, phone number, photos, and link back to your website. Users will open their map application and search “construction businesses” and see what is close to them. Don’t miss out on this opportunity.
Make sure you show up and look professional on Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Yelp, etc. Map search results are a necessary aspect of your online presence.
14. Remember Phone Books?
More people than you might think, especially older folks, still rely on phone books and directories to look for construction services. Don’t discount classic marketing ideas that will put your construction business in the hands of potential clients. Businesses that show up in the yellow pages prove you respect older leads and operate on both old school and cutting edge levels.
To that end, take out frequent ads in the local paper, digital marketing is the way of the future, but as long as people are picking up and reading the paper, they should know about you and what you offer.
15. Host a Party
This might seem a bit out there, but parties can be great guerilla construction marketing ideas. The promise of a few free drinks and snacks to former clients will bring out more people than you’d expect. Chatting and laughing, and discussing construction needs can lead to promises of future work.
A cocktail hour also sets you apart from other construction firms. Who else will renovate your kitchen then invite you over for drinks!
The Bottom Line
These construction marketing ideas will get you results, but no matter how many you have already implemented, there is always room to grow. You want to stand out for all customers: lifelong residents, new arrivals, young and old — and smart marketing campaigns are the way to do it.
If you’ve got a great construction marketing strategy down pat, you are ready to think about expanding. Contractor Training Center can get you accredited outside your home state. We offer both exam prep classes and resources, so you are prepared to pass all contractor tests, no matter where you are located.
Reach out and get a consultation now!