Six Reasons Why Construction Companies Should Use Social Media
by Ron Kubitz
March 16, 2011
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As I write this, many of you are preparing to attend CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011. This excellent industry event has a new and improved focus on education this year, with 126 educational sessions covering an expansive array of topics. Some of the sessions deal directly with social media, including “Using Social Media to Get Construction Work” and “Building a Blog for the Construction Industry.”
A number of the other sessions within the workforce development/competitive edge tracks will also mention social media as part of the training presentations. I would also be remiss if I did not mention that CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 was heavily marketed on Facebook with a profile/fan page (with more than 2,000 likes), Twitter (with more than 1,500 followers), LinkedIn and YouTube.
Social media is not just gossip or a waste of time. Millions of people access social networks every day to get real and vital information.
Many construction companies are beginning to take advantage of social media's benefits, but alas, the construction industry lags behind most other industries in its social media usage. For those of you who fit the latter category (oh the shame), here are six reasons your company—whether a large national contractor or a small specialty contractor—should use social media.
1) Make Your Voice Be Heard and Become an Industry Leader. Engage in communities, blogs and user forums where people are discussing the industry's “hot” topics, such as green building, BIM and safety. Carve out a niche and keep your name out there for potential clients to see on a regular basis.
2) Showcase Your Quality Projects. A picture is worth a thousand words, and video channels and photo galleries like YouTube and Flickr make it easier than ever to showcase your company portfolio to a larger audience.
3) Develop Sales Leads. Use LinkedIn to seek out and manage connections that you can pursue for business opportunities. Your connections in turn may track you down for partnering ventures.
4) Recruiting. Create a Twitter jobs page! Use LinkedIn to post jobs, join industry groups and aggressively recruit talent. Save money and time over using the large career boards.
5) Employee Engagement. Employees of construction firms are often spread out geographically. Posting company news in a central location such as your website (intranet) or Facebook and then tweeting it can make it easier to spread a uniform message throughout your staff. For example, social media offers a great way to communicate changes to existing employee benefits.
6) Draw All that Effort Back to Your Website. The most important purpose/benefit of any social media effort is to bring traffic back to your company's website. The more folks that visit your website, the more potential you have for your bottom line to increase. Also, consider creating a blog for your corporate website. Smile as you watch the visits rise.
Social media usage can seem overwhelming and at times risky, but thinking strategically and treading slowly at first about where to start and what medium to use can help you not only improve your business but also grow it as well.
How is your firm using social media to improve its bottom line?
Ron Kubitz
Ron Kubitz is the recruiting manager for Brayman
Construction Corporation, located in Saxonburg,
Pa. As an accomplished presenter,
Ron is often sought after in regard to his expertise within the world of social
media.
Comments (8)Post a Comment
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Title: Social Media and Employee Engagement
By: Tony P.
Posted: March 17, 2011 9:24 AM
Excellent article and topic. SM is growing and those interested in success should use. My firm uses SM quite a bit for employee engagement purposes and employees tell us that this is their preferred medium for communications!
Title: Kase
By: Dennis
Posted: March 23, 2011 10:20 AM
Timely subject!
Great read and it is a shame that the construction world lags behind in the usage of Social Media.
My company has created a corporate blog that gives us great exposure as market experts and has increased website visits.
A twitter jobs page is next!
Social Media is here to stay!
Title: Waste of time!
By: Rich P.
Posted: March 23, 2011 10:23 AM
Social media usage is overhyped and a waste of time and effort!
In construction we have no time for this and when my company did try to use Linkedin and Facebook we received no positive results.
Skip to the next fad...
Title: Social Media fad???
By: Amber Kercher
Posted: March 29, 2011 10:44 AM
Social Media is certainly not a fad but here to stay. Most folks that cliam it is a fad either do not know how to utilize or fail to give it a chance.
Linkedin is a great recruiting tool for us and a Twitter jobs page is next.
I wish we had the author of this piece working for us as the sky could be the limit.
Good tool...yes...fad no!
Title: Linkedin
By: James Collins
Posted: April 5, 2011 7:47 AM
I found my present job through a free group job posting on LinkedIn.
I feel that Linkedin is a valuable tool that the construction industry needs to embrace to a greater degree.
There are many construction groups that offer job postings and great networking.
Title: Linkedin
By: James Collins
Posted: April 5, 2011 7:49 AM
I work in construction (excavating/site development) and I found my present job through a free group job posting on Linkedin.
I feel that Linkedin needs to be used more in our world as their are many great constrcution groups and networking oppotunities.
Title: Importance of a great website!
By: Frank Casebeer
Posted: April 5, 2011 10:32 AM
I could not agree with more with this article. Very timely and informative and a subject that deserves greater merit.
One thing to keep in mind that if you seek to enhance your social media presence make sure that you have a great website that will not scare away possible clients and future employees!
Title: Social Media
By: Tim Mahoney
Posted: April 22, 2011 12:30 PM
The smart construction firms (profitable ones) will use Social media for its many benefits.
Not many companies (leaders) in our industry however are smart!