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Well today, I noticed our Google search engine results pages looked slightly different to the normal results pages we see everyday. Introducing the Google +1 button and also results based on social sharing within your network.
I did a search in Google for ‘top tweeters in the UK’ and I got the following results page:
So you have decided that you are going to add social media to your marketing mix. You have decided that you are going to launch a corporate blog, start a company Twitter profile, create and join a few LinkedIn groups and then have a lovely looking Facebook page with all your corporate info on. Heck, you might even re-design your website whilst your at it right?
But have you benchmarked your existing online and offline marketing activities before you jump onto the social media bandwagon? Do you know how your current marketing activities are performing in order to identify success later on? In fact, what will your success look like in 12 months time?
Conducting a benchmarking audit is crucial for any marketing department before starting on long term commitments like social media marketing. Knowing how your website is performing and its conversion rates, knowing which brochures are most downloaded or requested, knowing how many times your company has been mentioned online, finding out how many pages in your website are indexed and where they rank in Google and knowing how visitors use your website are all ‘must knows’ in order to be able to measure any improvement over time. (more…)
UPDATE (02/06/11): We are now approaching nearly 400 downloads since the launch of the ebook. Thank you to everyone who has downloaded the ebook.
It’s been over a week since we launched our Guide to Social Media Marketing for Construction Marketers ebook and thought it would be good to show the results we achieved from publishing this ebook. The total number of downloads stands at a whopping 217!!!! Thank you to everyone who has downloaded and shared the ebook with others.
Introducing our new helpful and informative social media marketing e-book for marketers within the construction industry. This e-book is for marketers who are looking to utilise social media platforms as part of their overall marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and increase lead generation. (more…)
So the long anticipated wait for the tCn top 100 influential tweeters in the built environment has been published on Construction News today. We are very chuffed to be ranked 30th in the list, and be one of the only agencies who ‘made the cut’. A big well done and congratulations to everyone. Happy tweeting!
You can view the list here: http://www.peerindex.net/tcntweets/group/tcntop100
Some construction professionals still view social media as a waste of time and cannot see the benefits it can have to their business. Sure, social media takes up a significant amount of time and effort but what marketing doesn’t? How much time do you spend in meetings discussing how to raise your brand awareness, how to plan and execute the next product launch, where to place your next ad and how much of your budget will be allocated to all these different activities? Hours? Days? Even weeks?!
Social media is simply another channel that can help communicate, listen, engage, react and educate your target audience. Time is only wasted on social media if you have not developed a solid social media strategy and set clear objectives. If you are scared your employees will waste time online instead of using it to productively grow your online community and build up your reputation – then do not blame the technology, blame the internal education and culture. Inspired and motivated employees will gladly take up the job to use social media to promote and strengthen your brand online. This quote from Mitch Joel explains the point I am making:
“We’re always quick to blame the technology and not the people. I always argue that those who are not wasting their time on YouTube (because a company has blocked it) have probably figured out something else to do to waste their time (hint: they’re not happy and energized to be doing their jobs … it’s not YouTube).”
The current economic climate is tough for many businesses in the AEC sector and seeing companies such as ROK go into administration was a real eye-opener. It is exactly in times like these that branding becomes even more important. Achieving growth and acquiring new business opportunities is increasingly challenging, especially when the industry is becoming even more competitive. In order to stand out you need to focus on your brand and remind prospects and clients why you are ‘the right man for the job.’ A strong brand is not achieved over night. It needs constant investment to sustain it and build strong brand equity.
A brand is much more than a logo or positioning statement. It is a promise. A promise from the company to its customers and clients that they will receive a product or service that consistently delivers added value.
“A brand is an identifiable entity that makes specific promises of value.”
Without branding all products and services are perceived to be the same without any differentiation. Strong branding sets you apart from the competition by providing benefits that others do not. Through this, a relationship is formed. The construction industry is built on many relationships – relationships with clients, suppliers, employees, architects, contractors. The list goes on. It is these relationships that fully define your brand. You may think your brand represents reliability, performance and sustainable development but if your clients, customers, prospects, employees and even the general public do not think (or see) that, then something is wrong.
I recently presented at the CIMCIG Digital Marketing Workshop in London about measuring what really matters to your bosses and directors . The presentation focuses on what construction marketers should be measuring if the aim of your marketing is lead generation. Your website is and should be the heart of your digital marketing strategy and it is a lead conversion tool – but is it doing its job? How do you know your marketing activities are working if you are not measuring leads by source or campaign?
Lead generation and conversion is an important marketing and business goal, so are you measuring how your website is performing? How many leads is your website generating and how many of them are converted into prospects? Which campaigns are working better than others? Where are you spending most of your budget and is it generating you leads? How can you reduce your spend yet increase conversions or generate good qualified leads?
Some marketers only report metrics such as visits and page views which doesn’t tell you anything. Marketers should instead report results and outcomes, not observations. Measure what matters!
First and foremost let’s get the definitions out of the way. What exactly is a lead you say? Well, a lead is simply a company or group of companies that you have identified as expressing some kind of interest in your products and/or services. Lead generation is the marketing term for the process of creating and generating the interest of potential prospects. It occurs when a visitor to your site (or other company touchpoints) takes action and makes additional contact with your company. There are several ways to increase lead generation and the main 5 will be discussed in further detail in this post. The purpose is to offer your target audience a wealth of relevant information that will shorten their buying cycle and convert targeted traffic into ‘hot’ prospects. This can be done through establishing your business and your team members as thought leaders in your industry.
*** If you are a construction product manufacturer that has all the necessary (and more) product information on your website, including online applications such as product selectors, pricing guides, downloadable brochures or product specification datasheets, you are making an architects’ or specifiers’ product selection that much easier. Good, relevant technical information creates loyalty amongst those who specify products or require assistance from those who manufacture products.
Studies have shown that nearly 93% of all B2B buyers begin the buying process by searching on the Internet. They use specific keywords to find companies that provide the products and services that they are looking for. Since they have a specific need in mind, they do not want to spend hours searching through large amounts of jargon and useless information. Instead they want valuable facts, information, results and most importantly, why they should pick you over your competitors. What makes you stand out? What is your USP? Your website represents you, your company and the products and services that you provide to your target market. Each page on your website has a different purpose with a set objective. Therefore all pages need to be optimised to work effectively and communicate your brand message to visitors.
A landing page is a page that prospects reach either through a direct link (maybe sent through email), search engine results, online advertising banners or PPC campaigns. Landing pages are not a website’s homepage but instead are separate pages that contain keywords matching the search phrases used by visitors. They should be designed to give visitors all the necessary information in one place so that it is easier for them to make an informed purchase decision. Visitors do not want to click through various website pages to find what they are looking for. They will simply move on and find one with a targeted landing page. There goes yet another missed opportunity! Therefore, targeted and optimised landing pages need to be a core part of your online marketing strategy to maximise lead generation.
