There are one of three responses to the idea of construction blogging: “We already have a blog.” “Blogs are a waste of time.” “It sounds like a smart idea but we’re not sure what’s involved?” This blog is for those of you in the third category. The following are brief answers to 13 common questions [Read More]
Writing
R.G. LeTourneau: Content Marketing Pioneer
Heavy equipment manufacturing titan R.G. LeTourneau was one of the original practitioners of content marketing because his newsletter, “Now,” contained advice-driven information. His approach contains some valuable lessons for modern construction companies that may be on the fence about this new approach to marketing. Who Was R.G. LeTourneau? R.G. LeTourneau requires no introduction in the [Read More]
The Infinite Value of Online Publicity
Gone are the days when you showed up in the print edition of a construction magazine and your reach was limited to total circulation, shelf-life, and pass-along sharing. Those that get published in the trade media or on influential blogs will feel the positive effects for many years to come thanks to the internet. The [Read More]
How General Contractors Can Win with Blogging
By Heather Grossmuller, J.H. Greene & Son, Inc. In modern day construction, a digital presence is an easy way for a potential customer to feel comfortable with a contractor’s specialty. This match-making scenario becomes challenging when there are countless resources providing the exact service all listed on a search engine’s output. Without a budget for [Read More]
15 Press Release Ideas for Your Construction Company
When is the last time your construction firm issued a press release? It may seem like small potatoes, but being featured in the right trade magazines on a regular basis can build up your brand and even lead to new business. Perhaps you’re interested in getting publicity, but not sure what qualifies as newsworthy. Read [Read More]
Will Print Construction Magazines Become Extinct?
Lee Publications, publisher of Hard Hat News, Waste Handling Equipment News, and North American Quarry News, recently transitioned these well-known construction magazines from print to a digital format and website under the new identity of Rock Road Recycle. It’s part of a much bigger trend in which digital is displacing print. Is the construction industry [Read More]
Construction Marketing Advice That’s a Bunch of Malarkey
Construction firms today waste lots of time and money pursuing marketing advice that often turns out to be complete malarkey. Malarkey, also known as bullshit, baloney, exaggeration, etc., seems like an appropriate term in the wake of Saint Patrick’s Day since it is believed to have Irish American roots. The mission of the Construction Marketing [Read More]
How Foley Engines Upshifted into Content Marketing
The concept of content marketing in the construction industry is often met with a perplexed look and a snarky response along the lines of: “You want me to provide free advice?” You’ve been lulled into the routine of placing an ad and waiting for the phone to ring. I presented at a Construction Marketing Association [Read More]
How to Energize Public Relations like Elon Musk
Elon Musk has achieved cult hero status in the media, primarily because of his audacious goals to change the world and a bold entrepreneurial style. With deep roots in the Silicon Valley, his current ventures involve his mission to mainstream electric cars with Tesla and colonize Mars through SpaceX. Musk’s compelling story was told for [Read More]
How to Generate Inbound Leads with Blogging
Some construction and design and construction firms are dismissive of the concept of blogging. There seems to be a perception that it makes sense for other industries, but it’s not for them. Blogging is a powerful inbound marketing tool with the ability to generate and nurture warm leads. The AEC sector is already late to [Read More]
How to Optimize Project Profiles for Best Results
There is nothing more critical to marketing your Architecture, Engineering, or Construction (AEC) firm than the projects you design and build. Your project profiles allow you to go beyond claims and demonstrate actual results. The work you perform is the only thing that illustrates how the key elements of your firm: team, services, history, brand, [Read More]
Bipolar Marketing: Digital, Print, or Both?
The announcement just showed up (in my inbox ironically) that the Mid-Atlantic Builders Exchange, a Harrisburg, Pa.-based trade association providing information to the construction industry, is shutting its doors. They used to print a heavy-duty annual construction buyers guide among other things. The press release cited “rapidly changing economic and market conditions that have continued [Read More]
How to Address 5 Website Content Challenges
The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is fueled by competition, especially in today’s increasingly crowded marketplace. Our inclination to protect trade secrets, clients, rates, key staff, new technologies, etc. is stronger than ever. A heightened level of competition for a relatively static amount of work also prods us to more closely evaluate the competition. [Read More]
Put Project Stories in Your Marketing Toolbox
The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is a results-driven industry populated by some very smart and often pragmatic folks. Yet many firms within and outside of the industry try to sell their products and services by boasting about top notch service, the number of licensed professionals on staff, or how many similar projects they’ve [Read More]
Use the Timeless Power of Storytelling to Market Your AEC Firm
We live in changing times. In fact, we may be living through some of the biggest structural changes witnessed since the start of the 20th Century due to the increasing prevalence of technology and its impact on the way in which we communicate. But as much as things are changing, some fundamentals remain. Storytelling is [Read More]