Content marketing for your construction business is about so much more than pumping out Facebook posts or blog entries. If you plan to invest time and money into content to attract leads and engage clients, you need to have three essentials in place.
Not really sure how content plays into growing your contracting business? Content is a type of inbound marketing that is used to attract relevant prospects, build brand awareness, and convert leads. The kind of marketing most of us grew up with is called outbound because it “pushes” promotion onto the customer. Think of a typical FM radio ad or commercials during big football games.
Instead of “pushing” promotion onto a customer, inbound contractor marketing attracts the customer to you with useful content. For example, the customer types “local wood frame commercial builders,” and the search engine produces a list of results. (HubSpot is a fantastic resource for learning more about putting inbound methods to work to grow your business.)
If you’re ready to get started or you need to refresh your marketing, put these must-have tactics to work.
Define who you are.
Who are you as a business? It’s not some existential exercise borrowed from a college philosophy book. Rather, this is the defining question that helps you decide what unique value you offer to customers—a factor the competition doesn’t do, or perhaps doesn’t do as well as you do.
Maybe you specialize in some aspect of construction, like historic renovations. Or perhaps your business is really good at restorations needed because of fires, storms, or other catastrophes. Perhaps your offer a fast, efficient construction process using an Equipter RB3000 drivable container or Equipter CR8000 compact mobile crane. Identify whatever your unique selling point is so you can properly position it to prospects in your construction company's content marketing.
Unless you can define your business clearly to the customer, you’re going to have a much harder time writing and publishing consistent, relevant content—the kind that differentiates you from the other contractors.
Find out how customers find you online.
Keywords are the search terms buyers use to get to your website. Using them properly within content plays an essential role in how your website and other online platforms rank when a prospect starts searching. In fact, a good keyword strategy can mean the difference between being on the first page of rankings—and being on the 81st page.
Researching the right keywords isn’t difficult, but it’s a must-do if you want your construction business to show up when someone needs your services. To start, put on your customer hat and make a list of words that a prospect would likely use if they needed to hire your business. Start with general terms relevant to your business, such as “renovation,” “commercial builders,” and so on.
Online keyword tools can help you use that initial keyword list to find related terms to expand the list and find more specific terms to use in your construction business marketing inbound strategy. You’ll find a variety of paid and free platforms, including common ones like Google AdWords and Wordtracker.
Develop a plan.
Tactics are worthless without a plan to drive them. Invest time in developing a game plan that outlines how your contracting company will spend its valuable marketing resources, including time and money.
Your content marketing plan doesn’t need to be super in-depth, but it should define how your company will implement marketing. Many marketing plans also outline budgets, such as what you’ll spend on Facebook advertising.
Another critical part of an effective marketing plan is setting a schedule for content posts, shares, and other activity. It’s not enough to post on social media once in a blue moon or to blog only when you have time. An editorial calendar, which is essentially a production schedule, will lay the groundwork for writing regular, relevant content.
Content marketing for construction companies is easier to handle with a plan. Once you take the time to lay out your company's purpose, how you outshine your competition, and the right keywords for your services, you're well on your way to establishing and implement a solid content marketing strategy.