From hype to insight, social media delivers big business value to progressive construction firms. New data from the Construction Marketing Association declared social networks as a leading method amongst construction professionals for attracting new business, as well as managing communication across geographically dispersed construction teams.

Social media is transforming how construction firms approach marketing and growth plans. According to those surveyed, 90 percent of construction professionals reported using platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to interact with the public, attract new business, as well as network with fellow industry colleagues.

The vast majority of respondents (97 percent) stated they were active monthly users. That’s an exceptional 7 percent year-over-year growth rate, which means social media adoption is paying off and not just a passing trend.

Social media brings unprecedented opportunities for high-growth construction business. In fact, 86 percent of construction professionals who leverage social networking stated they achieved a noticeable increase in brand awareness. The top strengths listed by survey respondents included web traffic growth (63 percent), search rank domination (39 percent) and lead generation (39 percent).

Here are the top three ways your construction firm can capitalize on social media and pace ahead the competition.

1. Prospecting for Construction Business

   Social media is a free means of gaining direct access to C-suite executives also known as the decision makers. To get connected with these individuals, start by creating a list of your top 10 target companies then scan each social platform to determine the names and titles of your target audience. Next, monitor their activity on each platform to find where your audience is actually spending time. Remember, social media is not just for socializing; it’s also for searching. Learn which platforms your audience is using to conduct online queries.

   Once you’ve determined the social channels most preferred by your target audience, build your social media strategy around these platforms. If you are active on these particular social media channels then you will increase the chance of your social media activity appearing in people’s search results and social newsfeeds. Don’t waste your resources on social media sites that have no ROI, but instead focus only on the ones that are perfect for your business.

2. Building Thought Leadership in the Construction Industry

   Modern day selling is about building trust within a community your prospect already belongs to. Your construction business can use thought leadership to shape people’s perspective of your brand. Thought leadership is about openly sharing knowledge and putting content at service for your target audience.

   We’re living in a knowledge economy. Today’s buyers are more sophisticated and independent in thinking. Customers are leveraging the Internet to diagnose their own problems and research the best solution available. As such, you need to address your prospects’ issues by sharing new insights that provide answers for your buyers. Your content should shape the buyer’s picture of what they need, but remain vendor-neutral to establish buyer trust. Remember, only ⅓ of your social content should promote your business.

   Promote your content via the social communities your prospect is most active. Tailor each piece to your buyers’ preferred platform. For example, append your content with hashtags to make each piece more discoverable on platforms that support them.

   Don’t be afraid to post multiple times, but don’t just drop links. Use your content to answer questions. Scan social threads to locate opportunities to share a recent blog article or white paper that will help a user in their purchase decision. The key is to empower your buyer with free content (knowledge) in order to build brand trust.

3. Nurturing Construction Project Leads with Social

   Not all leads are ready to enter into a deal. This is where lead nurturing can play a vital role. Lead nurturing is the process of building solid relationships with qualified prospects by providing users with highly relevant, educational content. It focuses on continually educating and informing potential clients at every stage of the sales funnel.

   Content focuses on everything from the advantages of a particular product or service, product or service updates, and/or pricing specials. The goal is to design personalized pitches that position your brand in a positive light.

   According to a recent study by Marketo, “Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50 percent more sales ready leads at a 33 percent lower cost.”

   Social media allows construction professionals to feed potential clients the information they want without forcing them to hunt for it. Use social media to listen to your prospects. Learn their interests by following conversations, and tracking keywords. Use the insights gathered through social monitoring to improve the relevancy of your content and messaging.