Trending Inbound Marketing Strategies for 2021
5 min read
The construction industry is booming, and maybe you aren’t thinking about marketing. But, marketing tactics are evolving, and it’s important to keep up with the changing times. There are many ways to attract new customers, but which ones will work best in 2021 and beyond? Keeping up with the most popular trends can be difficult. But, if you do, you can improve your brand name recognition and re-establish and/or keep your company as a leading authority in your field.
What is Inbound Marketing?
Traditional marketing no longer packs the powerful punch of years past. Outbound marketing tactics such as advertising on TV, radio, and billboards are losing their effectiveness. In fact, many consumers are reporting that they ignore these sorts of ads altogether because of the high frequency with which they are broadcast.
In contrast, inbound marketing strategies involving social media, video content, and search engine optimization are proving optimal as the digital revolution continues to progress at a rapid pace. Here is a brief list of the top trends in inbound marketing.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
Both residential and commercial construction companies are turning to social media to improve and enhance their current marketing strategies. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are becoming increasingly more popular among construction marketing professionals because they offer opportunities to build strong relationships with your target audience.
Different social media platforms can attract different sectors of your target demographics. For example, LinkedIn is a great way for commercial construction companies to market to architects and engineers. Meanwhile, Facebook is a great way to engage with the local community.
According to a recent article in Search Engine Journal, the top 10 social media platforms in the U.S. are:
- Facebook (2.7 billion monthly users)
- YouTube (2 billion monthly users)
- WhatsApp (2 billion monthly users)
- Instagram (1.16 billion monthly users)
- TikTok (689 million monthly users)
- Snapchat (433 million monthly users)
- Reddit (430 million monthly users)
- Pinterest (416 million monthly users)
- Twitter (353 million monthly users)
- LinkedIn (310 million monthly users)
By marketing across just a few of these platforms simultaneously, your company can access a broader range of potential customers—especially when compared with traditional marketing methods in which advertising space is limited or expensive.
Video
Video is the most engaging content across social media platforms, and 85% of businesses use some kind of video advertising to market their brand, according to stats from Wyzowl.
People are spending less and less time on Facebook these days due to the platform’s many recent changes, such as a news feed that only shows posts shared by friends or pages they have liked. This change is leading many brands across the globe to turn toward other forms of marketing during this transitional period between Facebook formats.
The most popular choices of video content are YouTube ads and videos placed within articles and then posted on networks like LinkedIn, Pulse, and Twitter Moments. Another top trend is video marketing campaigns using Instagram’s Sponsored Stories feature, which lets users click through images without needing to visit your profile page.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Did you know that most web surfers searching for a reliable and professional construction company rarely travel past the first three results listed in a search engine query? If your organization is not on the first page of the Google rankings, then you may be missing out on loads of potential customers.
SEO marketing strategies for the construction industry include:
- Developing a marketing plan for your website. Other than Google search engine queries, how else will you market your website to the masses?
- Creating new blog posts consistently so that your client base knows you are remaining current in the industry.
- Making sure your content is original (not copied from another website), high quality, informative, and keyword rich. Consider writing about current or previous construction projects that showcase your expertise and capabilities. Include pictures or perhaps even short videos.
- Optimize your standard web pages with relevant keywords, as well. Consider including geographical keyword phrases that identify your city, state, or region of the country in which you conduct business.
If writing keyword-specific blogs and webpage content is not your skill set, hire a professional SEO consultant. The cost will pay for itself in new clients within a short time.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
SEM is an inbound marketing strategy using paid services to gain visibility and higher rankings on the search engines. It is also known as PPC (pay-per-click).
If the SEO of your current website is inadequate or obsolete, updating the webpages with keyword-rich content is an effective strategy for the longer term. However, if you want to attract lots of new traffic quickly, SEM strategies may be the way to go.
With enough money, you can rank on the first page of the Google rankings quite easily. In many search engine queries, PPC can even outperform conventional SEO strategies— something that might offer a significant return on investment for construction firms looking to take advantage of a recent uptick in consumer demand.
Thought Leadership
One surefire way to build trust and respect for your brand is through thought leadership. Create a marketing strategy based on your unique expertise and construction knowledge to generate valuable content that educates, informs, and entertains potential customers.
The content does not necessarily need to appear on your company blog or website either. You can significantly enhance your brand name reputation by posting on other websites, like those of your subcontractors, engineering consultants, and industry-specific e-magazines.
If you can manage to convince one of your competitors to allow you to post an informative article, case study, white paper, video, or survey on their website, that would be a major win.
Webinars and Digital Events
Hosting webinars and digital events can be a great way to gain new clients. If you are comfortable talking for an hour about a particular area of construction expertise, hosting webinars may be the perfect marketing opportunity.
You can talk about anything—special construction equipment, building materials, or even the management of construction delays. Providing valuable information with each digital event will help build credibility within the construction industry while further establishing yourself as an authority in your field.
Webinars and digital events can be tremendous lead generators. Before launching your event, ask all attending guests to sign in and provide their email addresses. After the presentation, you can use this email list for future marketing campaigns, including (but not limited to) email marketing endeavors.
If you record your event, you can also use the recording as video content on social media platforms to help you steer even more traffic to your website.
Are Your Marketing Tactics Outdated?
The technological revolution is advancing with seemingly no end in sight. Many companies within the construction industry are slow to take advantage of these latest trends and innovations. Fortunately, this lack of widespread technological adoption offers a massive opportunity to forward-thinking business owners willing to invest in their futures. By making a few simple changes to your inbound marketing strategies, companies within the construction industry can reap huge rewards.
