Social media initiatives: Your observations

You can read my e-book about social media for the architectural, engineering and construction community and, if you've used social media at all in your business, share your stories, experiences, failures, successes, challenges, questions and visions. (Phew, that's a mouthful). Please feel free to comment about your social media initiatives. You can also connect through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google Plus.

Can you make social media work for your construction marketing?

The answer is "yes" -- though remember, social media is a process, not a magical cure or fix-all.
The key to successful social media application is to (a) be sociable and (b) to respect/communicate and listen to your current, former and potential clients.

I've written a book on the topic and you can purchase it from Amazon.com or other ebook retailers (just search by keywords social media, construction, or if you wish to support my vanity, my surname, buckshon!) The book is $4.95.

(If you've advertised in any of our publications or purchased my full-scale Construction Marketing Ideas book, please email me and I will send you a link where you will be able to download your free copy.)

The introvert's problem with construction marketing social media

I admit a paradox here -- I've written an e-book about social media, and certainly apply the concepts to some extent, but (this is a rather direct admission), don't "like" social media that much because, well, I'm not that social.

Some people enjoy the give and take of one-on-one and social group exchange, of chit chat, of interaction between individuals and groups of individuals.  I prefer a good book or a computer screen where interaction is between "man and machine" rather than with any real person at the other end of the line.

Pretty anti-social, eh.  Well, if we go back many years, I had rather serious social functioning issues because of extreme introversion.  Lots of hours of group therapy, coupled with some single-minded drive to achieve excellence in my chosen career -- journalism -- helped me reach the stage where I could function in the real world.

But interacting in constant Twitter feeds -- posting pictures and responding day-by-day to Facebook postings, living within Google+ circles, well, these don't provide the satisfaction of blogging, where the words can flow and, heck, if you read them, great, if you respond, okay, but the initial blog communication is definitely one-way.

I certainly appreciate the limitations here.  Sometimes even inward-looking introverts need to reach out, to communicate, and to share.  The best approach for those of us who prefer to be alone always isto do our best to think about others' real needs and share and give as much as we can, without worrying about return.

Thanks to the readers who have pointed out areas where the social media book can be improved.  If you've requested your free copy (deadline Friday, Aug. 3), please point out typos, inconsistencies, missed information, anything you would like to see improved.    The result will be a much-improved book on the Aug. 15 official launch date.  Follow as well www.constructionmarketingideas.com.

A "limited run" on Facebook

This rather intriguing Facebook posting from "Limited Run" raises some rather interesting marketing questions.  The company asserts that 80 per cent of its traffic/clicks from Facebook advertising are from bots, and that the social media service demanded $2,000 in advertising for the company to change its page name to match a new branding identity.

The story has gone viral -- I've found a variation of it with hundreds of comments on my Google+ stream.

Is it true?  Well, I don't doubt the story happened -- the question is whether Facebook would really allow virtually all of its click-throughs to be generated by auto-generators.  My skepticism here is that if one company has reported this sort of abuse, why are there not many more complaints?  Lots of people are getting on the bandwagon to 'dis' Facebook -- all of which is generating publicity for the business, which it probably welcomes.

Nevertheless, even if you don't entirely believe the assertions here, there are difficult and challenging branding and practical perceptions about the worthiness and effectiveness of paid social media advertising.  In theory, the ads should be truly effective, if they are properly targeted and relate closely to the relevant interests of the demographic group.  The real story is somewhat more mixed.  Some people in the construction marketing community certainly have achieved results with Facebook advertising; others say they don't think it is worth the money.

My thoughts:  I would tread carefully, and slowly, and with careful planning and analytics, and test the results.  These points are covered in my construction marketing social media book.

Construction marketing and social media: Save 80% and tell it like it is

In preparation for the August 15 publication of

Social media and marketing for architectural, engineering and construction companies

What you really need to know to achieve profitable results

you can receive the book for .99; that's right, 99 cents, instead of the regular $4.95.

The book can be downloaded in a diversity of formats for virtually any e-reader or computer screen at Smashwords.com.  (I know...I didn't come up with the name).  

All you need to do in return is review it on Amazon.com when it goes online there (in about two days).  

You'll need this coupon code ZF46H.

If you've already ordered the Construction Marketing Ideas book or are an advertiser in any of the Construction News and Report Publishing Group of publications, you can receive this e-book FREE, simply by emailing buckshon@cnrgp.com with your request.

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Construction marketing: Where should you advertise, now? Where not?

The CMI Facebook page

If you are considering an advertising campaign, consider first Facebook.  Consider last, The Yellow Pages.

These are blunt generalities.  In truth, you should assess your business, its demographics and ideally spend some time face-to-face with your best and most valuable current clients (and those who you think will be the most valuable in the future) to learn which media they follow, which interests they have, and where they hang out.  Then you naturally can co-ordinate your advertising with their interests in mind (and while you are at it, hopefully obtain some testimonials you can use in your own marketing.)

Facebook's power is its ability to link the existing social networks and friendships with some detailed demographic data, allowing you to target your message quite exactly, referencing the traffic to your (free) profile page, where (if you are doing business correctly) you'll have plenty of "likes" and positive testimonials and recommendations.  These of course correlate with the natural word-of-mouth and referral process, but the whole thing is put into hyper-drive.  (Of course, there is a risk here:  If you screw up or deliver crappy service/value, you can expect the worst type of wildfire negative word-of-mouth publicity possible.)

Facebook today is like Google keyword advertising was about five years ago.  Marketers who caught the Google bug in the mid part of the previous decade discovered they had uncovered a golden source of truly inexpensive leads.  Those days have now passed and prices for relevant keywords have skyrocketed to the point that you need to be extremely thoughtful, careful, and targeted when you use AdWords -- or you risk blowing your budget in days.  (Of course, the risk is still much more manageable than conventional print or electronic media; you can test and revise your message with exceptional speed and are not beholden to the media sales reps or contracts for campaigns which simply don't work.)

While consultants can offer to help you with this keyword and Facebook advertising, I recommend you do some testing and evaluation yourself.  Google AdWords has, indeed, become relatively complex and the standard defaults could cause you to waste lots of money, but Facebook is still quite simple and easy to administer.

Compare this to the Yellow Pages where you may need to spend a small fortune on an annual contract with no escape.  Yuck.

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