Aug 10
23
Survey Says: 2011 Marketing Outlook
Want insight into 2011 Marketing in construction markets?
Find out what your construction marketing peers are planning for 2011 by taking a quick and anonymous survey via Survey Monkey!
Sponsored by the Construction Marketing Association, the goal is to determine the 2011 marketing plan trends for the construction industry. A complete report will be available to participants by October 1 (2010) or sooner.
The quick and easy survey questions include marketing spending plans, top marketing priorities, and increases or decreases in activity or spending by key marketing tactics. A demographic qualifier will allow results of the survey to be reported by construction category (AEC, equipment, tools, materials, builder/remodeler). Please complete the survey by 9/20/10!
Link here for more info: Marketing Outlook Survey
Posted in Construction Marketing Marketing Survey Research by .
(CMA FOCUS SERIES: SEO)
As construction marketers implement next-generation websites that feature enhanced functions, many companies have not yet taken advantage of even the most basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. In most industries, SEO can be critical to achieving improved search results for websites—thereby increasing website traffic, and quite possibly sales and market share.
SEO relates to website programming, design and development as a foundation to increase or optimize search engine results that include your industry’s keywords. As more and more business is conducted through the internet, how can construction marketers leverage this important medium? An SEO foundation should include such optimization techniques as:
Posted in Best Practices Search Engine Optimization Search Marketing by .
(CMA FOCUS SERIES: PUBLICITY: PART 2 of 2)
Per the prior post, the popularity and use of free publicity historically increases when the economy tanks. In the midst of this seemingly extended downturn, PR is certainly gaining priority in the construction marketing mix. At the same time, PR is changing significantly. So how can you refine your PR to realize greater results?
PART 1 of our series will examined how PR has changed, and how your PR program can change to leverage new PR opportunities. PART 2 of this series focuses on the specifics of PR distribution options.
As always, please share your comments and personal experience to bring some broader perspectives to our discussion!
News Distribution Tips
As you might expect, there is no “silver bullet” or single solution that address all needs. Most marketing practitioners use a combination of approaches for getting news and PR releases in front of editors and influencers.
Posted in Communications Marketing Tips Publicity by .
(CMA FOCUS SERIES: PUBLICITY: PART 1 of 2)
The popularity and use of free publicity historically increases when the economy tanks. In the midst of this seemingly extended downturn, PR is certainly gaining priority in the construction marketing mix. At the same time, PR is changing significantly. So how can you refine your PR to realize greater results?
PART 1 of our series will examine how PR has changed, and how your PR program can change to leverage new PR opportunities. PART 2 will focus on the specifics of PR distribution options.
As always, please share your comments and personal experience to bring some new perspectives to our discussion!
PR Has Changed
So, how has PR changed? Not to overstate, but in the last few years PR has changed more than in the last 30 years combined. How? The changing roles of journalists and marketing practitioners, and the rapidly increasing use of social media in PR.
Posted in Best Practices Communications Construction Marketing Tips Publicity Resource by .
Jul 10
19
Social Media Best Practices for Construction – Webcast Panel Discussion – September 15, 2010
Naperville, IL—July 19, 2010
The Construction Marketing Association (CMA) announces a Webcast Panel Discussion: Social Media Best Practices for Construction on September 15, 2010 at 12 pm CST.
The free webcast will feature panelists from such leading construction brands as Caterpillar, USG and Emerson Electric. Panelists will share how their construction brands utilize social media, how social media integrates with other Internet initiatives, what results have been realized and how to measure, and more. The panel will discuss use of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, microsites and more.
Panelists include Kevin Espinosa from Caterpillar, Melissa York from USG and Carrie Halle from Knaack Div. Emerson Electric. The panel will be moderated by Neil M. Brown, Chairman of the Construction Marketing Association (bios below).
“Social media is an exciting marketing opportunity for the construction industry if implemented effectively. While there is a lot of hype, we are increasingly identifying best practices, and more importantly, measurable results”, states Neil M. Brown. “Still many construction brands have not leveraged this important channel of communications, and hence the need for such a webcast.”
Register here for the Free Webcast Panel Discussion.
by Eric Gagnon
Print direct mail is a powerful means for market-testing sales copy, promotions, pricing, and other critical aspects of your marketing program. Online pay-per-click (PPC) advertising programs, such as Google AdWords, can also be used as a powerful, effective, and very fast method for testing many aspects of your marketing program’s sales copy, benefits, headlines, pricing and other key product positioning features, for all other marketing programs, not just online advertising.
Online Pay-Per-Click Testing
Online text search pay-per-click (PPC) advertising programs, such as Google AdWords, are naturally suited to market testing. The main advantage of using PPC advertising is speed of result: You can test an infinite combination of keywords, text ads, headlines, and landing page promotions, and you can see the final result faster, and with more precise measurability, compared to any other form of market testing or advertising.
Posted in Best Practices Marketing Search Marketing by .
by Kermit Baker and Diego Saltes
Analysis of the Relationship Between A Billings Index and Construction Spending.
Due to the size and cyclicality of construction, a premium is placed on accurately predicting nonresidential construction trends, particularly at turning points in the construction cycle. Given that construction decisions are made by hundreds of thousands of businesses, nonprofit institutions, and government organizations, it is extremely difficult to get comprehensive information on building plans. However, since architects design the overwhelming majority of nonresidential construction projects, gathering information on billings at architecture firms provides leading information on future construction trends. Statistical analysis demonstrates that information provided by architecture firms on trends in their billings is highly correlated with the eventual nonresidential construction activity, with leads of up to one year.
The U.S. nonresidential construction industry is one of the larger sectors of our economy.[1] Construction spending for nonresidential buildings totaled more than $330 billion in 2004, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, with about 45 percent coming from the more volatile commercial and industrial sectors and 55 percent from the typically more stable institutional building categories.
Share your secrets for effective construction marketing with our monthly blog column. We will publish with credit and make you famous! Share ideas and approaches of some of your best marketing programs. No you don’t have to include proprietary results, just some good descriptions!
The best secret of the year will win a FREE iPad! And a complimentary Construction Marketing Association annual membership! Winner to be announced at our annual meeting! You do not have to be a member to submit a Construction Marketing Secret.
The Construction Marketing Association offers a number of marketing training programs to association member companies, each developed by experts from our Construction Marketing Institute. The programs are delivered on-site, at your offices. Choose from our popular programs below, customized to your company. Or request a (free, no-obligation) consultation to determine a customized training program that addresses your unique requirements. For more information, or questions, email Marketing Training.
Following are some of our most popular marketing training programs:
Jun 10
22
Success with Google AdWords: Developing Killer Content for Effective B2B Lead Generation Programs
by Eric Gagnon
Online advertising, particularly methods like Google AdWords keyword search advertising, give advertisers the immediate response and measurability they need to run accountable B2B marketing programs, with a speed and precision not found in print trade advertising or other, more traditional parts of your marketing program.
The vast majority of successful AdWords lead-generation programs in business-to-business markets use information-based promotions that motivate your potential prospects to provide you with their contact information in exchange for the free information you provide to them.
This exchange of valuable information to the prospect, in return for prospects agreeing to provide their contact information to you, reveals the fact that the quality and perceived value of the information premium you provide is the most important element of any AdWords keyword search program.
To Be Successful with AdWords, Start with Great Content
Every successful business-to-business AdWords marketing program begins with a great information deliverable. Because most AdWords marketing programs in B2B utilize these free, permission-based information premiums, and because your potential prospect’s
Posted in Best Practices Construction Marketing Marketing Search Marketing by .
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Jim Scarlata manages marketing operations for Knaack LLC, div. Emerson Electric. Jim is a Director. > Read More |
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