I have seen some brilliant marketing for engineering firms, construction firms and architects in the past few years. You are optimizing your tools and tactics to be well branded, visible and consistent.
Where is your best marketing ROI coming from next quarter or next year? The answer to this question should be part of your quarterly planning. Here are a few ideas to get started.
1. Streamline Your Content Plan
Thanks to advanced tools, your AEC firm can produce a lot of content, and it’s tempting to have a different plan for every channel. Be careful about spreading your plan too wide and your in-house marketing team too thin.
ONE TIP: To streamline your plan, review your existing content for evergreen topics that you can upcycle into quick tips for new videos or social posts. Fill in your calendars with this mix of upcycled content along with your fresh content. You will get more content with less work.
2. Categorize Tools vs. Trash
Marketing technology is moving so fast that one day it’s in and the next day it’s out. We experienced that recently with social scheduling tools. One tool didn’t have the robust options of another tool, so we switched. And guess what? Six months later the other tool had better options.
Be vigilant with the changing tide of your audiences and tool features. It is ok to switch tools and trash tools that don’t fit your strategy anymore, especially if there is a cheaper (or more robust) option.
ONE TIP: If you have a social channel with little to no engagement, make sure to ask people to follow it or subscribe. Change up your content strategy and test it over a few months. If the channel still shows no activity, get some consulting. Last resort, trash it. Make the most of your social channels that bring results.
3. Test Your Assumptions
Engineering, architecture and construction firms understand the value of a great project team. If you have a marketing team of one or two, however, it’s harder to test marketing assumptions. For additional feedback and ideas, you could form a marketing committee that includes project managers and younger staff. They will represent broader demographic data and ask questions you may not have thought about.
ANOTHER TIP: Use your strategic outside advisors as part of the marketing committee. Through a few hours of consulting or a full marketing audit, you will gain perspective on effective marketing and better ROI for your 2023 business goals (including recruitment strategies!).
Regular marketing planning is very important for engineering, construction and architecture firms to help you maintain a full pipeline, too. Even if you’re busy now, marketing is for the future. Invest in your marketing with content, tools and a creative team to sustain your reputation and business.
