Best construction blog competition: Protec Temporary Protection Materials

· Leave a Comment

Protec blogAs the January 31 nomination deadline for the 2012 Best Construction Blog competition approaches, we’ve received our first nomination from outside North America.  U.K.-based Protec provides temporary protection materials for the construction industry, a highly valid service category I’ve never seen before as a specialized business.

Recent blog postings focus on the company’s carpet protection products, certainly of relevance and value to painting and renovation contractors in both residential and commercial markets.  The company’s blog doesn’t put on airs, but describes contributions and community projects initiated by employees, while suggesting new and practical product applications.

The company has adapted state-of-the-art social media practices with links to the relevant services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus.

Overall, I think any product supply business can benefit by reviewing this site and blog.  I think you would not have great trouble creating your own website/blog model reflecting your own brand and product line using Protec’s example.  This is indeed a worthy Best Construction Blog entry.

Nominations close on midnight, January 31.  You can nominate your own blog or another one you like.  There is no cost to enter the competition.   Finalists will be decided by a combination of popular vote and independent judging.  The nomination form is here.

When a media-relations disaster strikes: What should you do?

· Leave a Comment

Steve Gray 1What should you do when things go wrong .  . . very wrong on your construction site?

Most contractors have some sort of emergency plan and system in place — but a crisis is still a daunting experience, especially when the news media shows up unannounced.  We might know how to deal with insurance, safety inspectors and the like — and even have specialized consultants on call — but how many people in the business have an emergency media relations specialist on hand?

I think, likely, very few.  Outside of some exceptionally large or well organized practices and businesses, the construction industry doesn’t really think much about the media, except, I fear, for stereotyped approaches and communications.  So, yes, you’ll line up your staff with the giant charity cheque or arrange for a bunch of gold shovels for a ground-breaking ceremony.  You probably could go your entire career without a real media-sensitive accident or incident.

Then the four-letter-word hits the fan.  No time to think.  No knowledge of what to do.  And you dig yourself into a gigantic reputational hole by saying the wrong things at the wrong time, ill prepared for the consequences, stressed, and fearful of your future.

Of course specialized consultants are available for this type of situation, and one of them – Steve Gray of Rockford Gray based in Denver, Colorado, provided some tips and advice to members of the General Contractors Association of Ottawa annual general meeting last night.

Gray of course recommends the prevention/planning approach — developing the crisis plan and training staff on the situation before things go wrong.  But he acknowledges that most contractors will only appreciate the value of his service when they’ve experienced a media crisis first-hand.  So, in outlining his services and some basic survival strategies, he suggests the use of a “buy time statement” and then you call his office right away — 24/7 — for emergency consulting advice.

I won’t steal Gray’s thunder — and marketing and lead development materials — here.  You can download the Buy Time statement and a 12-step emergency action plan at his website (in exchange for your contact information).

Best Construction Blog competition: Bloggingpainters.com

· 2 Comments

blogging painters siteBloggingpainters.com is a fascinating and exceptionally well-presented collaborative blog of blogs — specifically focusing on painting contractors.  Co-ordinator Chris Haught of RC Painting in Utah, writes:

The Blogging Painters are an eclectic group of business owners whom are passionate about the painting industry. Sounds kind of silly doesn’t it? Like a bunch of guys who like watching paint dry? But it is more than that!

Let me tell you how it came about.

While my husband manages the day to day operations of our company, I manage the office, work with customers and spend time online building websites and using Social Media. I also work in an elementary school as a media specialist, so yes, I am a computer geek! I am a moderator on 2 online forums for trade professionals, Painttalk and RemodelCrazy. where I have met a variety of professionals and made many online friends.

In the course of the past few years I have helped many of my peers set up their own websites and navigate Social Media, I was recently called a “Social Butterfly”, and yep, I am and I love what I do! And I am much happier since I traded my TV in for a laptop! I believe that paint contractors who invest sweat equity in their digital footprint will be well positioned going forward in the big picture, it seems to be just a matter of breaking ourselves of the habit of looking for the instant ROI gratification.

The latest project many of us have been undertaking is writing and networking blogs, which is a cutting edge way to gain credibility and differentiation within the paint industry. A group of us were having a conversation on Painttalk about blogging after several of us entered the  Shootout. My “Blogging Buddy” suggested that someone needed to create a place for all of the talented painter/writers to gather, share their knowledge and learn. There are alot of contractors who have great thoughts and experiences to share, but lack the time or the technical skills to create and maintain a blog. This venue may help some of those people learn how to assemble an effective blog post, and maybe even build a blog. I hope to have the best in our industry share their thoughts on marketing and business practices as well as product reviews and project posts. The best way for us all to learn is by doing, and I am happy to create a format in which to do that!

Many of our contributors were recently listed in the 2011 “Who’s Who in the Painting Industry”, I feel we are already off to a great start, and I look forward to the journey. I hope you will join us!

Thanks for reading!

If you are a painting contractor, or simply want to see social media at its best, I encourage you to view this site.

Nominations for the 2012 Best Construction Blog close on January 31.  You can enter your own blog or suggest others, and there is no cost to enter nor win the competition.  You can enter here.

How much is a social media lead worth?

· Leave a Comment

building in backgroundIn today’s Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter, I suggest, based on my experiences and those of Tim Klabunde‘s successful Design and Construction Network, that an individual on a social media list could have average value of between $30 and $40.  This number is calculated by dividing the total number of names on our lists acquired through social media marketing, by the total revenue we attribute to the new media.  (In my case, it is about $100,000; in Tim’s it is closer to $750,000 to $1 million.)

This valuation exercise, of course, is not truly scientific and our examples may not reflect your circumstance.  As well, of course, not all names are equal in value — someone signing up for an eletter or LinkedIn group and who does nothing more, is hardly worth anything, let alone $30 to $40.  Obviously, these are names of people who voluntarily joined our lists or groups.  I doubt a list of names collected through email harvesting or, worse, purchasing a spam list from a third-party broker, would have anywhere near the same value.

Nevertheless, if we can test and extrapolate this valuation model, we may be able to gain some insights into our progress and better assess the time and energy we spend on social media marketing and list building.  The process probably will be enhanced if we break our primary list into special interest groups and a true “A lists” — Klabunde, for example, suggests that about 10 per cent of the participants of the Design and Construction Network are actively involved and participating in the community.  That would bring the value of the A list names to a whopping $300 to $400, if we want to extrapolate that far.

Best Construction Blog competition: The Construction Lien Blog

· 1 Comment

construction lien blogThe Construction Lien Blog is an excellent example of how a blog can serve its purpose of promoting a business, while retaining value and relevance.  Lawyer Scott Wolfe Jr. represents Zlien, a service which processes construction lien notifications and claims nation-wide for fixed fees.  In my experience, paralegal services such as Zlien can make a lot of sense, especially when you have a significant volume or your business transcends several jurisdictions.  (It is also wise to know and have a solid relationship with a locally-competent lawyer who truly understands construction law so you can learn in detail the rules in your area of business and seek individual advice relevant to your business and practice.)

Wolfe’s blog contains practical advice — the latest posting reminds contractors, sub trades and suppliers to be sure to use the correct postage on their lien notifications, for example.  Common sense, you might say, but what if you submit your notification on the deadline but fail to notice that the postage rate had just increased and your lien claim is therefore invalid because you of a few cents missing postage.  Ouch.

Wolfe also publishes  (under Wolfe Law Group) the Construction Law Monitor blog with Seth Smiley.  Based in Louisiana, the latter blog includes some local references — but the message is still really effective to wider audiences.

in describing the performance of LSU’s BCs and the Saints, he writes:

We need to look at the success and failures of others and learn from mistakes and good calls. There are lessons to be learned here. My teams will live to fight another day, but many companies do not. In these economic times an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, to steal a medical analogy. Set up your game plan to do it right from the start and you will end up with success, unlike the teams noted above.

True enough.  Both blogs are worthy of entry in the Best Construction Blog competition.

The deadline for nominations is fast approaching, January 31.  You can nominate your own blog or one you really like by completing the nomination form at this link.

Trust, fear and effective construction marketing

· Leave a Comment

There are days when I feel like tearing my (marketing) hair out.  Individuals in this industry won’t change their ways.  They either chase one fad after another, or poke their heads back in the sand and say:  “We’ve always done it this way, and this is the way we’ll do it.”  Often I feel I am in the dark ages of marketing where, on one extreme, business owners tell me: “We rely exclusively on repeat and referral business” and, on another, they say:  “Canvassing is absolutely the most effective form of marketing out there.”

Of course, most of this behaviour is quite natural:  Repeat and referral business of course is the best kind around.  Little or no cash cost and lots of payoff in work relationships and satisfaction . . .  because the company and clients have plenty of the main ingredient in successful marketing . . . trust.  Trust, of course, is the best defense against fear:  Of intrusion, invasion, failure, weakness, social rejection and more.  It seems, when it comes to marketing, most of us are afraid of our own shadows.  (Some of us insist, however, in pushing our fearlessness beyond reasonable limits — can you really, truly trust anyone who builds business by knocking on your door, and everyone else’s), uninvited.)

Now, if we can overcome our marketing fears, we can learn how to extend the concept of trust beyond simply “relying” on word-of-mouth and referrals to enhance and improve these powerful forces and — more importantly — incredibly extend their effectiveness to individuals who (to you) might be complete strangers.  To do this, you need to remove or at least reduce your fears of exploring new media, asking for video testimonials, speaking effectively in front of audiences (of the right sort), speaking with the media, and and properly questioning the assertions and recommendations of anyone trying to sell you any kind of marketing service.

(The latter observation of course is a bit of a ringer — because how can you trust that the marketing rep is not using psychological trickery on you to earn your ‘trust’ when the individual is selling you a bunch of crap?)

To answer these observations, here are my thoughts:

  • Take some time to learn from your current clients and your best suppliers.  Which marketing resources work best for them and how do they conduct their business to be effective and successful?  They’ll probably be quite willing to share their insights, observations and referrals.  (You might pick up information about marketing consultants, designers, best practices, actual job or project leads, and more.)
  • Don’t talk to just one person/organization.  You probably can write a short list of five to 10 “bests” in your client/supplier categories.  Poll the group.  As you progress, you’ll be able to incorporate your observations from earlier participants to later ones — perhaps sharing back some useful information and insights.  You’ll also discover some creative and potentially interesting trends.
  • Try a few creative non-work (rational) risks.  My wife and I will be travelling for a few weeks this summer.  We’re going to Turkey and Florence Italy — and then I’m heading off on my own for Victoria Falls and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  Obviously, this is an unconventional vacation but Vivian will relive her Italian memories and I’ll return to the place where I discovered as young adult my capability to take intelligent risks and overcome fears.   Turkey is totally “new” to both of us.  We’ll both travel business class for, effectively, less than regular economy tickets.  I can’t say what insights or memories we will capture but know this type of vacation can be the seed of creativity and growth.

Once you’ve followed these steps, you may indeed decide that door-to-door canvassing and cold calling are the best ways to find new business, you may truly believe that media publicity is all about giant cheque presentations and grip-and-grin shots with golden ground-breaking shovels, that you absolutely must/must not have a Facebook page, blog and Twitter account or that you really, truly, should believe every blog posting that you read.

Seriously, of course, if you wish to be effective at marketing, you should gather your information from trusted sources, keeping at the back of your mind enough creativity and caution to avoid being blind-sided by outside surprises or misplaced trust.  Validate from the group, but keep your own perspective.  You’ll then likely succeed — and may be surprised how little money you need to spend.

Best Construction Blog competition: Gordon Finch Homes, Inc.

· Leave a Comment

Gordon Finch Homes blogGordon Finch Homes, Inc. based in eastern Washington state (Spokane Valley), makes truly effective use of the company’s project photos in its blog.  When you click on the initial photo, you quickly can view additional images and truly obtain a visual perspective of each profiled new home or remodeling initiative.

This blog doesn’t try to be things it isn’t.  It isn’t obviously or highly promoted on the site.  It also focuses virtually entirely on the visual images.  You won’t see any significant written job descriptions here, nor client testimonials, job process descriptions, emotional commentary, or the like.  While some of these qualities are important to me (I’m a writer/journalist by trade, after all), I won’t prejudge the blog’s effectiveness and really think other bloggers and builders can learn from this company’s effective use of project photos here.

Best Construction Blog competition nominations close on January 31.  You can enter the competition, without any fee, here. 

The value of social media: When you don’t think of its “value” . . .

· 1 Comment
Featured Tweeters

The Riggins Construction and Management Inc. "Featured Tweeters" postings

Yesterday afternoon, I enjoyed a conversation with Sean Lintow Sr. (Alabama Green Building Solutions and  SLS Construction), an avid Twitter participant (@SLSConstruction on Twitter and blogger.  Earlier, in response to a brief questionnaire on social media and Twitter, he had recommended some exceptionally interesting resources, including the “Featured Tweeters” posting at Riggins Construction &  Management Inc., researched (I believe) by Riggins office manager Bridget Willard.

Everyone starts somewhere in Social Media.  Tips and tricks we’ve all learned along the way can be especially helpful to those still navigating uncharted waters.

This interview series features twitter accounts in and around the construction industry, a growing population within the Twittersphere.  My only disclaimer is that I do not always agree with the advice.

In my conversation with Sean, I probed the question: “Does social media participation really do any good for your business?”  Most individuals coming to this space — especially readers of the Construction Marketing Ideas blog — would take that question in context of sales and business development.  In other words, the obvious question to ask here is whether this activity actually generates new business, or does something special to retain or expand the client base.

Sean told me he believes his blog has helped on search engine rankings and that has led to leads and business.  But he can’t claim the same from his Twitter activities, at least directly.  I asked him if he stopped Tweeting today, would he suffer an adverse business consequence.  “No, not immediately, but I think it would be costly in the longer-run,” he said.

He said if you go into this space expecting to sell anything, you will likely fail.  He has seen some people come into the space, trying to attract clients to their businesses.  “They have zero followers, for good reason,” he said.  He compared the story to that of someone walking into a bar and hoping to pick up a date, quickly.  The results are generally far less than satisfactory.

“There have been a few out there that can succeed that way,” Sean said.  “For the average contractor in the AEC field, this isn’t really going to fly.”

Now, you might be wondering how, in saying this, he can say that walking away from Twitter and social media would be costly to his business in the longer-term.  And here (I can suggest from personal experience) we discover the crux of the matter:  Social media in many ways echos and magnifies the dynamics of our off-line social success and relationship-building abilities.  Essentially, if we go “looking too hard for results” rather than focusing on what we can give, share and the plain-old-fashioned enjoyment of real friendship and relationships, we are bound to end up very lonely.

I acknowledge I’m a “socially handicapped” person.   It took me a long time and much struggling to learn the basics.  For example, if you want to meet the “right” woman, you could try online dating services and other resources.  Or you could work and contribute in the community of people where your potential mate is likely to hang out.  Sooner or later, you might meet her — but if you go out everywhere, everyday, “looking” you would probably be seen to be a creep.

Sure, this blog helps develop my business credibility and I can indeed trace about $100,000 in direct and follow-on business from it.  Meanwhile, volunteering on a Google help forum helps me to understand the program and its potential.  In the latter case, however, my direct income from Google advertising sales remains about $100 a month (hardly enough to get excited about.)  But what happens when, as a result of this voluntary activity, Google staff invite me on an all-expenses paid visit to Mountain View?  Somehow, I’ve managed (without “trying”) to be invited to a reasonably exclusive party.

Essentially, if you are seen as a sharer, with a generous spirit, and you are an authority and have competence with your area of expertise, the “word of mouth” factor starts taking over and, indeed, you have more than enough profitable business.  But don’t delude yourself.  If you start blogging or Tweeting with the hopes of immediate or even mid-term measurable results, you will probably be disappointed.  Try canvassing or cold calling, if that is your space.

Social media: A 2 p.m. Google+ Hangout today

· Leave a Comment

google plus jan 20 2012This morning, I have taken a break from the challenging task of writing about social media to focus on current stories and operations.

With support from freelance writers, I still co-ordinate the editorial for three regional Ontario print/online publications and the Canadian Design and Construction Report and speciality association publications, while overseeing the overall business.  Fortunately, the workload isn’t quite as bad as it seems because freelancers help provide the editorial and photos, and in many cases, stories can be recycled to serve different markets/publications.

Nevertheless, after a few hours editing, it is time to take the dog for a walk, have breakfast, take our son to school, and then head back across town for a session where local Ottawa developers are learning about new endangered species regulations. It seems some bird species need to be accommodated for new developments here.

After lunch, however, I’ll plug in the computer to Google  Plus at 2 p.m. and invite your comments/observations about social media, video technologies and the like.  The session will be highly informal but provides an opportunity for us to meet and communicate.  There is no cost to participate.

You can “circle” the Construction Marketing Ideas pages on Google Plus here:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/114410918178649676237/114410918178649676237/posts.  I recommend you sign up for Google Plus at plus.google.com because of its potential to reshape the social media space and, pragmatically, because participation in this social networking service could really enhance your search engine optimization.

Best Construction Blog competition: Blogging and selling to roofing contractors, effectively

· Leave a Comment

White Roofing Systems blog

Randy Patton’s blog, whiteroofingsystems.blogspot.com, doesn’t put on airs.  This site, intended to recruit contractors for Conklin Roofing Systems, has simple production values and lacks any pretension to be anything other than what it is intended to be:  A component of Patton’s social media outreach strategy for roofing contractors looking for additional business opportunities.

Conklin Roofing Systems, part of the Conklin Company, Inc. organization, has developed its business through a network of business opportunity/marketing strategies.  Patton earns his living by recruiting roofing contractors into the system.  He wisely is spending time in the social media space, monitoring relevant news groups, websites, Twitter and (more recently) has participated extensively in Google Plus.

Recent postings include short video clips of contractors who have signed on for the Conklin systems, and are undergoing training.  These are videos of real contractors, not actors or marketing gurus.

But do real roofing contractors need fancy and glitzy marketing messages, or the knowledge that real people, just like them, have accepted Patton’s opportunity?  Accordingly, while I don’t think Randy’s blog could ever win the “best blog design” award, it may indeed be one of the best (or even the best) if measured by effectiveness in getting results.  And that, of course, is what really counts in business.

Next Page »