This year?s (2012) Best Construction Blog competition had a tight race for ?popular vote? between Construction Digital and Burgin Construction Inc., but Burgin emerges as the winner through our independent judges? evaluation and, as well, my own assessment of the vote.
Rhonda Burgin has effectively combined her blog with a solid and dynamic social media presence. ?This results in an effective and sizeable community support initiative. ?When she went out for the votes, they arrived from a diversity of readers.
Construction Digital?s blog is undeniably attractive and effective, but the ?get out the vote? seems to have been primarily an internal exercise within the corporation. ?This is certainly allowed within the rules.
(In previous years, we put a ?block? on more than one vote from a single IP address, and this probably would have disqualified many of the Construction Digital employees and supporters if we had retained that rule this year. ?However, we believe that it isn?t fair to unreasonably deny larger organizations the opportunity to compete ? the final judged results would have been closer however if, say, Construction Digital?s vote count included a majority of ?independent? supporters.)
As it is, one of our judges wrote (without seeing my interpretation of the popular vote sources): ??Burgin wins for the combination of look and information.?
Third place popular vote finalist Gould Design Inc. certainly, in my opinion, is a rising star, and has a good shot at winning next year.
This year, Burgin Construction wins hands down because the blog is indeed part of an incredibly active and dynamic social media marketing strategy from the Orange County, CA, residential contractor.
Burgin Construction integrates its blogging activity with an intense participation in Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter ? ?yet still gets the actual construction work done. ?See this posting on the About page:
When we began our small, family owned woodworking shop in 1989, we had no idea just how much it would grow over the next 20 years. Through continued education in the construction industry, a phenomenal team and the support of family and friends, we have realized our dream of becoming one of the most successful Home Remodeling companies in Orange County!
Though we have grown, we are still family owned and operated and specialize in providing top quality materials and outstanding customer service on room additions, full-service remodeling, kitchens, bathrooms, and custom cabinetry. By laying a foundation of trust and building a relationship with our clients, we have created a business with many repeat customers and referrals. We are proud of our accomplishments and treat each and every home as if it were our own.
If you are in need of a home remodeling project that will exceed your expectations and a company that will focus on you, we would love to welcome you to our family!
Brad and Rhonda Burgin
Within a few weeks, I?ll interview Rhonda Burgin for a more extensive article about her adaptation and use of social media in the family business.
In the meantime, congratulations to Burgin Construction ? and everyone else who entered. ?All entries continue to receive hyperlinks from the constructionmarketingideas.com site and I?ve sought to generate some positive publicity for each of them. ?These postings remain in the archives.
