The independent judges have confirmed the popular vote selection and chosen Tocci Building Companies?as the?winner of?the 2015 Best Construction Blog competition.?
The Massachusetts-based contractor certainly outpolled the other contestants, winning 326 votes compared to the second-place popular vote selection, The Rogers Townsend Construction Law blog.
However, the importance of the independent judging process cannot be understated. The four judges returned distinctively different assessments. Two of them confirmed the popular vote, but two diverged, with other selections. (Judges were asked to assess the blog’s editorial content quality and design and could consider all the blogs in the competition, though they had the option to assess only the top seven or eight popular vote winners.)
The judges made their decisions independently. In the final judging grid, each judge’s first selection received three points, the second received two, and their third selection received one point. This means the maximum judged?vote any blog could receive would be 12 points.
Based on these criteria, Tocci came in first with six votes, followed by Procore with four votes, and a three-way tie for third with three points each; Tess Wittler?Writing Services, Burgin Construction Inc.?and Construction?Data Company (CDC).?Notably, none of the blogs won support from more than two of the judges, so I wouldn’t say the vote is as close as it is one of diverging perspectives.
Procore was sixth in popular vote, Tess Wittler was seventh and Burgin Construction Inc., a previous Best Construction Blog winner, was off the first page of the results at eighth.
Weighing the judging results as a priority over the popular vote, this would indicate that Procore wins second place spot in this year’s competition and, since there is a three-way tie for the judged selection, Construction Data Company’s ranking as the third-highest popular vote collector confirms it as the third-place blog winner.
What did the judges have to say about the finalists? In fairness to the judges, I won’t correlate their votes and indvidual identities, but will publish some of their comments below.
One judge?wrote about Tocci:
- the best-looking blog, with lots of interesting, relevant images and a good design
- variety of interesting content with wide appeal – covers design news and inspiration, helpful service and product info and advice
- I like the personal stories of what their staff does – helps customers understand what it is they do.
Another?agreed, observing: “I agree with the readers the Tocci stands out both for look and content.”
Conversely, the third judge?gave the CDC Blog the top vote: “Probably one of the best I?ve seen in your competition – very niche”?and?the fourth judge selected Burgin Construction Inc. after a through review of graphic quality, content, reader interaction and reader support.
Second-place blog competitor Procore “gets higher marks because they actually have engagement in the comments section, unlike most,” one judge reported, adding the blog ?offered a:
- variety of useful topics on running a construction business
- free e-books are a good resource (and an excellent marketing strategy on their part)
- when describing their products they manage to not be to “sell-y”
A second judge also selected Procore as the second-place finalist, validating the selection.
Of course every blog that entered the competition effectively won — there was no fee to enter the competition and the free blog reviews and listings certainly would be helpful for the blogging business’s public reputation and search engine optimization.
Congratulations!
About the judges:
Heather Kirk is a freelance writer for the Construction News and Report Group of Companies, of which I am president.
Cassandra Pollack (www.crimsondesign.ca), a board member of the SMPS Ontario chapter,?helps AEC businesses plan, strategize, and improve their marketing efforts with a collaborative, design thinking approach.
Michael Stone (markupandprofit.com) ?is an author and consultant who provides business management advice primarily to residential contractors.
Matt Handal?s?Help Everybody Everyday blog provides worthy insights ? and he has written successful books and provides other resources on proposal developments.
Nominations will open for the 2015 Best Construction Blog competition in December. In the meantime, if you would like your blog to be reviewed and posted in our free blog directory, please email?buckshon@constructionmarketingideas.com.
