AEC firms face unique challenges in securing new and repeat business. Finding the time to connect with people who need and want your services can be difficult in a world characterized by more and more communication channels, particularly digital ones. Time and budget constraints present more obstacles. How do you get heard through the clutter? Help customers find you with inbound marketing! Inbound marketing attracts interested parties to you, rather than relying on the traditional advertising tactics of days past. Plus, its measurable and saves time and money! Connect With Us: Blog: http://blog.digitalimpactagency.com/INSIGHTS LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-impact-agency Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DigitalImpactAg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalimpactagency Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102445555502572717308 Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/digitalimpactag/

1. The AEC Industry
How They Use Inbound Marketing to Grow Relationships and Drive Business
Finding the time to connect with people who need
and want your services can be difficult in a world
characterized by more and more communication
channels, particularly digital ones. Time and budget
constraints present more obstacles.
How do you get heard through the clutter? Help
customers find you with inbound marketing!
Inbound marketing attracts interested parties to you,
rather than relying on the in-your-face tactics of days
past. Plus, it’s measurable and saves time and money!
What are some examples of inbound marketing?
Strategic Websites1
Video Testimonials2
Branded Social Media Channels3
Business Blogs4
Press Releases5
Targeted emails6
Portfolios7
Ebooks and Whitepapers8
Search Engine Optimization9
Inbound Marketing Usage
A recent survey by the Construction Marketing Association found that 82% of respondents used inbound marketing.
Why? Inbound marketing achieves results, especially for those with a limited marketing budget who
are short on time.
AEC companies face unique challenges in securing new and repeat business.
What type of inbound marketing did they employ?
Facebook
Search Engine Optimization
Twitter
E-Newsletters
Blogging
YouTube
Landing and Registration Pages
65%
61%
61%
52%
49%
45%
42%
What type of content did they develop?
68%
PRNews Announcements
Blog
Posts
42% 39%
Videos
39% 39%
Case
Studies
Website
Landing Pages
33%
Whitepapers
How did they measure their inbound marketing efforts?
Website Analytics
Social Media Traffic and Followers
inbound
marketing
77%
23%
Only 3% measured Keyword Ranking, Brand
Awareness, and Inbound Calls, and 10% don’t
measure inbound marketing results at all. Looks
like an opportunity for you to do it better!
Social Media Usage
The Construction Marketing Association also surveyed companies on their social media usage, with
some illuminating findings:
of respondents utilized social media as part of their marketing initiatives90%
What social media channels did users employ? What was tapped as the most effective
social media?
88%
81%
71%
18%
49%
29% 26%
Only 18% used Pinterest. What
does this mean for you? Get
ahead of the game by sharing
photos and portfolio pieces to
attract new eyes and ears to
your company!
A whopping 61% of respondents did not employ blogging in their social media strategy.
Why should you?
Blogging
• Positions you as an expert • Provides relevant, educational information • Gives your SEO a boost
• Instills trust in clients for your brand • Provides a way to spotlight new or completed projects
What social media channels did users employ?
65% 44%69% 40%
Reported increased
awareness as a result of
their social media efforts.
Saw a rise in
website traffic.
Saw an improvement in
their search rankings.
Generated sales leads
through their social
media channels.
But, you ask, where do I find the time for all that?
As a professional in the AEC industry, you don’t have a lot of free time. Why not automate your
marketing? Software lets you automate tasks and processes, track the efficacy of your efforts
and gives you actionable data points to refine your efforts.
A 2013 study by an MIT Sloan student found that HubSpot software users achieved great results. Check
out these customer results (over a 12 month period)
traffic
92.3% of customers saw an increase in traffic.
close to 30% realized more than a 100% increase
in traffic.
Almost half saw the traffic increase in 2-4 months.
Leads
92.7% saw an increase in leads.
B2B companies experienced 23.9
times more leads.
sales
49.7 experienced an increase
in sales in the first 7 months
of use.
49.2% reported a higher lead
to-sales conversion rate.
Digital Impact Agency is a creative firm specializing in interactive digital media communication
strategies for manufacturing and technology companies, professional service firms (architectural,
engineering, construction, legal and consulting), nonprofits and enterprise companies.
sources
Construction Marketing Association
[Inbound Marketing in Construction Survey Results]: http://www.constructionmarketingblog.org/inbound-marketing-in-construction-survey-results/#.Ufpy5W2AZco
[Social Media in Construction Survey Results]: http://www.constructionmarketingblog.org/social-media-in-construction-survey-results/#.Ufp9Mm2AZco
HubSpot: http://www.hubspot.com/roi