Alan Gayle is a sales and marketing consultant specialising in the construction industry. In this column he offers advice on how to make an impact in the market. This time he continues his discussion of digital marketing – to tweet or not to tweet.

Last month I talked about my doubts about using social media for marketing in the construction industry. To recap: I’m not against social media marketing per se. For high-profile consumer brands it can be highly beneficial. But I have serious doubts about the return on investment (RoI) for business to business (B2B) companies in the construction industry.

At a social media marketing event last year a digital marketing specialist pointed out that several of the big contractors have Facebook and / or Twitter accounts and my clients are missing out because they aren’t “getting involved in the conversation”.

She is educated to degree level but in my view is woefully naive about how the building industry works.

The question I asked her was: “Who specifically at these contractors (or architects for that matter) operates the Twitter account?”

Is it the Chief Buyer or the Commercial Director? I doubt it. Do they even know what’s on their own company’s Twitter feed? I doubt that, too. It’s more likely to be someone in a junior admin or marketing role. Can they help you? Can they influence the decision-makers you want to reach? Again, I doubt it. In a world where time is money, I can live without those conversations.

Below are some interesting, (but not surprising) results from a survey carried out in June by Pritesh Patel of Pauley Creative. He asked the question: How Are the Top 15 Construction Companies Using Social Media? These are his answers.

Twitter: Seven out of 15 are on Twitter, although only three are actually tweeting.

LinkedIn: 12 out of 15 have a LinkedIn company page, six of those have groups to join.

Facebook: 14 out of 15 have a presence on Facebook, three have more than 10 fans / likes.

One of the 15 has no presence on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, but none of other 14 are actually engaging with followers because it takes a lot of time and nobody has any.

Another of my competitors, Purple Frog, are also big supporters of social media marketing. They count the Brick Development Association among their clients, so they should know a bit about the subject. The say “… understand where those you want to influence are talking – this is not necessarily Facebook and Twitter but can be industry forums, blogs and trade association feeds and newsletters.”

The exception is LinkedIn because it’s a business-focussed network and it can be useful for staying in touch with business contacts. But overt promotion of the type commonly found on Facebook is discouraged, so you will have to be a bit more creative. I would recommend joining a few of the common interest groups because you will meet like-minded people with the same concerns as you.

There are a few construction industry networks that might be worth checking out. TCN (The Construction Network), AEC (Architects, Engineers, Constructors) Network, and Building magazine’s Building Network.

Despite my current scepticism, I recognise that these could become important in the future, so I’ve got an account with all of them. The world changes quickly and social media marketing might become an essential element of construction industry communication… eventually.

See Pritesh Patel’s full article on: http://blog.pauleycreative.co.uk/2010/06/how-do-the-top-15-construction-companies-fair-on-social-media

See Purple Frog’s information here:

http://www.purplefrog.co.uk/2011/05/social-media-marketing-in-the-construction-industry/

A couple of other very enlightening articles on the subject:

Measuring Construction Marketing Social Media Return On Investment (RoI)

http://www.constructionmarketingideas.com/http:/www.constructionmarketingideas.com/measuring-construction-marketing-social-media-return-on-investment-roi/

Just 1% of Small Firms Generating Leads from Social Media

http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/freelance-technology/just-1-of-small-firms-generating-leads-from-social-media/

Alan Gayle is a sales and marketing consultant specialising in the construction industry. He spent 19 years with some of the UK’s leading building product manufacturers and has worked in the stone sector for the past eight years.

Alan now runs Gayle Associates, which provides a range of sales and marketing services for small and medium sized contractors and suppliers. His clients are seeking growth but the management are too busy to do it themselves and they don’t want the commitment of a full-time employee.