The Easy Guide to Social Media Marketing for Construction Companies

Most of us don’t think of social media as anything other than a place to unwind after work. But in between the ConstructionYeti fails and pictures from your friend’s wedding, there’s an opportunity to get the word out about your construction company. Whether you want to create brand awareness, get more client testimonials, or simply build trust with potential customers, social media marketing is a powerful engine for business growth.

If you’ve been curious about what it takes to start some social media marketing initiatives for a construction company, we’ll help you learn the basics here.

Key Takeaways

• As far as marketing efforts go, social media is one of the best, most cost-effective ways to build brand awareness for your construction company. This is because it amplifies word-of-mouth to a wider audience.
• There are plenty of good platforms out there for contractors. Pick just one to start with and go from there.
• Don’t worry too much about “vanity metrics” (‘likes’, impressions, etc), or counting your social media followers. Focus on posting high-quality content consistently.

Social Media Marketing for Construction Companies - Why Bother?

In the past, most construction businesses relied on word-of-mouth to reach new customers. And while that’s still true for the majority of the construction industry, a lot of industry professionals are turning toward social media platforms to reinforce that strategy. With word-of-mouth alone, you’re spreading word about your business one person at a time. It works, but it’s slow. On social media though, you can amplify that power to potentially reach thousands. 

Nowadays, people use social networks like a search engine. That means they’re starting to type in “construction services near me” on Facebook instead of, or in addition to Google. Before your next client gets in touch with you, you can bet they’re vetting your online presence to see if you’re legit. When used well, your company’s social media can be a powerful tool for qualifying and educating these leads before they ever reach out. If you want to know more about that, I wrote a whole guide on how to show up in local search. 

It might not seem like it at first, but construction is actually a great fit for social media advertising. Think about it: People love watching before-and-afters. They love seeing satisfying time-lapses of a construction project being built. If nothing else, this kind of behind-the-scenes content can give people a good idea of how you perform your work, which helps build a level of trust. 

Other types of content that work well for construction marketing include:

• Time-lapse videos of a project from the job site
• Infographics on the construction process, different types of materials, etc.
• Commentary on industry trends or industry news
• Case studies from your favorite builds
• Customer testimonials
• Repost user-generated content from customers (Example: reposting a picture a customer posted of their remodeled office space)
• Partnerships or giveaways with local influencers in your community (other small business leaders, etc)

The options are endless if you get creative enough. So now that you have an idea of what your social media presence could look like, what app should you get on first?

How to Pick a Channel and Build it Out

You don’t have to be on every social media platform to be successful (and we wouldn’t recommend trying to be). There are dozens out there, and each one caters to a certain kind of content and audience. Depending on your trade and what you want to do with your social media strategy, some platforms might make more sense for you than others. 

Here’s a quick guide to the most popular ones:

YouTube - The go-to for short and long-form video content.

Facebook - A networking tool for local communities, and a good place to post photos and short videos. You can also collect reviews right on your Facebook Page.

Instagram - The place for authentic, low-production video reels and photo carousels.

LinkedIn - A professional network for businesses and professionals looking to connect with one another.

TikTok - An incredibly popular platform for short-form, eye-catching videos.

Over time, you may end up expanding your marketing strategy into each of these channels, but when you’re starting out, it’s best to pick just one. This way, you can really invest the time you need into figuring it out and making the most of it. 

Tips for Success on Any Social Media Channel

Every social media platform has its own personality, and some reward certain types of content over others. We won’t get in the weeds with each channel’s eccentricities, but here are some general tips that will help your social media posts be successful on any channel.

1. The best piece of advice we can give about social media management is to keep a consistent posting schedule. Whether you want to post once a day or once a week, be consistent in how you show up. The algorithm is more likely to show your post to your target audience if you keep a regular schedule.
2. Test different types of social media content. For example, you might test short-form vs. long-form videos, lengthy captions vs. shorter ones, or Story posts vs. in-feed posts. Whatever platform you choose to invest time in, test out everything that platform has to offer and see which combination yields the best results for your business.
3. Research popular hashtags in your niche and use them in your posts. Optimizing your posts with hashtags is an important part of SEO (search engine optimization), and can help your content reach more people. This is because people use hashtags to search for things they’re looking for, like new contractors. You might find that your city or state already has a popular construction hashtag, like #ContractorsOfTexas.
4. One content strategy a lot of folks overlook is including other people in your posts. Get your employees involved - or better yet, your clients involved when appropriate. This can be huge for potential customer engagement because it helps your team build credibility, and helps your audience feel like they’re a part of the club.
5. Remember that your social media accounts are a wider part of your digital marketing strategy. Basically, this means don’t treat your social media as a bubble. Add a link to your website to your bio to drive website traffic, and if you have an email marketing strategy like a company newsletter, post about it. Ideally, your social media marketing efforts should reinforce your broader marketing plan, and vice versa.
6. Be on the lookout for people talking about your company. Whether it’s someone posting about you in a local Facebook group, or someone shouting out a completed project, you want to know when people are talking so you can engage back. And, if it’s a negative review or comment, you can correct it right away.

Wrapping Up

Getting started with social media marketing can feel a bit overwhelming, but just do it! It’ll take some time to get in a rhythm but soon you’ll start building a little following and hey, you might even have fun with it. 

If you’re exploring the ins and outs of marketing for the first time, check out our comprehensive guide to construction marketing.