Infrastructure Design Firms and Social Media
As an engineer, I have witnessed that many architecture/engineering/construction firms (AEC firms)have not been active in social media as other industries are. Now this characteristic is changing, and AEC firms are starting to see the value of social media. Social media usage is beginning to increase, and AEC firms can take advantage of this great tool.
Being an engineer myself, engineers rely a lot on web-based collaboration such as blogs, Wiki, LinkedIn, and other platforms where they can share knowledge and receive feedback/input. At the same time, there are many other platforms that AEC firms can utilize to reach their employees, attract new clients, and create brand awareness.
Utilizing social media is one of the best ways an AEC firm can gain new customers, provide valuable information to those interested in their services, and attract clients.
Since there are so many options that social media offers, it is important to learn how engineering firms can use social media to improve their business goals. One of the biggest goals for AEC firms is to grow their business. I will be listing below the list of benefits an AEC firm can use as a strategy to grow its business using social media.
Brand
To grow a business, it is necessary to have a good reputation; a brand is crucial in the AEC industry. To achieve this goal, an AEC firm can use Pinterest to upload images of projects and work teams for others to see it. By using Pinterest, one can showcase the best projects of his/her company. This will show the best quality of the company’s projects and will brand the firm at its best. In consequence, this will align with the goal of expanding the company by utilizing a brand of high quality AEC and innovative designs.
Also, Twitter can be very effective on branding for AEC firms, as it sells the firm’s expertise and experience. Twitter can be a great tool to expand a firm’s thought leadership by communicating information about the firm’s white papers, blog posts, and other news. Twitter can also be an effective way to share relevant or interesting information and trends impacting the AEC markets.
Furthermore, Twitter can be a very effective tool for building the personal brands of the firm’s leaders. For the most part, AEC firms have vice presidents that are active in the business; they typically are the face of a firm. By bringing awareness of this powerful platform to the leaders of the firm, they are also bringing brand to the firm. For example, by the vice presidents sharing new information about a new project or awards acquired, this can also help the brand of the firm.
Loyalty of clients
Also, by connecting with clients via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, an AEC company can engage more with its clients by having a more personal relationship. The more connected the firm is with the client, the stronger is the trust and loyalty with the client, and this can provide the AEC firm with the opportunity to acquire other projects with the client in the future.
Acquisition of New Clients
By engaging with current clients on social media, an AEC firm can indirectly target new clients as well. By having recommendations and positive feedback from current clients in social media, it will definitely help as reviews for other companies that can see the solid relationships with current clients, which is a good indication of a loyal, cohesive firm and also a good indication about how the firm cares about customer satisfaction.
Twitter can be an effective method to engage prospective customers and current clients because it allows users to tweet very specific, and sometimes very technical, messages about their services.
Motivating and maintaining your Talent within the firm
To keep a millennial staff motivated within the firm, it is necessary to have a solid communication strategy. For example, to keep constant and effective communication with the firm’s staff members in a global way, the firm needs to reach them by social media because it is more time effective and is the way most millennials communicate nowadays. For example, by posting news and Questions/Answers on Twitter can be an effective communication mode. Also, in order to maintain talent and bring new talent to the firm, LinkedIn can be used for career blogs. For example, an AEC company can provide tips about how to get to the technical position level, about new opportunities in new offices within the firm, and also by educating professionals of the importance of social media, such as things to learn from LinkedIn. Using these tips will keep talent being engaged and entertained with the latest news of the company.
Training your Talent
Also, to grow the company, it is necessary to constantly train the employees to develop talent within the firm. An effective way to accomplish this is by using a channel on YouTube. A firm can post instructional and informational videos of training for its employees. This could be very enriching for the growth of talent for the firm, and it could be taken as an informal technical training. Definitely it will be less expensive than formalized training involving the hiring of an outside consultant for scheduled employee training sessions.
Conclusion
Social media is one of the most powerful branding, marketing, and talent growth tools available today. By utilizing it well, any engineering firm will be able to continue expanding, working effectively, and creating growth in its business.
Note: This post is part of a blog assignment for the Social Media Management class 15.S10
