Architecture, engineering, and construction marketing could look like totally different fields. But actually, in order to be successful in these fields, you will need to know very similar marketing solutions. So getting to learn digital marketing tips to grow your AEC business is really important. But first, you need to know what does AEC marketing mean.

AEC marketing are the strategies that firms who work in construction, engineering, and architecture use in order to market those businesses. Because having a strong digital presence is really important for those companies in order to maximize the selling of their firms' work.

Even though AEC firms still rely on magazine and radio advertisements which are traditional marketing undertakings, having an adequate digital marketing budget is essential nowadays. That is if you want your firm to capitalize on the prime age group.

Nowadays, people mainly research online to look for AEC firms. So that is the reason why you need to make sure that you get your website well positioned so you can attract visitors, who might then transform into clients.

Potential clients need to find your AEC firm as a capable, trustworthy, and competent firm. This has a lot to do on how your AEC firm positions itself online. So take a look at our 9 digital marketing tips to grow your AEC business right here.

1. Delimit What Makes Your Company Different

One of the most important things that you need to delimit in order to become successful in the AEC industry is what makes your company different. This is so you can stand out from all of your competition. It could be the way in which you utilize technology in order to enhance the experience of your customers.

Or maybe it could be that your firm is able to complete emergency projects in a very short amount of time. That which makes your company different is of paramount importance for your targeted audience to learn.

If you are not one hundred percent sure how to delimit what makes your company different, you can use external and internal research. This researchers may give you insides over what you can build.

First, you need to take a look on your company and see which kinds of services you are currently offering. Also, which markets are you currently serving. How does your team complete the different projects that are assigned to them as well.  Likewise, which are the benefits that your customers obtain when they hire your firm.

After that, you need to check externally to find out what is your competition offering to their customers. Also, which processes are they using, and how they use their experience and expertise for their advantage.

After you recognize what makes your company different from the rest of your competition, you need to understand why all of this is so important to your customers.

You will need to include everything that makes your company different and why all of this is so important to your customers. For example you can use website content, newsletters, and blogs. Also you can use the personal interactions that your professionals have with potential customers in order to convey all of this to them.

Do not forget that it is very important for every single person in your firm to have an understanding of what makes your company different.

2. Find And Pay Attention To Your Niche

Firms that work in the AEC industry need to be able to properly identify what is their niche market. You will need to consider what your team excels in what is lacking in your competition. This will help you find your niche.

After you identify the niche of your firm, then it will be essential to communicate it to your targeted audience. Your firm needs to understand exactly who your targeted audience is. That is so you can relay your desired message to the correct persons.

Understanding who your currently targeted audience is and taking into consideration how they relate to your ideal customer profile is crucial.

It will be of paramount importance for you to successfully know and understand who you are working for. That is so you can find the potential gaps.

After collecting all of this data, it could be rather beneficial for you to create a client persona. This will allow you to visualize your targeted audience’s essential traits like occupation, age, and lifestyle. By doing this, you may be able to target your messages more effectively. You will also be able to better outreach your tactics to have better research on them.

After you have been able to identify which your targeted audience will be, it is essential to supplement appropriate project portfolios into your site. You can also develop whitepapers that emphasize the main trends in this market.

You should also consider being present in networking events, trade shows, and conferences that focus on your niche. These will help your audience connect you with the place in which they find themselves at that moment.

3. Your Content Is Very Important

Being able to share the correct and optimized content with your customers and prospective customers is crucial. That will include the development of a strategy in strategic content. This should include different assets like video, visual, and written content. Also, you will need to think about content as a combined story. This will build to display your brand over time.

Another thing that we believe is highly recommended to show off your work is hiring a skillful photographer. This is so they can take pictures of our projects’ progress and pictures of the projects you have already finished.

Hiring an expert photographer will ensure that the small but essential details of your projects can be captured. This will help you share all of the detailed work with your customers. You will also be able to use these pictures on your firm's website and all over your profiles on social media.

But why not have one of your employees take pictures with their phones of your projects? It would be less costly. Well, there is a simple reason for this. You will not get the same quality for those pictures. Quality is essential when a client wants to choose an AEC firm. So this will be something you want to invest your money in.

Including video content in your social media accounts and your website can add a lot of value for the firms that work in construction. To get good aerial footage of the working spaces, a drone will be greatly recommended. This will provide an excellent view for potential customers to see the progress on the different projects. It will also provide engaging content for you to share on several social platforms like YouTube.

Other things that you can include as video content could be statements from your customers. Also, you can include conversations with prominent leaders to chat about the diverse aspects of the firm. Or you could get videos that showcase the time-lapse of particular projects.

4. Mind Your Language

Most probably, the customers that you get will be just as knowledgeable and sophisticated as you are. So the content strategy that you use needs to be equally as strong. What most marketing firms fail to do is come up with content that their target demographic will consider valuable.

You are going to want to build authority and trust before you can capture your lead’s attention. This will help you persuade them into taking action. How can you do this? You need to create highly technical content and material that will speak directly to your leads. This will show them that you comprehend and appreciate their issue. This will also show them that you are or have a solution for their issue as well.

5. Have A Strategy For Email Marketing

Regardless of how much the technology and the marketing strategies have advanced over the last period, some things remain relevant. Having a strategy for email marketing is very useful right now. This is because it will enhance your communication and engagement with your potential clients. If your AEC firm doesn't use email yet, then you need to get that started ASAP.

Keep sending emails to your potential clients regularly; then your firm will stay on top of their minds.

If your firm has an extensive database, you should consider segmenting your contact list into several lists. This will allow you to target your audience better to improve your engagement to the maximum.

The most typical emails that AEC firms tend to send to their audience are:

• webinar invites
• awards recognitions
• request for reviews
• weekly or monthly newsletters

6. Inform Current Customers

You need to remember the customers that you already have. You could use your AEC website to provide help to your customers. You could post troubleshooting help, how-to guides, DIY projects, or hacks to innovate your products.

Keeping up with the education of your already existing customers will preserve and increase your reputation among them. Since this is a service-based market, referrals come to be tremendously valued. So, maintain your existing customer’s content and invest in your firm by using digital content.

This will allow you to keep your firm on their minds. It will also help to provide them with excellent info to share with their colleagues or friends who might be searching for a service like yours.

7. Consider a Budget To Get Targeted Content Distribution

It is essential to build high-quality content. But your content may not always be easily discovered by readers. Not through search if your website has not been up for too long. This means that it is essential to consider a budget to get targeted content distribution.

Targeted content distribution means that your content gets promoted on certain social ads targeted to specific audiences. This includes pages like Facebook and LinkedIn.

The different trends in marketing keep changing over time. So consulting an AEC marketing agency might be helpful. That is, if you want to build an effective plan to reach your targeted audience properly.

8. Optimize Your AEC Site For Search Engines

You need to optimize your AEC website. This will help potential customers find your business’ website on the internet without putting too much effort into it. Optimizing your website will let the user and the robots that Google has learn what every page talks about.

So make sure that your primary page describes your business accurately. You can use search engine tools like SEO or Go To Web to determine what search engines can see when they are checking your site.

9. Use Website Analytics

Website analytics will allow your firm to proficiently and accurately measure your marketing performance. Use advanced data and analytical tools. You will correctly and more accurately keep track of the marketing activities that deliver you the most substantial return on investment.

Once you have implemented a good marketing plan, the website analytics will allow you to better track the sales and marketing endeavors which considerably affect the lead generation.

Having a good understanding of how much time users stay on your website is essential. So will be which pages do they visit. All of these will be essential data for both your sales and marketing teams.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are several digital marketing tips to grow your AEC business. This will help you become more successful in your field. So make sure that you take advantage of these nine digital marketing tips. They will help you become a capable, trustworthy, and competent firm. This will allow you to attract even more potential clients to your AEC firm.