Social media video matters: why and how to do it at your AEC firm (with examples)

April 30, 2024

For better or worse, today’s marketers need to keep the beast we call “Social Media” well-fed. The problem is that the beast’s palette keeps changing.

What’s the optimal post time on each platform? How many posts should I make per week? How is my audience responding? Why are impressions down? Oh wait, they’re up again. Feed? Threads? Stories? Reels? Shorts? Hashtags? What do you mean Congress wants to ban TikTok?!

If you want to keep the social media algorithm happy — and more importantly, your audience engaged — you should consider working video into your strategy.

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March AEC firm rankings, lists, awards and PR opportunities

March 13, 2024

Mid-March can be a time when luck is top of mind. 

And while we love a found penny and the random four-leaf clover, we see time and again how architecture, engineering and construction firms never luck into coverage. Instead, they proactively seek out opportunities, and we have the best ones for you this month:

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Keeping your emails out of the spam folder

February 27, 2024
Keeping your emails out of the spam folder

Congratulations! You’ve successfully implemented an email marketing strategy to connect with your clients and prospects. Email marketing is a potent tool for getting a high return on your marketing investment. 

But, wait! 

Just a day after hitting ‘send,’ you receive that dreaded message: “So-and-so didn’t receive the email; it went to spam.” Even worse? Your supervisor got the email in their spam folder, causing some pointed questions about just why you’ve been spending time on this.

Don’t panic just yet. 

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February 2024 AEC firm rankings, lists, awards and PR opportunities

February 16, 2024

Roses are red,

Violets are blue. 

Your AEC firm wants recognition, 

And we want that for you too!

Okay. Writing holiday poems may not be our strong suit. 

But you know what is? Helping our clients find the award programs best suited for their expertise and goals.

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It’s in the (camera) bag: creating an in-house video program

January 29, 2024

Using video in your marketing strategy stacks the odds in your favor — and research proves it!

Multiple studies into buyer behavior demonstrate that people like to see companies use video. It helps them digest information faster and builds brand credibility and authenticity, translating to ROI at a much faster pace. Plus, 91% of businesses are already using video in their marketing strategy, according to one report.

So whether you are an architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firm encouraging your employees to grab more footage in the field or a law firm looking to demonstrate thought leadership with video content, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon, friends!

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Going for gold: how to build a reputation as an AEC industry safety leader

December 21, 2023

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is becoming more competitive than the Olympic games. There were 3,919,352 businesses in the United States in the construction field alone as of 2022. Building a reputation as a safety leader is a highly effective way to set your company apart from the competition. 

A strong safety record can determine if you win gold (are awarded a new contract) or are sent back to the training room. But if maintaining excellent safety metrics is how a contractor walks the walk, how they market those metrics is how they talk the talk. Both are vital to business development, and each requires a strategic approach. 

I’m no expert at establishing a winning construction safety program, but I can offer eight marketing and public relations tips to get you to the winner’s podium. 

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Do’s and don’ts of podcast interviews

September 14, 2023

I love a good podcast. The ones that make me feel like the host and guest are standing in the same room are instant favorites — doesn’t matter what genre it is.

Personal entertainment aside, they’re also a fantastic business opportunity for B2B companies. Not only does running a podcast enable you to build brand awareness while creating content for your business and your guest’s, it’s also a great way to build relationships and have meaningful conversations with industry leaders and potential prospects.

But how do you do good podcasting?

I didn’t think this question would be so hard to answer when I first started producing our agency’s podcast, “Spill the Ink.” After all, I’m an avid consumer of plenty of great podcasts and have a background in production and storytelling as a former TV journalist. Why wouldn’t it be easy? While a lot of my skills were transferable, I had to come to terms with the fact that podcasts are unique pieces of content that require their own skillset. 

In my opinion, one of the most important skills you can develop is learning how to conduct an interview. I won’t lie and say that this isn’t going to take a lot of trial and error. But I can at least help get you started on the basics.

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Why AEC firms need to know about the ‘excess share of voice’ rule

March 28, 2023

There’s a well-known principle in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing: Brands that have a higher “share of voice” than their “share of market” will grow. This is called the “excess share of voice” (ESOV) rule. 

While market share is a widely known metric, share of voice (SOV) isn’t as clear. It’s defined a number of ways depending on the source, but it essentially means the number of conversations about a brand, divided by the number of conversations about a topic, industry or niche (i.e., whatever “market” you are measuring). 

Every time a brand is mentioned in the media, authors an article, posts on social media or runs a series of ads, a conversation is happening. The conversation is amplified when the audience engages by sharing the article, commenting on the social media post or clicking on the ads. All of this activity results in a certain share of voice. 

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Tangible ways AEC companies can reach their target audience in the metaverse

January 16, 2023

Although abstract in nature, the metaverse is transforming the universal business landscape (and by extension the marketing field) in ways that have real-world implications. Despite the burgeoning trend of using augmented and virtual reality in marketing campaigns, many corporations have been slow to adopt this new technology. In doing so, they’re neglecting an enormous group of potential clients and employees (especially those younger cohorts). According to consulting company, Metaversed, earlier this year the population of the metaverse hit a major milestone, reaching 400 million unique monthly active users. 

Being a pioneer in any field can be risky, but with great risk comes great rewards. The key for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms will be to find their target audience before the market becomes saturated. Think of the metaverse as California in the 1800s. Everyone is rushing there for gold. You don’t want to be knee-deep in frigid river water, bumping elbows with all the other 49ers who missed their cue.

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