Social Networking and Construction Marketing (2)

Today I present my observations about social networking and construction marketing for the Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) Ottawa Chapter

The presentation: 'Can you really have 500 (or 5,000) friends on the Internet?" will occur at 3:30 pm. at Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 638) Hall 70 Hines Rd., Kanata (just off March Rd.).

Admission is $25.00 and sandwiches and light refreshments.

You can register at the door, or if you prefer, online at the CSC Ottawa site.

And you can read about how you can effectively implement a marketing strategy for subs and suppliers at the new Construction Marketing Ideas blog.

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Can you have 500 (or 5,000) friends?

I'll be answering this question at 3:30 p.m. next Tuesday, January 12, at a special presentation about social networking and marketing at the Construction Specifications Ottawa Chapter.

For more information and to register, you can visit the CSC Ottawa website and, more specifically, the events registration page at http://www.cscottawa.ca/Events/Network2010.html

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The newsletter

If you have requested it, the final Construction Marketing Ideas newsletter for 2009 should arrive in your email box this morning. Over the year, readership has continued to increase and now almost 3,000 people receive the bi-weekly newsletter.

Next year, I expect the newsletter will have more impact as I've just discovered how to effectively embed video in the emails. As well, the linkedin.com Construction Marketing Ideas group is growing rapidly (approximately 20 new members joined yesterday), increasing the networking and relationship-building value of the newsletter, blogs and other social media resources.

Next week, meanwhile, as our business takes its Christmas break, I'll spend some time on the new Construction Marketing Ideas blog site, fixing the links, background resources, and setting the stage for the Wordpress site to be our primary blog. Again, however, if you think this blog will simply disappear, it won't, though I expect in a few months posting frequency will decrease.

Right now, I'm continuing to post totally different content on the new blog, so if you want "more", feel free to visit the new site, and book-mark it or reference it for future reading.

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Social networking and construction marketing

Partial results from our survey on the use of social networking sites for the construction industry. If you wish to participate, just click on the image or this link. You'll be able to review the results of the survey overall once you complete it. Your identity will be anonymous unless you wish to share it.

How effective are the new "social networking" technologies including Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.com for construction industry marketing? And how can you use these resources most effectively.

I've decided to look closely into these matters for an article I'm writing for the Design and Construction Report, a publication born out of the social networking phenomena. The Design and Construction Network, started as a linkedin.com group last winter, now has more than 2,500 members and several local chapters -- and is growing rapidly.

But are people getting business from the initiative. And is the network degrading into a list of "selling" offers, with everyone just pitching their own product or service without much if any effect?

Yesterday, in addition to phone interviews with several people (yes, it was Thanksgiving in Canada, but also a regular business day in the U.S.), I distributed an online survey to about 5,000 people. The results from the 44 who have completed the survey so far are interesting. They show that a little less than 12 per cent have gained business from the new technologies, with linkedin.com being the most relevant and useful for businesses.

Notably, some early adaptors, people who have used these technologies from the outset as individuals, say their businesses have "bans" on their use within the office. However, a few have embraced them, and they say they are measuring real value in the process.

My perception, shared by others, is that the social networking operates on the same rules as conventional networking. If you focus on what you "want" rather than what you can share and give, you will fail. If you focus on how to provide real value to others within the network without worrying about your own needs, the principal of reciprocity ultimately results in return business and favours. In other words, you gain the most by giving the most without regard for immediate return..

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Online networks: Can growth and community co-exist?

Here is video of a Design and Construction Network "Happy Hour" I took in Washington, DC earlier this summer for the Design and Construction Report online magazine. Online resources support and enhance -- but do not replace -- conventional networking practices.

Late last week, Lloyd A. Ntuk, PE, LEED AP, Principal at LAND | Engineering, plc, sent this provocative email to me and Tim Klabunde, founder of the Design and Construction Network.

I'm a subscriber to both your blogs, and had an interesting thought regarding the size of our online communities.

I've been a member of the DCN and was struck by a recent comment by Mark (August 4 Construction Marketing Ideas blog post) on the potential future growth of the various groups. In particular was the thought of which group will eventually achieve national prominence and leadership. That thought, along with the continued expansion of the group members, made me think, "Do I want the group to continue growing and gaining national prominence?"

On the one hand, more participants means more diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives - a definite plus. But it also may mean less sense of community, and possibly less participation from members of the community (the intimidation factor of "speaking" in front of an audience, albeit virtual). As with individuals the quality of relationships is key rather than the number of connections, does this have any correlation to groups as well? I know that subgroups help to a degree, and that being in a metro-area means it will inherently be a large community, but I wanted to get your thoughts on how you see things moving forward into the future.

I answered first:

Lloyd

You ask a good question.

The best answer I can give is "I don't know" but recall a conversation with rainmaking guru Ford Harding about 18 months ago shortly after I started blogging, as I prepared my first submission to the SMPS Marketer on online social networking and leads resources. Ford then thought these resources would be ineffective for marketing; he has since changed his mind and now believes they are important - but you have to work at them. He also reminded me of the power curve, in which much success/energy and leadership is concentrated in the hands of the few.

I sense the social network resources developing now will also define within this power curve. A few "at the top" will receive (and frankly give) an inordinate amount of value from the process; for the others (the great majority) the stuff will be somewhat peripheral and more like a support tool (probably necessary!) than a core leadership thing.

As an example of the dynamics here, when I started blogging, I searched in near-vain for any other blogs relating to the topic; my goal was to offer free hyperlinks without worrying about reciprocation. In the last two weeks, I've become aware of at least five blogs "on topic" but haven't had the time or frankly the strong inclination to research them and pull them forward with references and hyperlinks.

The interesting thing is that it seems that I and Tim are now "old timers" at this stuff -- even though Tim started the linkedin. group less than a year ago, and my blog goes back just a couple of years.

There are still really strong leadership opportunities within local/regional and specialized niche markets, however.

Yesterday afternoon, Tim responded as well. (I received permission from both Tim and Lloyd to report on this email exchange before publishing it here.)

Good morning! You bring up a great point . . .

As you know the DCN was founded originally only in Washington DC with the single goal of bridging the gap between online networking and real relationship development. We have worked to achieve this by building opportunities for people to meet face to face and/or have a conversation in addition to the online discussions. I agree with you that sub-groups are part of the answer as we have expanded across the US, but more importantly I believe that local events will truly achieve the ultimate goal of the DCN. Mark Buckshon in Canada, Matt Handal in Philadelphia, Brice Johnson in Chicago, Ed Colon in Hartford, and Mike Colonnello in Baltimore are the real people turning the DCN into a national and international organization.

Now to get to my thoughts on your question: I was wrong when I originally thought that the online community would be the driver of DCN. As it turns out we get most of our "spammers" from online. Instead it is the local people that are growing the network and creating the real relationships! We agree that growth of DCN has lessened the participation of the community on the main LinkedIn discussion page (at least the % of active participants), but it has also strengthened the real relationships growing in local regions and on other locations on the web (Twitter, blogs, and subgroups for example). So the growth has created opportunity for quality relationships, while also expanding the quantity of relationships available.

Lloyd and Tim's points are worth exploring in greater depth. Online communities, social networking sites, blogs and the like are new phenomena; early adaptors started using these media just a couple of years ago, and they have become mainstream only within the past few months.

(Notably, one of our young, former employees, perhaps one of the first hires anywhere through the Linkedin.com job board system, made me aware of the social networking phenomena less than two years ago. He also introduced me to Twitter. I thought Twitter to be a nutty waste of time, but decided to continue blogging. For some reason he and his peers "gave up" on Twitter and blogging about a year ago, though he continues to be active on Facebook. Does that tell us something of the future? I think I should have coffee with him to find out what he is "into" now.)

In Ottawa, I'm still exploring how the the linkedin.com Design and Construction Network subgroup will interface within our community. Membership is growing but interaction online hasn't started to be a significant force, but my experiment of linking the group to engagement with the local Construction Specifications Canada chapter is still very much in the early stages. I sense that the online communities will enhance and encourage conventional networking relationships and business development, and open new doors to interdisciplinary relationships within the community. Of course, that is why the CSC (Canadian equivalent of Construction Specifications Institute) chapter association with the online processes is valid, and it is rational for me as a community construction news publisher to explore these ideas, as well.

Online resources, I think, will neither substitute nor replace conventional communities and friendships and this is why, as Tim reports, the general Design and Construction Network group is now largely becoming a secondary resource to local communities. They are not the best place to "spam" or try to market wholesale without building true relationships. But they can enhance, encourage, and grow your conventional network and community involvement. If you are not involved in the process, you will lose the powerful opportunities these groups provide.

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Overwhelming choices (and opportuniites)

A little less than three years ago, when I began publishing this blog, I set out to find other AEC industry bloggers with the intent of providing free link-backs to their sites (and to credit them with being first.) I found a few localized initiatives, but (to my surprise) seemed to have the space mostly to myself.

Meanwhile, social networking groups like linkedin.com were starting to gain traction,but again few knew about them -- and I recall writing my first SMPS Marketer article on the topic and "connecting" with some SMPS leaders who hadn't heard (or knew little) about these resources. (SMPS: Society for Marketing Professional Services, the association for AEC marketers.)

Today, a quick look at this blog's sidebar provides just a slight clue to the number and range of online options for online construction marketing information and relationships. In fact, the choices here may seem overwhelming, with more options and choices available each week. I'm doing my best to keep up, but I'm not starting from scratch. How should you handle things if you aren't already established in the online space?

The answer to this question has two parts. You need to look at things from the framework of obtaining construction marketing information, and, separately, executing your own construction marketing strategies.

Obtaining information
If you spend all day and all night surfing around the Internet you may find some gems, but you won't do much for your own business. Ultimately, you need to select a few key places to connect.

I've expressed some biases in my sidebar -- these aren't entirely fair, as some really good blogs and resources are 'buried' in the long list of hyperlinks, but the ones I've chosen consistently provide useful information (and I selectively visit a few favorites outside this list, and report on them in regular blog postings.)

You should of course supplement these resources with specific trade and local information sources. Eventually, I think you will have a prioritization system somewhat similar to mine -- you'll routinely check five or six key places, and have a larger list where you visit from time to time.

Obtaining marketing results
Here things require more work, thought, and planning (and some speed!) If your goal is to use online resources to promote and develop your own business, you will need to decide which resources to use, and how to give them priority.

You can blog, contribute to social networking sites and forums, build a content-rich website, and use e-mail marketing, all melded to help out with your search engine rankings. Your goal is to make it easy for potential clients to find your business and, when they do, to be predisposed to doing business with you because you convey the impression and values they are seeking.

Of course, some businesses will provide these services to you for a fee. You need to be wary of promises and claims from unsolicited spam, of course, but you are probably safe if you land on a business which has obtained a free link in my blog's sidebar. (We offer a specific publicity/media development service relevant for businesses with annual sales volumes of greater than $250,000 to $500,000, but other services can help out with smaller enterprises.)

You can also do a lot for yourself and you will have to do some things without much help (unless you want to spend a fortune). Much Internet marketing and relationship building requires your material to express your own personality; you can't easily hand this off to a third-party agency, or junior employee who needs to go to you for permission anytime he or she wishes to say anything.

From a marketing perspective, there is still some good news. In many locations and trades, you can still be "first to market" and obtain the advantage of online marketing leadership. But you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Look at works elsewhere, and what you enjoy doing, and you will likely succeed.

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Local AEC Network (Design & Construction Professionals)

Yesterday, I reported on the apparent almost simultaneous development of the Design and Construction Network (roots in Washington DC area), and Konstructr.com (whose founder is in the Seattle, Washington, region.) That posting resulted in a comment from Curtis Lewis, based in Orlando, Florida, to tell me about the Local AEC Network (Design and Construction Professionals) and its related blog, sustainablecoin.com.

Like the Design and Construction Network (which has set up sub-groups in Philadelphia and New York), Curtis's group is seeking to reach beyond Florida. Curtis also appears to be creating the community events similar to the Design and Construction Network Happy Hours.

I'll set a permalink to this group and include the sustainablecoin.com blog within the blogroll.

Obviously, the space is new here and the sprouting of regional groups will continue as clearly we are into a new era of social networking within the architectural, engineering and construction community.

Which, if any, of the groups I know about will achieve national prominence and leadership going forward?

The jury is still out on that question, much as things were in (market leadership) flux in the very early years of the automotive industry, or more recently, in the space of Internet search engines and social networking sites.

My own biases creep into the assessment here. I tend to think the Design and Construction Network has the best chance of maintaining leadership because, while there are strong and competent personalities behind the scene at mydcn.com, the focus is on longer range relationships rather than short-term "hits", the leadership is humble and recognizes the members, not the "owners' determine its course, and at least in chronology of the start-up, it was first, or at least tied for first. (First to market is important in virtually any marketing initiative).

Of course, these biases are shaped by perspectives that go beyond the social networking space. I will keep an open mind. To explain, I know that canvassing in the residential contracting space can be effective in some situations, but prefer inbound marketing and intensive service and respect approaches (the origin of this blog two years ago!). And I respect that while "ambulance chasing" may describe a successful approach to finding new business, I would much prefer to develop relationships based on generosity and long-term mutual respect. (But I respect professional canvassers and ambulance chasers enough to know there is a place in the marketing spectrum for their approaches.)

It is quite possible the various groups will meld into a form of a super-network in time and of course other groups and initiatives are still outside of radar range here.

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Konstructr.com -- Another new online network

Yesterday, I (again almost accidentally) discovered another new and rapidly growing construction industry network, konstructr.com, founded by Vik Duggal, from the Seattle, Washington area.

The new network has some intriguing similarities to the Design and Construction Network, established (it appears) about the same time, in the winter months of 2009, by Tim Klabunde in suburban Washington, D.C.

The near-parallel launches may reflect that when the time is right for a good idea, it will emerge in more than one location, almost simultaneously. The Design and Construction Network, of course traces its roots to a the other side of the continent from konstructr.com, and has distinctive differences, but many similarities.

Editor's note: This is a a very early report -- I only discovered Konstrutr.com through a link from a guest posting to Matt Handal's Help Everybody Everyday, which has become the official blog of the Design and Construction Network, so my facts are incomplete. I've sent in my registration for konstructr.com but not everyone is expected to be awake and responding to inquiries at 1 a.m. on a summer weekend!)

Similarities:

• Time of origin;
• Rate of growth;
• Multi-media orientation (both networks have online magazine components; the Design and Construction Network is associated with The Design and Construction Report, http://www.dcnreport.com, which we publish);
• Focus on social networking, and integration of various construction-industry disciplines under a common umbrella.
• Founders of both networks work in marketing positions in places which use the name "Washington" (though the companies are different and the Washington's are 3,000 miles apart.)

Differences:

• Routes for personal interaction: The Design and Construction Network has developed member-sponsored "happy hours" (in Washington and soon in Philadelphia) where members can put faces to names in a social setting. Vik Duggal, conversely, has chosen to speak at industry events and symposiums;
• Private versus Public Network: Although both networks are pretty well open to anyone who qualifies (and screening processes apply to keep out trouble-makers and spammers); the Konstructr.com appears to be built as a totally private and separate organization from other networks, while the Design and Construction Network is founded within Linkedin.com;

I wouldn't be surprised if we see one or two other new substantial industry-focused networks have been established and are thriving, just out of our eyesight.

Could you copy the framework here and create your own network? Possibly, but I sense you will be too late, unless you are focused within a sub-niche which could support this type of resource. In his 50 minute presentation at the ZweigWhite A/E Marketing Now Summit 2009. Duggal explains how you might want to set up this type of network yourself. He also explains the role the new social networks and resources have in construction industry marketing.

I've set a permalink for Konstructr.com in the sidebar and will report more as I learn more. I've also redesigned the sidebar to create a new links group for construction industry networks with a focus on marketing. I sense this list will grow in the months ahead.

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A training video

Just for fun . . .Discovered this on the remodelcrazy.com site.

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