Social Media in Construction – 2017 Survey Results

Survey Results

To better understand social media usage and trends in the A/E/C industry, the Construction Marketing Association conducted a national survey of architectural/engineering/construction (AEC) professionals. The following questions were asked:

  1. Do you employe social media in your marketing program?
  2. If yes, do you manage social media marketing internally or outsource?
  3. What social networks/outlets do you employ?
  4. Have you utilized paid advertising on the following networks?
  5. Rank the following social networks/outlets based on their effectiveness in achieving results.
  6. Rank your top goals/objectives for using social media.
  7. Rank actual outcomes from using social media.
  8. Which category best describes your company?
  9. What is the approximate size of your company?

Do you employe social media in your marketing program?

97% of respondents use social media.

Social Media in Construction Usage

If yes, do you manage social media marketing internally or outsource?

91% of respondents manage social media marketing programs internally, while 9% outsource.

Social Media in Construction In House or Outsource

What social networks/outlets do you employ?

LinkedIn is the most popular social network used (92%) by construction professionals, followed by Facebook (85%), Twitter (74%), and YouTube (56%). Houzz is the least used social network of respondents.

Social Media in Construction Which Networks

Have you utilized paid advertising on the following networks?

The majority of respondents do not use social media advertising (61%). Of those that leverage this tactic, Facebook and LinkedIn are the top networks for paid advertising.

Construction Social Media Advertising

Rank the following social networks/outlets based on their effectiveness in achieving results:

According to our respondents, LinkedIn is the most effective social network for the A/E/C industry.

Construction Social Media Effectiveness

Rank your top goals/objectives for using social media:

The majority of A/E/C professionals use social media in order to build awareness for their company. The second ranked objective was improving search rankings. Social media is still not considered a major tactic for generating sales leads by our respondents.

Construction Social Media Goals

Rank actual outcomes from using social media:

The majority of our respondents (65%) have achieved greater brand awareness through the use of social media. Despite being the 2nd ranked objective above, improved search rankings fell to the third actual outcome. Instead, many respondents saw an increase in website traffic from using social media.

Construction Social Media Results

Which category best describes your company?

Construction Social Media Company Types

What is the approximate size of your company?

Construction Social Media Company Size

Thanks to all that participated in our annual survey and attended the 2017 Social Media Summit. Want more construction marketing tips and information? Attend our next webcast: Email Marketing That Wins. Click here to learn more or register.