7
tent
Zweig Group is social and posting every day! C O N N E C T W I T H U S
facebook.com/ ZweigGroup
twitter.com/ ZweigGroup
linkedin.com/company/ ZweigWhite
blog. ZweigGroup .com vimeo.com/ ZweigGroup
contacting you. The search engine has begun to trump the phone call. Obviously, your client will not be serving as an expert witness or signing off on plans any time soon, but a quick Google search can uncover answers to some of the more trivial issues that once plagued them. “Good A/E firms have always strived to be useful, but now the option has become a requirement.” OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES. There is an elephant in the room that must be addressed: Architecture and engi- neering are technical professions, and their content can be a bit dry for outsiders. This presents both an oppor- tunity and a challenge. The opportunity is that much of your audience does not understand your profession, so their minds are open to being educated. An uninformed audience is ideal, because it gives you a lot of flexibility when creating relevant content and endless possibilities for topics. The challenge , as we have already established, is that the content can be dry. This forces A/E firms to bring life to their content and make it enticing to their audi- ence. This is not a new challenge. A/E firms get practice in this area when creating proposals and statements of qualifications for selection committees largely com- prised of laypeople. START WITH STRATEGY, FINISH WITH TACTICS. Like traditional marketing, you must start with a strategy: What do you hope to accomplish by sharing content with your audi- ence? You might specify dates, revenue, or leads, for example. Otherwise, you will be shooting clay pigeons while blindfolded. It is also wise to go in with a content strategy designed to achieve your objectives. Your con- tent strategy will determine what types of information you will share and when. For example, a firm that offers aerial survey can share related content in the spring before trees leaf out. En- gaging your audience with the right content at the right time allows you to hit the sweet spot when demand is peaking. The avenues for your content marketing efforts must “The avenues for your content marketing efforts must be based on where your audience’s eyeballs are gazing and how they consume information.”
ENHANCE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE Joe Palko, an e-commerce marketing expert, says that online marketing opens up businesses’ doors to customers they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. “Implementing a strong, multifaceted online marketing plan can help your Become a blogger. Having a blog on your website is a great way to generate more traffic. Make sure you post often on relevant topics to show that you’re an expert in your field. Get keyword savvy. Research top keywords and phrases that people are using in your market to search for services. Websites such as Wordtracker. com allow you to see the amount of times a keyword has been searched in the past 24 hours. Incorporate the most searched words into your posts. Mix it up. Your blogs and contributions to social media don’t always have to be project-oriented. Post photos from a recent social or volunteer event. Include multimedia such as videos or podcast interviews of attendees sharing their top takeaways from the event. Multimedia ranks higher in search, giving your content a better chance to be seen. Make sure you let your subjects and sources know that you’ve mentioned them in a multimedia post on your blog or website — then they can share the post with their networks and expand your audience. business stand out,” he says. He offers the following tips: Spread the word. Use social media platforms to share the content you’ve written. All you have to do is write a brief description about the post and include a link to it. Play on pop culture . Look at popular cultural topics and see whether you can weigh in on them or at least draw on them in a relevant way. Is there a new movie that highlights beautiful architecture? Is there a bestseller that boasts an engineer as the main character? Also, look at data and figure out what is relevant to you. Choose topics wisely and try not to tread on controversy, but have fun publishing varied content that will entertain, enlighten, and grow your audience. A few more ideas to consider: Post podcasts. Smartphones mean that anyone can host or download a podcast. In 2014, Apple reported that podcast subscriptions through iTunes reached 1 billion, and hosting a podcast means you have a reason to call or email interesting people and ask for their time. Make it mobile friendly. This is a must. With the widespread (and quickly growing) use of smartphones and tablets, it’s necessary for companies to create content that’s accessible to mobile users. According to Forbes , “87 percent of connected device sales by 2017 will be tablets and smartphones.” So, whether it’s creating an alternate mobile version of a website or using responsive web design, it’s important to provide a positive experience to users that are browsing via a mobile device. Timelapse trends. Have you thought about creating time-lapse videos for your website? For example, Ripple Vision, a web and Internet company in Perth, Australia, has created a time-lapse system designed for construction projects, science, research, and marketing promotions. Some of their current work involves documenting multi-year construction projects in Perth, assisting their clients from start to finish in project management and marketing. Through this technology a month’s activities can be condensed down to minutes. Remember that people are deluged with information on a daily basis. Keep your message short and sweet. — Liisa Andreassen, correspondent
See BRIAN FRALEY, page 8
© Copyright 2015. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
MEBER 14, 2015, ISSUE 1119
Made with FlippingBook Annual report