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BUSINESS NEWS JACOBS SIGNS GLOBAL ENTERPRISE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH SHELL Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has signed a global Enterprise Framework Agreement renewal with Shell Oil Company to provide concept, front-end engi- neering, detailed design, procurement, proj- ect management, construction management, and construction services for Shell projects globally. The agreement aligns with Shell’s

ongoing efforts to transform the way its proj- ects are delivered by improving capital and financial efficiencies. “We look forward to continuing to work with Shell. This agreement fosters fresh and inno- vative project delivery solutions to help meet our joint goal of increased capital efficiency and economic results,” said Jacobs Petroleum and Chemicals President Gary Mandel.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum techni- cal, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial, and government organizations globally. The company em- ploys more than 54,000 people and oper- ates in more than 25 countries around the world.

SANJAY JENKINS, from page 9

Engage with people around topics that interest them and that you have expertise in. Utilize Twitter Search to find trends and specific conversa- tions to join. You can search to see all the people who are talk- ing about “bridges” or the controversial development project via Twitter Search. Share your blog posts from your website. (Again, more on this in just a bit!) Hashtags! You don’t need to use a million hashtags, but a few hashtags (which index key terms in a tweet) will amplify the exposure (measured using the “impressions” metric on Twit- ter) your tweets get. WEBSITE ❚ ❚ Why? This is your office on the internet. This is home base for your clients and your employees. This is a great place to show off the work you do and your capabilities. Having a good website is no longer something that is “nice to have.” It is a necessity. The AEC industry is filled with bad websites, so at this stage, it pays big time to have an up-to- date website. ❚ ❚ How? Check out current web design trends and apply them to your website. Make sure that your website is mobile-responsive. Blog posts (finally!). Your firm offers specialized services. The services can only be rendered with the proper technical know- how, which you possess. You need to share what you know to the industry and the world at large. By publishing content regularly about the niche you operate in, you create a paper trail of your expertise. Educate your audience and they will reward you by coming to you for your professional services. Aim to post at least one new blog post each week. Distribute the posts through the channels mentioned above. Search engine optimization. Read up on the current trends in SEO and format your website and content to comply with those standards. If you have a third party managing your site, make sure that they are following current SEO protocols, as the rules change frequently. Publishing content like blog posts will improve your search engine ranking. Good SEO will help you move from being the 10th listing on the eighth page on a Google search to being on the first page of a search. These are the three top platforms you need to develop when it comes to digital marketing. Now go forth and implement! Theory doesn’t matter if there is no action behind it. As always, I’m here to guide you through it. SANJAY JENKINS is the marketing and e-commerce specialist at Zweig Group. Contact him at sjenkins@zweiggroup.com.

To start, post twice a week (Monday and Friday, to make it easier). Share blog posts from your website (more on that in a bit), link to articles related to your niche, and share news sto- ries you have been mentioned in. Distributing content that already exists or that was made by others is the easiest way to start. Invite all your employees (who have Facebook accounts) to like your page. Encourage them to share content that they had a part in creating. Run ads! Are you trying to win work in a certain region or state? Use Facebook’s Ad Builder to put together an ad that is displayed only to those in the area you have chosen. “Having a good website is no longer something that is ‘nice to have.’ It is a necessity. The AEC industry is filled with bad websites, so at this stage, it pays big time to have an up-to-date website.” TWITTER ❚ ❚ Why? A few months ago, I wrote a social media guide for the AEC industry and said that “Twitter was at the twilight of its relevance.” I’ll be the first to admit this: I was wrong. Twitter’s power lies in the ability for an individual or organization to directly engage with others with minimal barriers. The speed of interactions, trend-creation, and trend capital- ization makes Twitter an important place to be. ❚ ❚ How? Set up a Twitter page if your firm doesn’t currently have one. Tweet at least once a day. Don’t know what to tweet about? That’s okay! Each day of the week has some sort of theme that is used every week, and you can piggyback off that theme. For example, Thursday’s theme is #ThrowbackThursday, where you post a picture or video of something that happened some time ago. You could post a throwback of a project you completed last year or a great work retreat from four months ago. Engage with people directly on Twitter. This is the most im- portant Twitter action item. To directly engage with someone on Twitter, pull up their profile page and click either the “Tweet at” button or click on the “Compose a Tweet” button and type “@Username.” The value of this is simple; by engag- ing with people directly, you show the humanity of your com- pany’s online presence.

THE ZWEIG LETTER September 18, 2017, ISSUE 1216

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