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Marketing matters, part 2 Digital is critical, but don’t fixate on having an army of followers. Instead, use social channels to build your brand equity.

W hat is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? If you are like me, you’ll probably reach for your phone to turn off your alarm and then stay glued to the screen for a few minutes (sometimes longer!), until you finally roll out of bed. You’ll clear whatever notifications popped up while you were asleep. You might check the news. You’ll see what your friends and family have been up to on various social media platforms. And only after you’ve given a good portion of your morning to the digital world will you truly begin your day.

Sanjay Jenkins MARKETING MATTERS

According to Zweig Group’s 2017 Marketing Survey , 41 percent of firms spend one hour or less working on social media each week. This would not be a big deal if marketing departments spent that time building and scheduling content that is distributed automatically. But 65 percent of firms do not use any marketing automation software. The AEC industry is not capitalizing on the attention devoted to digital media. Check out the infographic above from Mediakix to get an idea of how much time is being spent on social platforms. Different platforms attract different generations, but the important note here is the quantity of

time and energy being spent on various platforms – hours out of a person’s day. WE DON’T HAVE ANY USE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. One of the most common responses we hear when we ask why firms aren’t doing more digital marketing is that they don’t know how to sell their services through the various online channels. It’s easier to understands the business-to-consumer value proposition, the sales pipeline through social me- dia – we show you something and you buy it – and a robust website. But the business-to-business value is harder to identify. Social media and digital

See SANJAY JENKINS, page 10

THE ZWEIG LETTER September 11, 2017, ISSUE 1215

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