Training day

Registration and refreshments

Opening welcome from the Chair

Quick poll:

• Who is already using social marketing to some extent in their organisation?
• What are your concerns and preconceptions about social marketing?
• What do you hope to take back to the office from today?
  

Social media in the construction industry: an introduction

• Why should you adopt social marketing strategies?
• Benefits in interacting with clients and potential clients via social media
• Managing the message: ensuring your message is consistent,and on brand and follows your market positioning
• Educating staff on how to use social media appropriately and responsibly
• Examples of how social media can fit into your overall marketing strategy
• Generating awareness for your social groups and acquiring dedicated followers

Group Task: surf the web for good and bad examples of social marketing for construction products

Feedback and discussion

TWITTER AND BLOGS

Twitter: to tweet or not to tweet?

• Getting started: using Twitter in practice
• Maximising the benefits of using Twitter to promote your organisation
• The do’s and don’ts for using Twitter
• What are the risks to a business which is using Twitter?
• Examining current and future Twitter products for commercial users

Interactive discussion: what topics or products could you tweet about in your organisation?

Making your mark on the blogosphere

• The benefits of blogging
• Who’s doing it well?
• Getting started: strategy development and setup
• The bigger picture: integrating with other activities
• Developing a culture of blogging in your firm
• Helping your staff understand the role blogging can play in promoting the firm
• Identifying potential star bloggers
• Encouraging staff to maintain a blog and develop a following
• What results can you expect?

Task: identify the different types of content that can bring a blog to life

Delegate-led discussion, questions and answers on Social media, Twitter and blogs

Lunch

LINKEDIN AND FACEBOOK

LinkedIn for the built environment

• Is LinkedIn easily defined?
• How many uses does LinkedIn have in today’s commercial context today?
• Can the construction marketing community make use of LinkedIn in a meaningful way?
• How does LinkedIn connect with other social media to deliver significant competitive advantage to construction marketing and business development teams?
• How are construction industry marketers exploiting LinkedIn as part of their online and offline marketing campaigns for commercial gain, today?

Task: consider how you can make use of LinkedIn in your marketing strategy

Facebook: is it only a social tool?

• Addressing the issues of how Facebook can meet business as well as social interaction needs
• What is Facebook for? Can businesses only use it for raising brand awareness or can it also be used for consultation and lead generation?
• Raising brand awareness on a shoestring via Facebook viral marketing
• How have businesses from other industries used Facebook to drive brand recognition and revenue?
• Facebook pages and groups: setting up a page or group and using it to spread your marketing message

Task: search Facebook for construction groups which may be relevant for your organisation to join

Delegate-led discussion, questions and answers on LinkedIn and Facebook

Chair’s summary: key learning points from the day to take back to the office