Remember back when your project managers and line supervisors didn’t have cell phones? You’ve probably blocked it from memory. For all the times that little device kept you from enjoying vacations, tethering you to your business, it has ultimately proved to be an indispensible tool in your company’s day-to-day operations. Yet, despite in-field use, few building products companies are fully leveraging the mobile phone as a marketing device. Pat Curry breaks down the basics of mobile marketing for building products marketers in an article for Builder Online, Mobile Mindset. Curry implores marketers to ensure their websites are optimized for mobile technology, creating concise, focused websites that cull content down to only what visitors find most important. In addition, Curry extols the power of tying mobile websites to text messaging campaigns. As an example, Curry outlines a scenario where a sign in front of model home could direct prospects to send a text message with a specific code to an agent, generating an automated response containing a link with information about the house.
When your consumers Google your brand’s name, is it at the top of the rankings? For many building product brands, it’s not. That’s not necessarily your fault. Acme may have been a unique name half a century ago, but changing your name to something esoteric just so you can hit number one on Google isn’t an option. So if your brand isn’t ranking for it’s own name, what can you do? Sarah Kessler has the answers in an article for Mashable, How to Win the Search Rank Race for Your Name. According to Kessler, registering many available relevant domains and mentioning your brand’s name on your site can help search rankings. Kessler also recommends actively linking to all of your content and maintaining an active online social profile.
It’s rare that we find an opportunity to break from the
transforming green landscape. Sustainability is the prominent feature of build
and design’s future. However, for those wanting to simply enjoy the
architecture already in existence, a London-based company has just created its
signature “Buildings.” Noted in Paul Petrunia’s article, “Buildings” – the
iPhone app we’ve been waiting for, fans of architecture can find physical
locations and their build-related information. From dates to design to who’s
wandered the venue, the free application will become an encyclopedia of the
shaped world – a Wikipedia of wood, a compendium of construct.
As a building products manufacturer, you may have written
off creative messaging years ago. After all, you’re not selling a fast food,
beer or any of the other glamorous consumables whose advertising is flamboyant
and fanciful. You sell products in a world where utilitarian trumps sexy.
Products like insulation and gutters.
And you’ve definitely written off YouTube as a marketing
vehicle. YouTube is great for passing videos of startled pandas around the
office, but who’s really going to take time out of their day to watch videos
about your products? After all, we remember what videos were like shop class.
Most construction related videos make your average public access television show
seem like Avatar by comparison.
You’d also be wrong – twice over.
According to Contractormag.com, one building products
manufacturer decided they weren’t going to be shackled by conventional advertising
and used YouTube to communicate their message.
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry out of North Carolina faced a problem. Charlotte
Pipe produces cast iron pipe and fittings designed to meet rigorous U.S. quality
standards. Unfortunately, many contractors were opting for imported choices
which often did not meet these requirements.
Rather than rely on the tired fallback of finger-wagging
messaging, Charlotte Pipe applied some creative thinking. The company created a
humorous video about pipe-sniffing dogs to demonstrate that faith alone is not
sufficient in determining whether cast iron pipes meet quality standards.
Charlotte Pipe created a similar companion video. This video
features a man of shadowy talent known as the `Pipe Whisperer.’ Through
apparently metaphysical means, the Pipe Whisperer is able to communicate with
inanimate pipes and determine their inherent quality.
Were these exercises in indulgence? Hardly.
Charlotte Pipe’s videos had accrued over 1,100 combined
views in the four months following their debuts. These views generated over
3,000 visits to the landing page built for the ad. An incredible 30% of
visitors to this landing page took the next step and clicked through to
Charlotte Pipe’s website.
It is often said that the most effective advertising is both
distinctive and relevant. Charlotte Pipe’s satirical videos demonstrate how
creative messaging and leveraging social media can take a even a commoditized
product to places that differentiate the brand and deliver measurable results.
Thanks to everyone who attended our webinar last week! There were a
lot of good questions asked, and some of the answers to those questions
that we didn't have time to address will soon be posted here. For those
of you who missed the webinar or those that need a re-fresher, here are
the slides from the presentation.
Russell Herder, in conjunction with Ethos Business Law,
is excited to offer a webinar: "Social Media: Embracing the
Opportunities, Averting the Risks" on Tuesday, August 25 from 12 to 1
p.m. CT (register here).
Social
media is one of the hottest topics today, with the pros and cons of its
use being debated in board rooms nationwide. In light of recent
restrictions on employees’ social media use (ESPN, Marine Corps, NFL),
companies are discussing whether, how and to what degree they should
restrict or encourage their employees to use social networking tools.
This webinar will offer insight into business leaders’ views and
perceptions on this issue and will provide actionable recommendations
and advice on the development of social media policies and employee
training sessions.
Led by Carol Russell, CEO of Russell Herder, and David Baer, president of Ethos Business Law and one of Minnesota Lawyer publication's Attorneys of the Year, the webinar will also highlight the insights gleaned from the
recent national study conducted by the two firms on social media trends in the workplace and policy adoption.
Alcoa announced today that an upcoming webinar co-sponsored by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Alcoa's Kawneer architectural aluminum products business will provide architects and building contractors with strategies for designing high performance buildings using energy efficient architectural solutions.
"Energy-Saving Architectural Solutions for High-Performance Buildings," will take place on April 16 at noon ET. Participation is free for architects, building contractors and media.
Highlights of this interactive session include:
How design solutions using glazing/shading that capture daylight advantages contribute to high-performance buildings.
Energy efficient building technologies focusing on architectural aluminum systems, such as windows, curtain wall and sun control products, play a role in designing sustainable buildings.
Optimizing energy savings in specific climate zones by using various combinations of architectural aluminum products and systems.
