Social media and construction Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Today social media is prevalent and almost everyone uses it – politicians, presidents, and even pets. However, many construction companies aren’t familiar with the benefits and problems that social media can bring to their company. Contractors work hard at building a good reputation. They sometimes spend huge amounts of money on building their brand, their websites, and their advertising. Unfortunately, this can all be for nothing, or can be destroyed quickly by poor media, an accident, bad workmanship, an unhappy client or a disgruntled employee. Small incidents can be quickly blown out of proportion and be viewed by tens of thousands. How social media can help construction companiesSocial media can be a valuable advertising tool for:
Dangers of social media in construction
Harnessing the power of social media for the good of your construction companyRegularly posting positive images, updates of projects, success stories and features on employees, will all portray the company in a good light.  Implement rules for employees to regulate when they can use social media during working hours. Encourage employees to use social media to show the company’s achievements. Employees should know what are unacceptable posts which won’t be condoned. Employees shouldn’t engage in behaviours that could bring the company into disrepute on social media. Employees shouldn't be posting pictures of them in company uniform, using company vehicles or equipment, or on your construction project which show them or the company in a poor light. Managers must avoid engaging in disputes and arguments on social media with unhappy clients and employees. Rather contact the person directly to resolve the problem. Engaging in public disputes often inflames the situation and gains more bad publicity. Always stick to the facts on social media and avoid emotive and slanderous language. Ensure that the company has a visible presence on social media and that this is kept up to date and always portrays a professional image. Update employees and clients on new construction projects, important project and company milestones, and employee successes. Ensure someone is keeping track of what’s said on social media about your construction company. Don’t be too hasty posting a comment or an update on social media. Consider how others will view the comment or post. Have others in the company check your post before sending it out. An inappropriate social media post has tripped-up many politicians and companies. Conclusion....Continue Reading.... This article was first published on the ClockShark website. To visit this website and continue reading the article click on the link above. Please share this post  To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
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Become a successful construction Supervisor or foremanIf you are aiming to be a successful construction supervisor, foreman or superintendent try this simple self-evaluation. We completed the first half of the assessment in Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3. Today is part 4 - our final part.  How did you do with this self-assessment? What other attributes should we add to this list? Please like and share this post. © 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.  Want to learn more about becoming a successful construction supervisor or foreman, or maybe you want to learn more about construction management, read some of the author's practical easy to read construction management books. To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below. <=== Click on the image to read a preview of this book on Amazon
construction management assessmentIf you are aiming to be a successful construction supervisor, foreman or superintendent try this simple self-evaluation. We completed the first half of the assessment in Part 1 and Part 2 Lets continue with part 3:  Look out for part 4 of this self-evaluation. How did you do so far? Please like and share this post. © 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.  Want to learn more about becoming a successful construction supervisor or foreman, or maybe you want to learn more about construction management, read some of the author's practical easy to read construction management books.
To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below. Click on the image to read a preview of this book on Amazon ===>
Continue with our construction management assessmentIf you are aiming to be a successful construction supervisor, foreman or superintendent try this simple self-evaluation. Yesterday we looked at the first part of the assessment in Part 1  Look out for part 3 of this self-evaluation. How did you do so far? Please like and share this post. © 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.  Want to learn more about becoming a successful construction supervisor or foreman, or maybe you want to learn more about construction management, read some of the author's practical easy to read construction management books.
To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below. Click on the image to read a preview of this book on Amazon ===>
What makes a good construction supervisor, superintendent and foreman?If you are aiming to be a successful construction supervisor, foreman or superintendent try this simple self-evaluation.   Want to learn more about becoming a successful construction supervisor or foreman, or maybe you want to learn more about construction management, read some of the author's practical easy to read construction management books.
To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below. Click on the image to read a preview of this book on Amazon ===>
Good contractors are made not born Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Some construction contractors make the news for all the wrong reasons. They are declared bankrupt, involved in dodgy dealings, don’t pay their suppliers or subcontractors, produce poor quality work, finish their projects late, or seriously injure or even kill people in the course of construction work. Then there is a multitude of other construction companies that are ordinary, maybe even mediocre – they kind of survive from month to month. Occasionally, there are construction companies that go from strength to strength, growing, winning new projects, making money, and they’re the employer of choice for construction professionals. So what differentiates these companies and what makes them successful? Construction companies have many different stakeholders who have diverse requirements and demands. Balancing the shareholder’s demands for profits, with client’s expectations of being treated fairly and getting the lowest price, and employees’ individual aspirations, is never easy and takes good management. Firstly we need to understand what each stakeholder thinks makes a good contractor. A good contractor from the client’s sideOf course, clients want a contractor that will deliver a quality project on time, safely and within their budget. But importantly they also want a project which they can easily manage and has few problems for them and creates the least amount of work. They don’t want bad publicity and they don’t want to have to deal with unhappy neighbours or protesting public. They want to have a successful project with minimal fuss. A good contractor from an employee’s view Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Employees expect to be treated fairly and to be paid a good wage on time. They also want to feel appreciated, they usually want to learn new things and they want to see a career path, knowing they will be promoted to other roles and responsibilities. Of course, they also want to return home safely at the end of their shift without any long-term impacts on their health. Like everyone, they would like to spend time with their family and have quality free time. A good contractor from a shareholders view Shareholders would like tons of profit and a company that continually increases revenue and profits. Some shareholders would like to know that the company is acting in an ethical matter, that it respects the environment and that it won’t be in the media for the wrong reasons. A good contractor from the general publicWell, most people don’t care, unless the construction work impacts their lives. So neighbours don’t want to have a noisy construction project next door. They don’t want their streets covered in litter or have the contractor’s workers taking up all the local parking. Commuters don’t want to be unduly delayed by construction work. Generally, people don’t want their lives disrupted. 12 things that make a contractor excellent?
This article was first published on the ClockShark website. To visit this website and continue reading the article click on the link above. Please share this post  To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
To read more about the author visit the page 'Paul Netscher' Want to contact Paul Netscher please enter your details on 'Contacts' Find out how Paul Netscher can help you Title Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Good marketing is vital in creating a winning construction company. Image courtesy of Ian Weir constructionConstruction marketing is one of the main factors that contribute to making a winning construction company. But where do you start? Contractors are really hard workers, which makes them inadvertently bad at marketing their companies. They are often so focused on their construction projects that they aren’t aware of what’s going on around them. Before they know it, the construction project is finished and there isn’t another project to move their resources to. Marketing and advertising can be expensive! Unfortunately, in some, cases a person is employed to market the contractor but there’s a disconnect between them and management. They sometimes find the wrong clients or the wrong construction projects, while at other times they generate valuable leads which are then ignored by management. But, marketing and advertising the company doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does require direction and teamwork. 12 tips for finding more clients and construction projects.1. You’re only as good as your last construction project – so make sure it’s good. A good reputation is essential for every contractor. In fact, the best way of finding new construction projects is to continue working with your current clients. Don’t lose clients – it’s hard work finding others. Most of the projects we constructed were for clients we had previously worked with. Repeat business is essential. But in addition, a good reputation spreads. People want to work with reputable contractors. Happy clients will share your details with prospective clients. But equally, a bad reputation makes it difficult to find new clients. Disgruntled clients will tell others about your company’s poor performance. Social media can quickly spread bad stories and kill business. Ensure that your employees understand how important a good reputation is to the future of the company. 2. Clear and professional signage on your construction projects. Poor signage, tatty fencing, litter, poor offices, and stinky toilets don’t portray a good image – it’s not going to encourage potential customers to be contacting your company. 3. Clear signage on your construction equipment, vehicles and trucks. New and clean construction equipment tells potential clients that the company has resources and is a professional business. Smokey, old and dirty machines give a poor image. Potential clients would worry that these machines could break down on their project, causing delays. Trucks, vehicles and equipment are mobile advertising boards. People see them on the streets outside your construction projects and they see them on the roads. Do your vehicles and machines have clear signage? 4. Stay in touch with your past clients. Build relationships. No matter how good your relationship was on a previous project never assume that your clients will remember you. Unfortunately, if anything clients remember contractors who delivered a poor project rather than good contractors. It pays to drop a short greeting once a year, maybe an update on your company’s latest construction projects, or congratulations to a client who has been recently promoted or where their company achieved a significant milestone. Even consider having a coffee with past clients to hear about their latest news and possible upcoming construction projects. 5. Develop good market intelligence. Know what construction projects are coming. Read newspapers. Talk to designers, project managers, subcontractors, suppliers, and even your competitors. Knowing what construction projects are in the pipeline allows you to start talking to the client, enables you to get in on the ground floor, even help them with their budget and give them advice on construction methods that might advantage your company. 6. Visit potential clients. Set aside a morning once a month to visit potential clients. Research the company to ensure you set up meetings with the right person – the person who will deal with new construction projects. Take a couple of company brochures and business cards so they can be distributed to others in the company. Find out about upcoming projects, how you can be invited to price their construction projects, who you should be talking to and what you should be doing to ensure you can work for them. 7. Ensure your website is updated and is professional. Include photographs of current and past construction projects, but ensure these are clear, professional and that they show good quality work, neat and safe work sites, and portray a professional image of the company. 8. Celebrate a success or milestone and invite the media. We all like free advertising. When a construction project is completed or reaches a major milestone, it’s often good for the construction team to have a small celebration. Invite the client and their team. Invite the designers. Invite people from the designer’s and client’s office – maybe there are others in these teams that are working on other projects. Invite the local media – send them a short blurb on the project with a picture that they could include in a news story. Ensure that the event is properly organized and that the project site is clean and orderly – you don’t want visitors tripping over construction rubbish or unfinished work. Of course, you can’t hold these events every week, in fact, they probably only work well once a year, or when different teams are involved. 9. Ensure project managers have business cards and a company brochure to give to prospective clients. Potential clients might arrive on the construction project. Project managers should have brochures and business cards that they can present to visitors Project managers should take the opportunity of selling the company to these visitors. 10. Everyone in the construction company has a role to play. They’re ambassadors and they may also have leads to new clients. It’s not only up to senior management to find new clients and construction projects. Every worker has friends, relatives, and contacts that could possibly be a potential client. Anyone could hear of a new upcoming construction project. Make sure that all employees understand the importance of finding the next construction project. Have them report any leads and contacts to senior management. As important, is that they understand that they represent the company. If they harm the company’s reputation or badmouth the company, it will impact the company’s ability to win future projects. 11. Adapt your marketing to customers. Advertising is expensive. Advertising that works for one construction company might not work for your company. Know who your potential clients are and try and understand how best to target them. Sponsoring a local cause or event may be useful. Distributing flyers works for some customers. Advertising in local papers may yield results. Whatever you do, ensure that your company’s message is clear and professional. Always ask new clients how they found your company, then see how you can improve and develop that source so it can yield other clients. 12. Work with other contractors. This could include sharing details of other contractors, so for example, if you’re an electrical company you could share details of reliable and professional plumbers and carpenters with your clients. These contractors could share details of your company with their clients. Good working relationships with other contractors, suppliers, and subcontractors is essential, and advertising each other’s services can benefit everyone. So, consider forming alliances – of course always ensure that they are reputable companies because you don’t want your company’s reputation sullied by their poor work. Even teaming up with other similar sized companies to yours could enable you to form joint ventures to take on bigger projects. Working with other contractors often helps you build a reputation, meet new clients, deal with other professionals and learn new methods. Conclusion - good marketing is essential for contractors.....Continue Reading..... This article was first published on the ClockShark website. To visit this website and continue reading the article click on the link above. Please share this post  To read more about the author’s books and find out where you can purchase them visit the pages on this website by clicking the links below:
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The opinions expressed in the attached articles are those of the writer. It should be noted that projects are varied and different laws and restrictions apply which depend on the location of the contractor and the project. It's important that the reader uses the supplied information taking cognisance of their particular circumstances. The writer assumes no responsibility or liability for any loss of any kind arising from the reader using the information or advice contained herein. "I have what I consider some of the best books on construction management."
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