15 Construction Marketing Strategies to Know: Digital & Offline

What is Marketing for Construction Firms?

Marketing for construction firms consists of communication, outreach, and promotion strategies. These strategies help construction businesses drive sales, brand awareness, and engagement, generate leads, and build strong client relationships. 

Good marketing strategies position your business as trustworthy, credible, and professional, and help potential clients fully understand your services. You can also use marketing techniques to retarget existing customers and increase customer lifetime value.

Digital Marketing Strategies for Construction Businesses

Digital marketing refers to online marketing techniques where you reach your audience through the internet.

Ten key digital marketing strategies for construction firms are shown in the image below:

Let’s look at each one.

1. Invest in SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website so it ranks better, meaning it appears higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) of search engines like Google and Bing.

You can achieve this by adding keywords, securing backlinks, and increasing your domain authority, among other things.

Implementing SEO best practices on your website so the pages rank in the top three results can bring your business more traffic as these results have a far higher click-through rate (CTR). The first result on Google has an average CTR of 27.6 percent, while results on the second page have a 0.63 percent average CTR.

Start by applying SEO to your service pages. You can add relevant keywords and content here to optimize them. If your budget allows, use a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs to research keywords; otherwise, you can find keywords using Google’s autofill and People Also Ask features.

2. Try Local SEO

Local SEO is a more niche version of regular SEO that targets local search terms, such as “construction company near me” or “construction company New Jersey.” 

Compared to regular SEO, local SEO is far less competitive as businesses only compete for rankings with other companies servicing the same geographic area rather than with the entire internet.

Implementing local SEO on your website helps search engines understand where you’re located and the services you offer so it can show your business to people who enter local search queries.

The Google SERP shows a “map pack” for local search results, consisting of three or four businesses next to a map of the local area with the businesses’ locations marked. The packs also contain additional information from the companies’ Google Business Profiles. 

The map packs look like this:

The Google algorithm chooses the businesses to list in the map pack based on criteria including rating, reviews, and response rate, so it’s important to maintain a solid online reputation. 

ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management features, which are part of the Marketing Pro add-on services, help you improve your chances of winning a spot in the map pack thanks to its review gathering and management capabilities.

Users can automate review collections so a request is sent to a client soon after their project is completed, saving your technicians time and improving the likelihood of receiving a review.

Additionally, you can monitor and respond to reviews from multiple sources—such as Google, Yelp, Angi, and Facebook—all in one place.

3. Build a presence on social media

According to research and data analysis from Data Reports, there were 207 million social media users over 18 years old in the United States at the beginning of 2024. That’s 77.4 percent of the country’s adult population, and it means there’s a good chance your target audience uses social media.

Building a social media presence through organic (not paid) content is an affordable way to build brand awareness and reach potential customers on various social media platforms.

Some ideas for organic social media content include:

• Spotlight on an in-progress project with high-quality images or video.

• Behind-the-scenes content, such as a “day in the life” video or team members taking part in a viral trend. You can make this humorous, but make sure it fits your brand.

• Before-and-after photos or videos.

• Project updates.

• Expert DIY tips.

• Company updates.

• Community involvement updates.

4. Run location-specific social ads

The other side of social media marketing for construction companies involves paid promotion or pay-per-click advertising. 

Thanks to the massive wealth of user data held by social media platforms, particularly Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, advertisers can hyper-target their paid ads to reach a precise audience.

The key to running ads on social media is to make them location-specific. After all, there’s no point in advertising your construction services to users in San Diego if your business only services Miami.

Put together your ad creative and play with the targeting features until you start seeing results. Social media advertising is free to set up on most platforms, and you only pay when someone clicks your ad or call-to-action (CTA). Set a small budget, so you can experiment without wasting money.

Paid social media advertising helps increase your reach beyond what you can achieve with organic content, especially when you have a small social media presence.

5. Attract local leads with Local Services Ads

Local Services Ads (LSAs) are a type of Google advertising ideal for businesses serving specific geographic areas. Like local SEO, they appear when someone enters a local search query.

LSAs are featured in a prime location right at the top of the SERP. They contain information about your business, including your star rating, a link to your Google reviews page, opening hours, and the area your business serves. 

As Google screens all businesses that purchase Local Services Ads, LSAs also feature a Google Guarantee badge that helps to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

With LSAs, leads can contact you directly from the ad. Unlike standard pay-per-click advertising, you only pay when a customer calls or messages you.

ServiceTitan’s Local Services Ads let customers book your construction services directly from your LSA, streamlining the booking process and improving customer experience. 

Furthermore, the LSA booking information is automatically populated as a booked call in ServiceTitan, so you don’t need to manually copy over the data and risk duplicating information or introducing errors.

6. Run targeted PPC (pay-per-click) advertising campaigns

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the umbrella term for various forms of digital advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. This includes paid search, social media advertising, display advertising, and more.

PPC advertising is beneficial for construction companies as it helps to put your business in front of potential and existing customers in the places where they use the internet, like search engines and social media platforms.

The most popular PPC platform is Google, but you can run PPC ads on a huge range of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Twitch, TikTok, and more. 

PPC advertising can be targeted to better fit your ideal customer profile. You can experiment with different targeting strategies to see what works best for your business.

ServiceTitan’s Home Services Marketing software lets you track ROI better by creating a trackable phone number for each campaign. The Marketing Scorecard then ranks your campaigns by revenue so you can see at a glance which campaigns work.

Additionally, the ServiceTitan heat map is helpful for understanding where to target your ads, as it shows the revenue generated in different parts of your service area.

7. Leverage social media groups

Social media groups like Facebook are an excellent place to market your construction firm, both directly and indirectly.

Look for community groups within your service area and check if they allow businesses to post ads. The group rules often state what days you can post about your services.

Group members may post asking for recommendations of construction businesses, which gives you an opportunity to speak to a qualified lead. Plus, if you consistently provide good service in your community, it’s likely other group members will refer your business.

You can also consider starting your own group related to your target audience. However, remember that what your group members post will reflect on your business. Ensure you have community management guidelines to avoid posts that paint your business in a bad light.

8. Get listed in business directories

Business directories like Porch, Houzz, Yelp, and Thumbtack can help you generate more leads. Potential customers commonly research contractor businesses on these platforms to look at reviews and finished projects.

Try to use as many options as possible to list your business, and increase your chances of winning leads. However, research the platforms first to know how you will be charged for listing and  for leads.

Listing your business in multiple places comes with a downside, though: it can be difficult to keep track of your profiles and reviews, and it takes time to update your business information on each platform.

Here, ServiceTitan’s Reputation Management features let you update your information across all your business listings at the same time, saving you time and making sure each listing is up-to-date.

For more information on business directory websites, check out our blog on lead-generation websites for contractors.

9. Build an email list

Email marketing is a low-cost marketing strategy with one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) of any digital marketing strategy. On average, businesses bring in $36 for every $1 spent on email marketing campaigns. 

Before you can start email marketing, you need to build your email list. Here are five ways to do this:

• Create lead magnets like downloadable e-books where leads must enter their contact details before they can download.

• Add a sign-up pop-up to your website.

• Bring a sign-up sheet to your booth at trade shows—this could be an actual piece of paper, a spreadsheet or sign-up page on a tablet, or a scannable QR code.

• Incorporate a mailing list opt-in form in your website menu.

• Host a giveaway or competition.

Then, you can start sending personalized, targeted email campaigns to different segments of your email audience.

ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro – Email feature lets users set up automated email sequences for various campaigns, including follow-ups, promotional campaigns, seasonal content, and reminders.

You can also create hyper-targeted email audiences for your campaigns and choose which factors to include or exclude, such as demographics, location, open estimates, and time since your last job.

10. Host a podcast

Starting a construction podcast can help you market your business as it provides a platform for you to show your expertise and engage with a wide audience.

You can invite guests like architects, construction professionals, suppliers, or your own satisfied customers to talk about trends, techniques, best practices, and more, positioning you as an industry expert. This builds trust with your audience and potential customers.

Additionally, your podcast content can be repurposed for your blog and social media, contributing to your overall content goals, online presence, and SEO strategies.

Offline Marketing Strategies for Construction Businesses

Offline marketing refers to ‘traditional’ marketing strategies that don’t require your audience to be on the internet.

Five key digital marketing strategies for construction firms are shown in the image below:

Let’s take a look at each one.

1. Distribute flyers

Flyers are an easy, low-cost form of traditional marketing. They commonly comprise a single sheet of paper with print on one or both sides.

Printing flyers in bulk and distributing them yourself, either directly into mailboxes or leaving them in public places like hardware stores, is inexpensive, but you can use your marketing budget to pay for higher quality printing and even hire a team to distribute them.

When designing your flyer, include your construction business name, logo, contact information, and details of the services you provide. Consider adding a special offer or discount, such as 10 percent off the first booked job, to increase the likelihood of customers engaging with the flyer.

2. Send direct mail

Direct mail refers to printed marketing materials that are sent by post directly to your existing or potential customers’ mailboxes. They are similar to flyers but are distributed more directly and allow you to personalize the content, which improves efficiency.

Incorporating direct mail into your construction marketing strategy helps improve brand awareness and makes the recipients feel valued by creating a personal connection.

Additionally, the average lifespan of direct mail is 17 days. That means your direct mail remains in customers’ homes for over two weeks on average. It can also reach other members of the household beyond the initial recipient.

ServiceTitan’s Direct Mail feature lets you design and send direct mail postcards straight to your existing customers and prospects. You can create automated direct mail campaigns and targeted audiences based on unsold estimates or demographic information.

You can also accurately track deliverability and ROI for each postcard you send and understand which campaigns bring in revenue, so you know where to spend your direct mail budget in the future.

3. Attend trade conferences

Events like conferences and trade shows let you meet, network, and build relationships with potential clients as well as other industry professionals and leaders. It’s also an ideal opportunity to boost your business visibility and awareness and to showcase your expertise.

You can build trust with clients by interacting with them in person and participating in panel discussions. It’s also a perfect opportunity to distribute marketing materials like brochures, flyers, or branded merchandise that help make your business memorable.

4. Use outdoor advertising

Outdoor advertising is a type of marketing material that is placed in high-traffic outdoor public places. There are several types of outdoor advertising, from posters and billboards to vehicle wraps, transit ads, and street banners.

This type of advertising has a wide reach and offers repeat exposure as people will likely see it several times during its lifespan, making it highly memorable.

Although outdoor advertising can be expensive, it looks professional and boosts credibility.

How Can You Create a Marketing Strategy for a Construction Company?

Your marketing strategy is the collection of different marketing types that you use to promote your construction business. You can create your marketing strategy by doing the following:

• Understand your audience: Conduct market research to get to know your target audience. Find out their pain points, preferences, and where to reach them both online and offline. 

• Choose the right channels: Once you know where your target audience searches, shops, lives, and consumes media, you can establish the best places to market your business. 

For example, if you find a high percentage of your target market prefers Instagram to Facebook, it makes sense to spend more of your social media budget on the former.

• Set specific goals: Use the SMART framework to set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. This helps to narrow your focus and gives you something to work toward.

An example of a SMART goal is booking one new construction job every month from PPC.

• Set your marketing budget: Your budget defines how much you can spend on your marketing strategy. The exact amount varies depending on your business size, annual revenue, cash flow, and intended marketing channels.

Most businesses spend around 10 percent of their annual revenue on marketing.

• Measure results: Monitor the performance of your marketing channels to avoid wasting your budget on failed campaigns. You can track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as revenue or leads from each campaign, to assess their performance. 

If you notice underperforming campaigns or channels, you can cut them and free up more budget for high-performing alternatives.

Improve your Construction Marketing with ServiceTitan

Establishing the best combination of marketing channels and strategies is vital for successfully marketing your construction business.

Using ServiceTitan’s full suite of features can help you enhance and streamline your marketing efforts, combining digital and traditional marketing methods.

ServicTitan is an all-in-one home services platform that provides advanced marketing capabilities to construction companies. The ServiceTitan suite of features includes front-of-house and business management tools that are tailored to home services businesses. It is trusted by over 100,000 contractors across the country.