SOCIAL MEDIA SOLUTIONS FOR THE PRECAST INDUSTRY

The broader populace walk on their feet, but live on their smartphones, which begs the question whether the built environment is utilising digital marketing in an effective manner that fully harnesses the leverage of industry association influence.

The construction industry has functioned on the same principles of marketing for the past few decades. Billboards, construction banners, word-of-mouth and TV commercials were the “go-to” places to find potential clients because the market was conducive. But the economic and technological landscape has changed and social media platforms such as the Concrete Manufacturers’ Association channels now offer more cost-effective and targeted solutions for the construction industry to remain informed. The statistics below are a grim reflection on the state of the economy and should serve to remind company heads that effective marketing will in future be critical to increasing revenue: • Public sector – economically: SA’s public infrastructure expenditure peaked in 2014/16 (approx R250 billion) and the public-sector infrastructure spending as a share of GDP has been steadily declining since 2009/10. State-owned enterprises have caused a drain in the Treasury Department, with large amounts of money being funneled into parastatals. This has •

• contributed to dwindling investor confidence and placed fiscal limitations on public expenditure. Private sector – economically. In the first quarter of 2019, the economy saw a 0,8% drop in household consumption spending on a quarter-onquarter basis that contributed to a 0,5% contraction o f the overall GDP. T h e d e c li n e i n c o n sum e r spending is attributed to household debt, costs o f ser v icing the debt and ac c ess t o additional credit, which is being exacerbated by poorer em p l o ym e n t p r o s p e c t s . Household income rose by 0,6% in 2018 – which means that slow-rising disposable income and high indebtedness do not leave much room for consumer spending. Technology has grown in complexity since it has been layered into research, design, finance and manufacturing. The inception of social media also contributed sociologically to an immense change in human social interaction. However, the sociological change also spread to the business sphere by providing a smorgasbord of new communication channels, as well as a new manner to facilitate businessto-business and business-tocustomer marketing practices. As a result, the linking of social media and digital efforts with industry association channels is becoming a new and power ful solution that should be added to every construction company’s marketing mix. Although the number of customer conversions in the market is shrinking, technology in the form o f industry association-driven social media marketing is enabling industry association members to gain valuable insights in order to better convert leads.

Industry associations provide a relevant and structured platform for the efficient marketing of various construction-related building materials, technologies, supplementary products and equipment. With close co-operation and effective strategies, industry association marketing places products in front of the target market through social media and increases online awareness of the brand involved. Industry associations are in possession of industry-related educational, technical and general information which can be leveraged to the benefit of the members of the association.

T he real bene fit o f social media originates from the modern reliance on social media networks to source quality products and quality service, and to form opinions by reading reviews. Working with industry associations can mitigate the ef fects of the current economic climate and help companies get more bang for their marketing. In addition, it strengthens the association and benefits all its members.